Specialist Divers Head to Laos to Join ‘Extremely Challenging’ Cave Rescue

May 29 (Reuters) – A team of specialist ⁠divers ⁠were headed to central ⁠Laos to help efforts to rescue seven people ​trapped in a cave after heavy rains triggered a landslide last ‌week, a Thai volunteer group ‌said on Friday. Seven Lao nationals had entered the cave ⁠in Xaisomboun ⁠province to prospect for gold, but …

Read more

China’s Low-Key Presence at Asia Defence Forum a Lost Opportunity, Australia Says

SINGAPORE, May 29 (Reuters) – China’s decision to send only academics ⁠to ⁠Asia’s biggest defence forum is ⁠a missed opportunity at a moment when countries need more “strategic reassurance” from ​Beijing, Australia’s defence minister said on Friday. Speaking ahead of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Australia’s Richard ‌Marles said the meeting was an “incredible …

Read more

Georgia Uncorks the Value of Stalin’s 40,000-Bottle Wine Collection

TBILISI, May 29 (Reuters) – Tangled cobwebs ⁠dangle ⁠from the ceiling in ⁠dim light and a pleasant, musky sweetness pervades the ​air in this repository of a precious wine collection, once owned by Georgia’s ‌most infamous son, Josef Stalin. The ‌Georgian government, which owns the roughly 40,000 French and Georgian rarities, ⁠unsealed the ⁠wine vault …

Read more

US Imposes Fresh Sanctions on Iran’s Military Oil Sales, Treasury Says

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. said ⁠on ⁠Thursday it has imposed new ⁠sanctions on Iran’s military oil trade, even as ​Washington and Tehran reached a tentative agreement to extend their ceasefire and lift ‌restrictions on shipping through the ‌Strait of Hormuz. The Treasury Department said it had sanctioned eight ⁠vessels involved ⁠in transporting …

Read more

Data center frenzy is spurring a jobs boomlet for blue-collar workers

Exactly how artificial intelligence will shake up the U.S. job market won’t be certain for years. In the short term, the rapid buildout of data centers powering the rise of artificial intelligence is creating a boomlet in blue-collar jobs even as some companies invest in AI and axe white-collar roles. For now, most of the …

Read more

Kenya Court Suspends US Plan for Ebola Quarantine Facility for Americans

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A court in Kenya on Friday suspended a U.S. plan to establish a quarantine facility for Americans exposed to a rare type of Ebola virus spreading in northeastern Congo, following a backlash by medical workers and activists. A U.S. administration official said on Wednesday that the U.S. was planning to send …

Read more

UN Rights Office Says Children Need Better Protection Online

FRANKFURT, May ⁠29 (Reuters) – ⁠The United ⁠Nations’ Human Rights ​Office on Friday ‌called for more ‌robust ⁠regulation ⁠and oversight by governments to ​make online platforms safer for ​children. “Enhancing protection of children ⁠online is ⁠an ⁠urgent priority ​that we need to ​make ⁠sure not only gets done – but ⁠that it gets done right,” UN …

Read more