Secular News

Slavutych was built as a Soviet paradise for refugees from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster but now it is being born again as a haven for people escaping Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s president lashed out at Russia, accusing it of “nuclear terrorism,” as Kyiv observed the 40th anniversary of the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant, the world’s worst civilian atomic disaster.

Donald Trump is expected to hold a situation room meeting first thing Monday to discuss a new proposal to end the war with Iran

Hong Kong’s Cinema Day has drawn a record-breaking 201,000 film-goers, despite a marginal decline in occupancy rates compared with last year. The Hong Kong Theatres Association, which organises the annual event, revealed the figures on Sunday, a day after 52 cinemas offered HK$30 (US$3.83) movie tickets for 1,694 screenings. “It marks a new high for the event, with 201,000 admissions and an average occupancy rate of 81 per cent,” a post on the promotion’s social media page said. “Families, the...

WASHINGTON -- Panic swept through the White House Correspondents’ Dinner late on April 25 after gunfire broke out near a security checkpoint outside the ballroom. The incident forced the evacuation of US President Donald Trump and hundreds of high-profile guests. Secret Service agents swiftly rushed Trump from the stage as law enforcement officers flooded the venue with weapons drawn. Attendees in formal attire were seen ducking under tables amid a scene of widespread confusion and...

When’s the last time you stood transfixed by art? The experience commonly happens in art museums, of which we have a few here in the populous eastern third of Kansas. My favorite painting within a day’s drive is “The Homesteader” by N.C. Wyeth, at the Wichita Art Museum. Wyeth’s work was created in 1930 as […]

Despite Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi travelling to Pakistan, there are still no plans for direct talks with the US. Should the current impasse continue, analysts tell James C. Reynolds that it could hurt the west and strengthen Tehran

In the span of a few days earlier this month, developments that usually sit in separate policy compartments began to converge. Abu Dhabi’s crown prince arrived in Beijing as President Xi Jinping used the visit to set out China’s four-point position on the Iran war. Pakistan, now central to keeping US-Iran diplomacy alive, said no date was fixed for the next round of talks. Washington escalated pressure on buyers of Iranian oil and the banks handling related funds. Reports circulated of yuan use...

Southwestern China’s busiest airport was mopping up and struggling to resume operations on Sunday after the biggest hailstorm in decades grounded flights, damaged aircraft and stranded passengers. Hailstones, some as big as fists, battered Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, Yunnan province, when the storm struck early on Saturday. The storm lashed runways, terminal roofs and some of the more than 110 aircraft at the facility on Saturday morning, with water seen seeping down into...

Tawanda Karombo speaks to those seeking to keep maternal health programmes running in a remote northern province of Mozambique, after they have nearly ground to a halt in the wake of Donald Trump’s brutal aid cuts

World leaders expressed shock after a shooter charged a glitzy media gala in Washington on Saturday night attended by US President Donald Trump -- and relief that there were no casualties.

President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "nuclear terrorism" on Sunday, as Ukraine marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster amid deadly new drone attacks.