China said that by the end of this year all tertiary level hospitals must offer epidural anesthesia during childbirth, a move it said would help promote a “friendly childbearing environment” for women. Tertiary hospitals – those with more than 500 beds – must provide epidural anesthesia services by 2025 while…

A new prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia has begun, officials in both countries said Monday, with Ukrainian soldiers who have spent nearly the entire duration of the war in captivity among those returning home. The exchange, agreed last week during talks in Turkey, involves detained people under the age…

A shooter opened fire at a high school in the Austrian city of Graz, authorities said Tuesday, killing eight people including teenagers. Officers first responded to the reports of “several” suspected gunshots at the Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium Dreierschützengasse school in the northwest of the city at around 10 a.m. local time (4…

Frederick Forsyth, the British author of “The Day of the Jackal” and other bestselling thrillers, has died after a brief illness, his literary agent said Monday. He was 86. Jonathan Lloyd, his agent, said Forsyth died at home early Monday surrounded by his family. “We mourn the passing of one…

Swedish climate and human rights activist Greta Thunberg departed Israel on a flight to France on Tuesday after being detained by Israeli forces alongside other activists aboard an aid ship bound for Gaza. “Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France),” Israel’s foreign ministry wrote in…

India’s coast guard is fighting a massive blaze aboard a container ship that’s threatening to sink about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala as the search continues for four missing crew members. Images showed flames and towering plumes of diesel smoke rising from the Singaporean-flagged MV Wan Hai…

French 7’3” NBA star Victor Wembanyama may have just unlocked a new position: Shaolin monk. Wembanyama, who ended last season early due to a rare blood clot in his right shoulder appeared to be looking for some off-season spiritual peace and strength at a Shaolin Temple in central China. A…

When Sana Yousaf turned 17, she posted a video of her birthday celebrations to more than a million followers on TikTok. They saw her cutting a pink and cream cake beneath a matching balloon arch, the June breeze ruffling her long hair as she beamed against the backdrop of the…

Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv overnight into Tuesday, with air raid sirens blaring for hours and residents hearing regular explosions, and local officials reporting damage to residential buildings and at least two people wounded. A large number of unmanned aerial vehicles are still reaching the capital, said Kyiv…