Russia has set up high-speed internet service to a chain of Pacific islands despite protests from Tokyo.
State-run telecoms operator Rostelecom said an 815-km fibre optic cable line had been laid between Russia's offshore Sakhalin island and the island chain to introduce fast internet in four towns and villages on the islands of Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan.
Russia and Japan both claim sovereignty over the chain of four islands.
The fibre optic project reportedly cost $50.30 million.
Israel says it is poised to move on Rafah
Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas hold-outs in the southern Gaza Strip city, a senior Israeli defence official said, despite international warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe.
China evacuates entire town as record rains, winds lash its south
Relentless rains, hail and winds of near hurricane intensity battered southern China, forcing the evacuation of an entire town of more than 1,700 people in the province of Guangdong, media said on Thursday.
More than 100 pilot whales stranded in Western Australia, experts say
Marine wildlife experts were frantically trying to rescue some 140 pilot whales stranded on Thursday in the shallow waters of an estuary in the southwest of the state of Western Australia.
Grand jury indicts 18 in Arizona fake elector scheme
A grand jury has charged 18 people with allegedly participating in an Arizona fake elector scheme to re-elect then-US President Donald Trump in 2020, the state's attorney general said on Wednesday.
India inspects spice makers over alleged contamination
India is inspecting facilities of spice makers MDH and Everest for compliance with quality standards after sales of some of their products were halted in Hong Kong and Singapore for allegedly containing high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide.
