Reuters ONS News•today, 16:13 The pro-Russian administration of the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhya wants to hold a referendum on joining Russia in a few weeks. According to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, the administration today signed a decree that should make such a plebiscite possible. The southern part of the Zaporizhzhya region, including the city of Melitopol and Zaporizhzhya …

The four-meter-long animal was spotted for the first time on Tuesday in the Seine, about 70 kilometers from Paris. Remarkable because a beluga whale, also called a white dolphin, is mainly found in arctic and subarctic seas. It is therefore rare for the animal to be spotted in European rivers. Scientists and authorities want to help the animal swim out …

In America, more than 9,000 dollars (more than 8,840 euros) were raised for Jeremy, 11, who was scammed selling lemonade. The boy had all his pocket money stolen by a man posing as a customer. In Everett, a town just above Seattle, Jeremy is robbed. The scammer wants to pay for his lemonade with a 100 dollar bill. The young …

The US Senate on Sunday approved a huge package of measures worth 430 billion dollars (more than 422 billion euros). In the years to come, this money will mainly be spent on climate measures. Medicines will also become cheaper and there will be tax advantages for companies with climate-friendly initiatives. The law is officially called the Inflation Reduction Act (law …

PA ONS News•today, 10:58 Ivo Landman online editor Ivo Landman online editor Three cetaceans sailing up the Seine, beaked whales stranded in Zandvoort, Belgium and Denmark, a humpback whale in Vlieland, then about three wandering walruses off Norway and in the Baltic Sea. Every year a few sea mammals get it wrong, but this year it seems like a lot. …

A fire at an oil tank in the Cuban city of Matanzas has injured 121 people, five of whom are in critical condition, authorities said. Seventeen firefighters have disappeared, reports the news agency PA. The fire broke out on Friday evening after a lightning strike in a huge oil tank. The fire then spread to a second tank. Firefighters are …

Reuters ONS News•today, 22:05 At least 77 people have been injured in a fire at an oil storage facility in the Cuban port city of Matanzas. Seventeen firefighters are missing, Cuban authorities said. Extinction work is still in progress. The fire started last night local time when a crude oil tank was struck by lightning. The lightning strike was followed …

The roads to the Dutch’s favorite holiday destinations were busy early this Saturday. Throughout the morning, long traffic jams occurred on the Atlantic coast road, near Lyon, in front of the Mont Blanc tunnel and towards Spain. According to the ANWB, the peak was reached around noon. ANWB spokeswoman Heleen de Geest says it is particularly busy on French roads, …

UPDATEChinese military planes and ships carried out mock attacks on the main island of Taiwan on Saturday morning (local time), the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said. Several groups of planes were sighted and several of them crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. The median line in the strait between China and Taiwan serves as the unofficial boundary between the …

Reuters ONS News•today, 17:43 High-voltage cables were hit in a bombardment at the nuclear power plant near Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Energoatom reported. The plant has been in Russian hands since early March. The pro-Russian administration in the nearby town of Enerhodar says the electricity necessary for the safe operation of the plant has been cut off, according to …