Category: World

BARCELONA: Firefighters in Spain have said they found two bodies after a blaze in the northeast of the country, which is in the midst of a brutal heatwave. The heatwave across Europe this week broke high temperature records, caused the closure of schools and increased the risk of fire. Authorities in Spain’s Catalonia region on… Continue reading Two dead in Spain wildfires as Europe heatwave breaks records

PARIS: After days of record-breaking heatwaves across Europe, relief will start to arrive from the Atlantic on Wednesday, bringing thunderstorms and cooler temperatures to parts of western Europe. Paris hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, but the high will drop to 35C on Wednesday and to 28C on Thursday, Meteo-France forecast. “Our… Continue reading Europe heatwave relief as cooler Atlantic air arrives

SYDNEY: European settlers committed genocide against Australia’s Indigenous people, a truth-telling inquiry in the state of Victoria has found, calling for government redress including financial compensation. In a final report, Victoria’s four-year royal commission said Indigenous people suffered massacres, the forced removal of children from their families, and the suppression of their culture. The findings… Continue reading Victoria inquiry finds genocide against Australia’s Indigenous peoples

SEOUL: North Korea opened a massive resort area on its east coast, state media said Wednesday, with the tourism pet project of leader Kim Jong Un reportedly set to welcome Russian guests this month. Dubbed “North Korea’s Waikiki” by South Korean media, the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area can accommodate nearly 20,000 people, according to… Continue reading North Korea unveils massive beach resort to attract tourists

A cyber hacker broke into a database containing the personal information of millions of customers, Qantas said, in Australia’s biggest breach in years and a setback for an airline rebuilding trust after a reputational crisis. The hacker targeted a call centre and gained access to a third-party customer service platform containing six million names, email… Continue reading Qantas cyber hack exposes 6 million customer accounts in Australia

THE Pentagon has halted some shipments of air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that U.S. stockpiles are too low, two people familiar with the decision said on Tuesday. The slowing of some weapons shipments promised to Kyiv by former President Joe Biden’s administration came in recent days, they said, adding… Continue reading US pauses missile shipments to Ukraine due to low stockpiles

WASHINGTON: The Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia called on Tuesday for the perpetrators of an Islamist militant attack that killed 26 in India-administered Kashmir to be brought to justice without delay. The April 22 attack sparked heavy fighting between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in the latest escalation of a decades-old… Continue reading Quad ministers condemn Kashmir attack, urge justice without naming Pakistan

SYDNEY: Tuvalu, a tiny Pacific nation that scientists predict will be submerged by rising seas, said it is seeking written assurance from the United States that its citizens will not be barred from entry after being apparently mistakenly included in a list of 36 countries facing visa bans. An internal diplomatic cable signed by U.S.… Continue reading Tuvalu seeks US assurance after visa ban list error

ANKARA/BAGHDAD: The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) could start handing over its weapons within days, a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said on Tuesday, the clearest sign yet that efforts to secure the outlawed group’s disarmament may be nearing a breakthrough. Asked by reporters whether there was a timeline for the PKK militants to lay… Continue reading PKK disarmament may begin in days, says Turkey’s AK Party

THE Trump administration said on Tuesday that it was looking into whether CNN could be prosecuted over its report on an Apple iPhone app that alerts users to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their area. The cable news network said its reporting was not illegal. The app ICEBlock is the third most popular free… Continue reading Trump administration probes CNN over migration app coverage

BUENOS AIRES: As Europe and North America swelter through heat waves, people in South America are contending with equally extreme weather at the other end of the spectrum: a sudden cold snap. In Buenos Aires on Tuesday, locals wrapped up in scarves, puffer jackets and wooly hats, and they sipped hot drinks as frost coated… Continue reading South America shivers in cold snap as Europe battles heat waves

WASHINGTON: U.S. Senate Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut and spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement spending while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt. The legislation now heads to the House of… Continue reading US Senate passes Trump tax bill, House battle looms

ISRAEL’S Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to retaliate against Iran-aligned Houthis after his country’s military intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory. “The fate of Yemen is the same as that of Tehran,“ Katz said in a statement, referring to last month’s 12-day conflict during which Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes.… Continue reading Israel threatens retaliation against Houthis after missile interception

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won a vote on his welfare plans on Tuesday at significant political cost as he suffered the biggest parliamentary rebellion of his premiership and was forced to back down on key parts of the package. After his lawmakers pushed him into a series of embarrassing U-turns to sharply scale… Continue reading Starmer wins UK welfare vote but faces major Labour rebellion

PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou survived his latest no-confidence motion in parliament on Tuesday, after far-right National Rally (RN) lawmakers refrained from backing a measure brought by his opponents on the left. The measure garnered 189 votes, falling well short of the threshold needed to oust the government. Despite surviving his eighth no-confidence motion… Continue reading French PM Bayrou survives no-confidence vote as RN holds back

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Senate’s massive budget bill that passed on Tuesday will make it harder to develop wind and solar energy projects, despite the removal of some contentious provisions, industry advocates and lawmakers said. The Senate dropped a proposed excise tax on solar and wind energy projects that don’t meet strict standards after last-minute negotiations… Continue reading US Senate bill impacts renewable energy projects, sparks job loss fears

CAIRO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned in a phone call with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas against what he called the “destructive approach” of several European countries, he said in a statement on Telegram on Tuesday. Araqchi also criticised the stance of some European countries over the recent air war between Israel and… Continue reading Iran criticises European stance on Israel conflict in EU talks

U.S. prosecutors have charged two Chinese nationals with acting as agents of China’s security service, accusing them of gathering intelligence about U.S. Navy bases and trying to identify Navy members willing to spy for Beijing, the Justice Department said on Tuesday. The suspects facilitated a “dead-drop payment” of at least $10,000 in a locker at… Continue reading US charges two Chinese nationals for recruiting military spies

NEW YORK: The New York City Election board on Tuesday confirmed a stunning victory by mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary, clearing the way for the political upstart to be the party’s nominee for the November mayoral election. The ranked-choice voting results released on Tuesday showed Mamdani, who started his campaign as little-known… Continue reading Zohran Mamdani wins Democratic primary for NYC mayor

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he could consider deporting Elon Musk, after the South African-born billionaire slammed his flagship spending bill. Trump also said the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — which Musk headed before stepping down late May — may train its sights on the Tesla and SpaceX founder’s government subsidies. “I… Continue reading Trump says will ‘take a look’ at deporting Musk

NAIROBI: The impact of US aid cuts has already taken a toll in South Sudan and children are dying, Action Against Hunger told AFP on Tuesday. The east African nation has remained deeply poor and unstable since independence in 2011 and is massively dependent on international aid despite its oil wealth. It is among the… Continue reading Children dying in S. Sudan after US aid cuts: NGO

PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was expected on Tuesday to survive a no-confidence vote but his future hangs by a thread after barely half a year in the post. The motion of no-confidence against Bayrou’s government was tabled by the Socialist Party (PS) after the collapse of talks on pension reforms. Bayrou does not… Continue reading French PM set to survive no-confidence motion

LISBON: Portugal recorded its highest-ever single-day temperature in June — 46.6 degrees Celsius — while last month was the hottest in Spain, the countries’ weather services said Tuesday. The IPMA agency said the record temperature — the equivalent of 115.9 degrees Fahrenheit — was registered on Sunday at Mora, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east… Continue reading Temperature records broken in Spain and Portugal

ROME: Italy’s hard-right government has agreed to issue 500,000 visas for non-EU workers over the next three years, but a top trade union warned Tuesday that only structural change would tackle labour shortages. The government of far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said a total of 497,550 workers would be allowed in over the 2026-2028 period,… Continue reading Italy boosts legal work visas, as union says policy falls short

GENEVA: The world will have to learn to live with heatwaves, the United Nations’ weather and climate agency said Tuesday, as much of Europe roasted in high summer temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization said that in future, people could expect heatwaves to occur more often and be more intense because of human-induced climate change. WMO… Continue reading World will have to learn to live with heatwaves: UN

GENEVA: The most senior UN official in Iran said Tuesday the organisation’s humanitarian and development aid budget to the country would need to be doubled following the war with Israel. Stefan Priesner, the UN resident coordinator in Iran, said he hoped the international community would step up with more funding. “We are now doing the… Continue reading UN says Iran aid budget will need to double post-war

MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Tuesday slammed Azerbaijan’s detention of Russian journalists and urged Baku to release them, further escalating a diplomatic rift between the ex-Soviet neighbours. Moscow and Baku been been embroiled in a spat after two ethnic Azerbaijanis died over the weekend following Russian police raids targeted at the diaspora in Yekaterinburg in a… Continue reading Kremlin slams Azerbaijan’s detention of Russian journalists

WARSAW: Poland on Tuesday said it will impose temporary checks from July 7 on its borders with Germany and Lithuania to stop irregular migrants crossing — a sensitive topic in ties with Berlin. “We consider the temporary restoration of controls at the Polish-German border necessary to limit and reduce to a minimum the uncontrolled flows…… Continue reading Poland says to impose checks on German border to stop irregular migrants

LONDON: A 92-year-old British man was on Tuesday jailed for life for a 1967 rape and murder, in the UK’s oldest solved cold case. Ryland Headley, who was convicted of raping and killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne after breaking into her house nearly 60 years ago, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20… Continue reading 92-year-old UK man sentenced to life over 1967 murder

LONDON: British police on Tuesday said they had arrested three senior staff at the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was found to have murdered seven babies, on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Police launched a probe at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) in northwest England in 2023 after Letby was convicted and jailed for… Continue reading UK arrests three in Lucy Letby hospital probe

SULAIMANIYAH: Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party will soon destroy their weapons as a “goodwill gesture” to signal their commitment to disarming after decades of conflict with Turkey, two commanders said. The planned disarmament marks a turning point in the militant group’s transition from armed insurgency to political negotiation, as part of a broader effort… Continue reading Kurdish PKK fighters to destroy weapons in ‘goodwill’ act: commanders

PARIS: Amazon said Tuesday it “applauds” Canada’s decision to scrap its digital services tax in order to salvage trade talks with the United States, calling it a win for the online retailer’s customers. The digital services tax, enacted last year, would have seen US technology giants such as Amazon on the hook for a multibillion-dollar… Continue reading Amazon ‘applauds’ Canada’s scrapping of tech tax

ISTANBUL: Police sealed off the centre of Istanbul on Tuesday to block protesters from rallying at a mosque following allegations a satirical magazine published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed. Police clashed with protesters in the area late Monday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them as they tried to storm a bar… Continue reading Police barricade off Istanbul centre to block cartoon protest

COPENHAGEN: Cuts to global aid budgets spearheaded by the United States could nearly double the number of people forced to flee their homes this year, the Danish Refugee Council warned Tuesday. US President Donald Trump has cut 83 percent of funding for overseas programmes run by development agency USAID, with France, Germany and Britain also… Continue reading US aid cuts may force millions more from homes: Danish NGO

BERLIN: German prosecutors said Tuesday a suspect had been detained in Denmark on suspicion of spying on Jewish organisations and people in Berlin for Iranian intelligence services. The Danish suspect, identified only as Ali S., was arrested in the city of Aarhus by local police on Thursday, the German federal prosecutor’s office said in a… Continue reading Germany says suspect arrested for allegedly spying for Iran

JERUSALEM: A group of 169 aid organisations called for an end to a US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme in Gaza after repeated reports of people being killed while seeking rations. The NGOs urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed in the war-torn territory until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade… Continue reading NGOs urge end to US-backed Gaza aid distribution system