Russia struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa with ballistic missiles in a nighttime attack, injuring 14 people and starting a massive blaze, local officials and emergency services said. The third attack on the city in a week hit a sorting depot belonging to Ukraine’s biggest private delivery company, Nova Poshta. No staff were injured, the company said, but the strike started a major fire. On Monday, six people were killed in a Russian missile strike on Odesa, and two days later three people died there when the Kremlin’s forces targeted civilian infrastructure. Long-range strikes ha ..read more

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled an international framework for regulation and use of generative AI on Thursday, adding to global efforts on governance for the rapidly advancing technology. Kishida made the announcement in a speech at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “Generative AI has the potential to be a vital tool to further enrich the world,” Kishida said. But “we must also confront the dark side of AI, such as the risk of disinformation." When Japan chaired the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations last year, it launched a Hiros ..read more

A European court on Thursday upheld Italy’s right to seize a prized Greek statue from the J. Paul Getty Museum in California, ruling that Italy was right to try to reclaim an important part of its cultural heritage and rejecting the museum's appeal. The European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR, determined that Italy’s years-long efforts to recover the “Victorious Youth” statue from the Malibu-based Getty were not disproportionate. The Getty had appealed a 2018 Italian high court ruling that had confirmed a confiscation order, claiming that its rights to the statue had been violated by Italy's c ..read more

If the Israel-Hamas war stopped today, it would still take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed in nearly seven months of Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in the territory, according to United Nations estimates released Thursday. The United States has pressured Israel to increase aid deliveries during the war, and on Wednesday, Israel reopened a border crossing with hard-hit northern Gaza Strip for the first time since it was damaged at the start of the war. Meanwhile, on his seventh visit since the latest war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, U.S ..read more

The death toll climbed to 48 on Thursday as search efforts continued in southeastern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more than 20 cars down a steep slope. Officials in the city of Meizhou said three other people were unidentified, pending DNA testing. It wasn’t immediately clear if they had died, which would bring the death toll to 51. Another 30 people had non-life-threatening injuries. The collapse happened about 2 a.m. on Wednesday after a month of heavy rains in a mountainous part of Guangdong province. Vehicles fell down the slope and sent up flames ..read more

Toothbrushes used to be simple, powered only by your hand so they never broke down. Nowadays, rechargeable electric toothbrushes are increasingly popular because they make brushing easier and more effective, but they are a headache when they stop working properly. Inside an electric toothbrush’s waterproof housing is a battery that powers a tiny motor which rapidly rotates or vibrates a replaceable brush head. The batteries are usually rechargeable but don't last forever. The question of their longevity, and toothbrush repairability as a whole, is the subject of many online forums. If you’ve e ..read more

2024 has been one of the warmest years on record in the Roanoke Valley (so far), and Thursday is a continuation of that. Though the morning starts comfortably, an area of high pressure overhead favors a quick warm-up. The mountains reach 80 to 85°, while Roanoke, Lynchburg and Southside get close to 90°. On average, the first 90° day doesn’t come until mid-to-late May. That’s part of why the new HeatRisk tool, developed by NOAA and CDC, is in the Level 2 Thursday. Temperatures will peak about two degrees lower Friday, though still very warm. A few hit-or-miss showers and storms will arrive a ..read more

Asian markets wobbled in Thursday trading after U.S. stocks swung to a mixed finish with the Federal Reserve delaying cuts to interest rates. U.S. futures surged and oil prices were higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.1% to 38,236.07. The Japanese yen surged as much as 2% in early Asia hours Thursday, driven by speculations of another round of yen-buying intervention by Japanese authorities and a weaker U.S. dollar following the Fed meeting. Later, the yen reversed its course and erased the previous gains. The dollar was trading at 155.31 yen, up from 154.91 yen. “As expected, Japan’s M ..read more

Millions of voters in England and Wales will cast their ballots on Thursday in an array of local elections that will be the last big test before a U.K. general election that all indicators show will see the Conservative Party ousted from power after 14 years. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hope he can point to successes, notably in a couple of key mayoral races, to douse talk that the Conservative Party will change leader again before the United Kingdom's main election, which could take place as soon as next month. On the other hand, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer will hope Thursday's local ..read more

Microsoft is investing $2.2 billion over the next four years in Malaysia's new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure as well as partnering with the government to establish a national AI center, its CEO Satya Nadella said Thursday. It marks Microsoft's single largest investment in Malaysia, as the tech giant seeks to bolster support for AI development in the region and worldwide. “We are committed to supporting Malaysia’s AI transformation and ensure it benefits all Malaysians,” he said. “Our investments in digital infrastructure and skilling will help Malaysian businesses, communiti ..read more