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More than 100,000 people have fled the bloodiest border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in a decade, Bangkok said on Friday (Jul 25), as the death toll rose and international powers urged a halt to hostilities.

A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday.

The Thai interior ministry said more than 100,000 people from four border provinces had been moved to nearly 300 temporary shelters, while the kingdom’s health ministry announced that the death toll had risen to 14 – 13 civilians and one soldier.

In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20km from the border, AFP journalists reported hearing distant artillery fire on Friday morning.

As the guns started up, some families packed their children and belongings into vehicles and sped away.

“I live very close to the border. We are scared because they began shooting again at about 6am,” Pro Bak, 41, told AFP.

He was taking his wife and children to a Buddhist temple to seek refuge.

“I don’t know when we could return home,” he said.

AFP journalists also saw soldiers rushing to man rocket launchers and speeding off towards the frontier.

CALLS FOR CALM
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours – both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists – over their shared 800km frontier.

Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.

A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.

Fighting on Thursday was focused on six locations, according to the Thai army, including around two ancient temples.

Ground troops backed up by tanks battled for control of territory, while Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border.

Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket.

Thursday’s clashes came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine.

Cambodia downgraded ties to “the lowest level” on Thursday, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh.

At the request of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the deadly clashes, diplomatic sources told AFP.

The United States urged an “immediate” end to the conflict, while Cambodia’s former colonial ruler France made a similar call.

The EU and China – a close ally of Phnom Penh – said they were “deeply concerned” about the clashes, calling for dialogue.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-cambodia-border-civilians-flee-clashes-5257761

More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups are warning of mass starvation in Gaza and pressing for governments to take action.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam are among the signatories of a joint statement that says their colleagues and the people they serve are “wasting away”.

Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into the territory, rejected the organisations’ statement and accused them of “serving the propaganda of Hamas”.

Their warning came as Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said another 10 Palestinians had died as a result of malnutrition in the last 24 hours.

That brings the number of such deaths across Gaza since Sunday to 43, according to the ministry.

The UN has reported that hospitals have admitted people in a state of severe exhaustion caused by a lack of food, and that others are collapsing in the streets.

“As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families,” the 109 humanitarian organisations said in the statement published on Wednesday.

“With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.”

Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the armed group to release its remaining Israeli hostages.

Although the blockade was partially eased after almost two months, amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, the shortages of food, medicine and fuel have worsened.

“Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and older people. Illnesses like acute watery diarrhoea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and adults are collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration,” the humanitarian organisations warned.

“An aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children: ‘Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.'”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said its assessments show that a quarter of the population is facing famine-like conditions, and that almost 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and need treatment as soon as possible.

Its director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday: “As you know, mass starvation means starvation of a large proportion of a population, and a large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving.

“I don’t know what you would call it other than mass starvation, and it’s man-made.

“And that’s very clear, this is because of the blockade.”

Dr Ahmad al-Farra, the head of paediatrics at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, told the BBC that no food had been available for three days.

He said children come to his unit going through varying degrees of starvation.

Some were malnourished and died in the hospital’s care, he added. Others came with separate health issues that prevented nutrients from being absorbed by their bodies.

“We were afraid we would reach this critical point – and now we have,” he said.

The shortages of basic supplies has caused prices at local markets to skyrocket and left most families unable to afford to buy anything.

“It’s outrageous – prices are on fire,” one Gaza resident said. “Every day we need 300 shekels ($90; £66.50) just for flour.”

The humanitarian organisations also noted that the UN says it has recorded the killing by the Israeli military of more than 1,050 Palestinians trying to get food since 27 May – the day after the controversial aid distribution mechanism run by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating as an alternative to the UN-led mechanism.

According to the UN human rights office, 766 people have been killed in the vicinity of the GHF’s four aid sites, which are located inside Israeli military zones and operated by US private security contractors. Another 288 people have been killed near UN and other aid convoys.

The Israeli military says its troops deployed near the GHF sites have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians. The GHF says the UN is using “false and misleading” figures from Gaza’s health ministry.

The humanitarian organisations also said almost all of Gaza’s population has been displaced and is now confined to less than 12% of the territory not covered by Israeli evacuation orders or within Israeli militarised zones, making aid operations untenable.

And they said an average of only 28 lorry loads of aid is being distributed in Gaza each day.

“Just outside Gaza, in warehouses – and even within Gaza itself – tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organisations blocked from accessing or delivering them.”

The UN says Israel, as the occupying power, has an obligation under international law to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches all the population in need.

Israel insists it acts in accordance with international law and facilitates the entry of aid while ensuring it does not reach Hamas.

It has acknowledged recently that there has been a significant drop in supplies reaching Palestinians but blamed UN agencies.

Israeli military body Cogat, which co-ordinates the entry of aid into Gaza, wrote on X on Monday that almost 4,500 lorry loads had entered Gaza over the past two months, including 2,500 tonnes of baby food and high-calorie special food for children.

It also published drone footage showing what it said was some of the 950 lorry loads of aid waiting to be collected by the UN and other international organisations on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

“The collection bottleneck remains the main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,” Cogat said.

The UN has repeatedly said it struggles to get the necessary Israeli authorisation to collect incoming supplies with Gazan drivers from inside the crossing points and transport it through military zones.

The ongoing hostilities, badly damaged roads, and severe fuel shortages have exacerbated problems. Criminal looting by armed gangs has also sometimes stopped operations.

The UN has said a major problem in recent weeks has been that it is struggling to get commitments from the Israeli military that desperate Palestinians will not be killed while trying to collect aid from its convoys.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a briefing on Tuesday: “In too many cases where UN teams are permitted by Israel to collect supplies from closed compounds near Gaza’s crossings, civilians approaching these trucks come under fire despite repeated assurances that troops would not engage or be present.”

“This unacceptable pattern is the opposite of what facilitating humanitarian operations should look like. Absolutely no one should have to risk their lives to get food.”

The humanitarian organisations said it is time for governments to “take decisive action”.

“Demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire; lift all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to everyone in all of Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution models; restore a principled, UN-led humanitarian response and continue to fund principled and impartial humanitarian organisations.”

“States must pursue concrete measures to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of weapons and ammunition,” they added.

Israel’s foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the statement, accusing the organisations of “using Hamas’s talking points”.

“These organisations are serving the propaganda of Hamas, using their numbers and justifying their horrors,” it added.

“Instead of challenging the terror organisation, they embrace it as their own.”

The ministry also claimed that they were “harming the chances” of a new ceasefire and hostage release deal, which Israel and Hamas are negotiating at indirect talks in Qatar.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9xkx7vnmxo

For Gundbert Scherf – the co-founder of Germany’s Helsing, Europe’s most valuable defence start-up – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed everything.
Scherf had to fight hard to attract investment after starting his company – which produces military strike drones and battlefield AI – four years ago.

Now, that’s the least of his problems. The Munich-based company more than doubled its valuation to $12 billion at a fundraising last month.

“Europe this year, for the first time in decades, is spending more on defense technology acquisition, than the U.S.,” said Scherf.
The former partner at McKinsey & Company says Europe may be on the cusp of a transformation in defence innovation akin to the Manhattan Project – the scientific push that saw the U.S. rapidly develop nuclear weapons during World War Two.
“Europe is now coming to terms with defense.”
Reuters spoke to two dozens executives, investors and policymakers to examine how Germany – Europe’s largest economy – aims to play a central role in the rearming the continent.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government views AI and start-up technology as key to its defence plans and is slashing bureaucracy to connect startups directly to the upper echelons of its military, the sources told Reuters.

Shaped by the trauma of Nazi militarism and a strong postwar pacifist ethos, Germany long maintained a relatively small and cautious defence sector, sheltered by U.S. security guarantees.
Germany’s business model, shaped by a deep aversion to risk, has also favoured incremental improvements over disruptive innovation.
No more. With U.S. military support now more uncertain, Germany – one of the biggest backers of Ukraine – plans to nearly triple its regular defence budget to around 162 billion euros ($175 billion) per year by 2029.
Much of that money will go into reinventing the nature of warfare, the sources said.
Helsing is part of a wave of German defence start-ups developing cutting-edge technology, from tank-like AI robots and unmanned mini-submarines to battle-ready spy cockroaches.
“We want to help give Europe its spine back,” said Scherf.

Some of these smaller firms are now advising the government alongside established firms – so-called primes such as Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) and Hensoldt (HAGG.DE) – that have less incentive to focus primarily on innovation, given their long backlogs for conventional systems, one of the sources said.
A new draft procurement law, approved by Merz’s cabinet on Wednesday, aims to reduce hurdles for cash-strapped start-ups to join tenders by enabling advance payment to these firms.
The law would also entitle authorities to limit tenders to bidders inside the European Union.
Marc Wietfeld, CEO and founder of autonomous robots maker ARX Robotics, said a recent meeting with German defence minister Boris Pistorius hammered home how deep the rethink in Berlin goes.
“He told me: ‘Money is no longer an excuse – it’s there now’. That was a turning point,” he said.

GERMANY IN THE LEAD

Since Donald Trump’s return to the political stage and his renewed questioning of America’s commitment to NATO, Germany has committed to meet the alliance’s new target of 3.5% of GDP on defense spending by 2029 – faster than most European allies.
Officials in Berlin have emphasized the need to foster a European defence industry rather than rely on U.S. companies. But the hurdles towards scaling up industry champions in Germany – and Europe more broadly – are considerable.
Unlike in the United States, the market is fragmented in Europe. Each country has its own set of procurement standards to fulfill contracts.
The United States, the world’s top military spender, already has an established stable of defence giants, like Lockheed Martin and RTX, and an advantage in key areas, including satellite technology, fighter jets and precise-guided munitions.
Washington also began boosting defence tech startups in 2015 – including Shield AI, drone maker Anduril and software company Palantir – by awarding them parts of military contracts.
European startups until recently languished with little government support.
But an analysis by Aviation Week in May showed Europe’s 19 top defence spenders – including Turkey and Ukraine – were projected to spend 180.1 billion this year on military procurement compared, to 175.6 billion for the United States. Washington’s overall military spending will remain higher.
Hans Christoph Atzpodien, head of Germany’s security and defence sector association BDSV, said one challenge was that the military’s procurement system was geared toward established suppliers and not well suited to the fast pace that new technologies require.
Germany’s defence ministry said in a statement it was taking steps to accelerate procurement and to better integrate startups in order to make new technologies quickly available to the Bundeswehr.
Annette Lehnigk-Emden, head of the armed forces’ powerful procurement agency, highlighted drones and AI as emerging fields that Germany needs to develop.
“The changes they’re bringing to the battlefield are as revolutionary as the introduction of the machine gun, tank, or airplane,” she told Reuters.

SPY COCKROACHES

Sven Weizenegger, who heads up the Cyber Innovation hub, the Bundeswehr’s innovation accelerator, said the war in Ukraine was also changing social attitudes, removing a stigma towards working in the defence sector.
“Germany has developed a whole new openness towards the issue of security since the invasion,” he said.
Weizenegger said he was receiving 20-30 Linkedin requests a day, compared to maybe 2-3 weekly back in 2020, with ideas for defence technology to develop.
Some of the ideas under development feel akin to science fiction – like Swarm Biotactics’ cyborg cockroaches that are equipped with specialised miniature backpacks that enable real-time data collection via cameras for example.
Electrical stimuli should allow humans to control the insects’ movements remotely. The aim is for them to provide surveillance information in hostile environments – for example information about enemy positions.
“Our bio-robots – based on living insects – are equipped with neural stimulation, sensors, and secure communication modules,” said CEO Stefan Wilhelm. “They can be steered individually or operate autonomously in swarms.
In the first half of the 20th century, German scientists pioneered many military technologies that became global standards, from ballistic missiles to jet aircraft and guided weapons. But following its defeat in World War II, Germany was demilitarized and its scientific talent was dispersed.
Wernher von Braun, who invented the first ballistic missile for the Nazis, was one of hundreds of German scientists and engineers transported to the United States in the wake of World War II, where he later worked at NASA and developed the rocket that took Apollo spacecraft to the Moon.
In recent decades, defence innovation has been a powerful driver of economic progress. Tech like the internet, GPS, semiconductors and jet engines originated in military research programs before transforming civilian life.
Hit by high energy prices, a slowdown in demand for its exports and competition from China, Germany’s $4.75 trillion economy contracted over the last two years. Expanding military research could provide an economic fillip.
“We just need to get to this mindset: a strong defense industrial base means a strong economy and innovation on steroids,” said Markus Federle, managing partner at defence-focused investment firm Tholus Capital.

ESCAPING ‘THE VALLEY OF DEATH’

Risk aversion among European investors had in the past disadvantaged startups, which struggled to get the capital they need to survive the ‘valley of death’ – the critical early stage when costs are high and sales low.
But a boost in defence spending by European governments following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has investors looking for opportunities.
Europe now boasts three start-ups with a unicorn valuation of more than $1 billion: Helsing, German drone maker Quantum Systems, and Portugal’s Tekever, which also manufactures drones.
“There’s a lot of pressure now on Germany being the lead nation of the European defense,” said Sven Kruck, Quantum’s chief strategy officer.
Germany has become Ukraine’s second-biggest military backer after the United States. Orders that might once have taken years to approve now take months and European startups have had the opportunity to test their products quickly in the field, several sources said.
Venture capital funding of European defence tech hit $1 billion in 2024, up from a modest $373 million in 2022, and is expected to surge even more this year.
“Society has recognized that we have to defend our democracies,” said Christian Saller, general partner at HV Capital, an investor in both ARX and Quantum Systems.
Venture capital funding has grown faster in Germany than elsewhere, according to a data analysis by Dealroom for Reuters. German defence startups have received $1.4 billion in the last five years from investors, followed by UK, the data shows.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/spy-cockroaches-ai-robots-germany-plots-future-warfare-2025-07-23/

President Donald Trump announced a trade framework with Japan on Tuesday, placing a 15% tax on goods imported from that nation.

“This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States “will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.”

The president said Japan would invest “at my direction” $550 billion into the U.S. and would “open” its economy to American autos and rice. The 15% tax on imported Japanese goods is a meaningful drop from the 25% rate that Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied starting Aug. 1.

Early Wednesday, Ishiba acknowledged the new trade agreement, saying it would benefit both sides and help them work together.

With the announcement, Trump is seeking to tout his ability as a dealmaker — even as his tariffs, when initially announced in early April led to a market panic and fears of slower growth that for the moment appear to have subsided. Key details remained unclear from his post, such as whether Japanese-built autos would face a higher 25% tariff that Trump imposed on the sector.

But the framework fits a growing pattern for Trump, who is eager to portray the tariffs as win for the U.S. His administration says the revenues will help reduce the budget deficit and more factories will relocate to America to avoid the import taxes and cause trade imbalances to disappear.

The wave of tariffs continues to be a source of uncertainty about whether it could lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses if companies simply pass along the costs. The problem was seen sharply Tuesday after General Motors reported a 35% drop in its net income during the second quarter as it warned that tariffs would hit its business in the months ahead, causing its stock to tumble.

As the Aug. 1 deadline for the tariff rates in his letters to world leaders is approaching, Trump also announced a trade framework with the Philippines that would impose a tariff of 19% on its goods, while American-made products would face no import taxes. The president also reaffirmed his 19% tariffs on Indonesia.

The U.S. ran a $69.4 billion trade imbalance on goods with Japan last year, according to the Census Bureau.

America had a trade imbalance of $17.9 billion with Indonesia and an imbalance of $4.9 billion with the Philippines. Both nations are less affluent than the U.S. and an imbalance means America imports more from those countries than it exports to them.

The president is set to impose the broad tariffs listed in his recent letters to other world leaders on Aug. 1, raising questions of whether there will be any breakthrough in talks with the European Union. At a Tuesday dinner, Trump said the EU would be in Washington on Wednesday for trade talks.

“We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day,” Trump told guests.

The president earlier this month sent a letter threatening the 27 member states in the EU with 30% taxes on their goods to be imposed starting on Aug. 1.

The Trump administration has a separate negotiating period with China that is currently set to run through Aug. 12 as goods from that nation are taxed at an additional 30% baseline.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would be in the Swedish capital of Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterparts. Bessent said his goal is to shift the American economy away from consumption and to enable more consumer spending in the manufacturing-heavy Chinese economy.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-japan-indonesia-philippines-6e1829cb570d945d13c00f07059a41d4

A volcanic cloud has lingered over much of Iceland since last week’s eruption, with experts on Monday (July 21) blaming the unusual lack of wind.

Two craters on the Reykjanes peninsula began spewing sulphur-rich gas on Wednesday, creating a thick haze that has pushed the capital Reykjavik and the country’s southwest into a red alert for pollution, the highest level on Iceland’s scale.

“Volcanic eruptions normally cause air pollution, mainly from sulphur dioxide emissions,” said Hylnur Arnason of the Icelandic Energy and Environment Agency. “The gas becomes sulfate in the atmosphere, creating a volcanic fog.”

“It’s completely misty in large parts of the country,” he told reporters. “Usually in Iceland we have lots of wind, which would carry the pollution away, but right now we don’t. Now it’s kind of just sitting over the whole country.”

Arnason said the gas was not toxic but could cause irritation. The environment agency has advised vulnerable people to stay indoors and take precautions.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/oasis-coldplay-astronomer-5250896

A China-made F-7 training jet of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed into a school in Dhaka, killing 20 people and injuring 171 others. A one-day state mourning was declared on Tuesday.

At least 20 people were killed and 171 others injured after a training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed into a school building in Dhaka on Monday. The China-made F-7 jet crashed into the Milestone School and College building in Dhaka’s Uttara area.

The crash happened when classes were underway. Television footage showed fire and plumes of black smoke billowing from the site of the crash as rescue personnel rushed to carry the injured to six hospitals.

“Bangladesh Air Force’s F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed in Uttara. The aircraft took off at 13:06 (0706 GMT),” the military’s public relations department said in a statement.

Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure, Reuters reported. Dr Md Sayedur Rahman, Special Assistant Professor for Health to the Chief Advisor, said 48 people were in critical condition.

Visuals showed students, some of them with burn injuries and bleeding profusely, running helter-skelter amid chaos.

“A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital,” said Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, where some victims were taken.

With ambulances not readily available, eyewitnesses said Army personnel rescued the injured students in their arms and took them to hospitals in rickshaw vans and other vehicles.

“To deal with the accident and avoid major damage, the pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Md Taukir Islam, made every effort to take the aircraft from a densely populated area to a sparsely populated area. But unfortunately, the aircraft crashed in a two-story building of Milestone School and College in Diabari, Dhaka,” Bangladesh’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

“All the injured are being quickly shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and nearby hospitals with the help of Air Force helicopters and ambulances. Bangladesh Air Force is deeply shocked by the unfortunate accident and is actively providing all-round assistance to the injured including providing all-round treatment,” it added.

A high-level investigation committee of the Air Force was formed to find out the cause of the accident.

College teachers and staff carried out the initial rescue efforts before being joined by the army and fire department officials. A teacher said the plane crashed into the front side of a three-storey school building, trapping several students.

The Daily Star reported that over 30 people were admitted to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Others were taken to nearby hospitals.

MUHAMMAD YUNUS REACTS

Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus said the government would investigate the cause of the accident and ensure all forms of assistance.

“The loss suffered by the Air Force, students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others, in this accident is irreparable. This is a moment of deep sorrow for the nation,” he said.

Yunus’s advisor Asif Nazrul said they were informed by medical authorities that all necessary preparations for medical treatment were completed. He said doctors would be brought from abroad to treat the injured if necessary.

“We will definitely investigate why the tragic accident happened. We have been informed by the Hospital Authority National Burn Unit that they have completed all the necessary preparations for medical treatment. If necessary, the doctors will take our students who are injured in the burn unit abroad. There will be no shortage in our medical rehabilitation,” Nazrul said.

“We have declared a national day of mourning tomorrow. The flag will be at half-mast and our chief advisor is getting updates. We will all stand by those who are injured and those who are in critical condition. We will take all measures for their treatment,” he added.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/bangladesh-air-force-aircraft-crashes-on-school-building-in-dhaka-during-training-sortie-many-feared-dead-2758970-2025-07-21

The next heat wave has been forecast in Germany. How is a country known for its lack of air conditioning preparing?

This summer has seen some hot days in Germany. Very hot. In early July, temperatures in Hamburg and Cologne soared to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 F). Some areas recorded temperatures close to 40 C.

In earlier years, such temperatures were not typically recorded until early August — a development that experts attribute to climate change. On radio, television and social media, people were urged to stay at home, especially during the middle of the day.

During that heat wave, DW asked people on the streets of Berlin how they prepared. A young woman showed the small fan she had with her, saying: “In the end I have this thing here.”

Another woman said: “I try to cool off. I drink a lot but still try to enjoy the sun.”

A man said: “I have my hat, drink a lot of water and walk in the shade.”

In 2025 so far, temperatures have been extremely high for only short stretches, not over long periods. What can authorities do to better protect people from extreme heat? DW asked spokespeople from federal ministries in Berlin whether the government is planning any new measures following the first heat wave in early July.

“It is up to state-level and local authorities to take action,” Health Ministry spokesperson Sabine Grüneberg said. “We are responsible for informing people.”

She referred residents to the website hitzeservice.de, which contains comprehensive information, including advice specific for elderly people and people with illnesses. The website started in 2023, though other countries such as France have had similar services for much longer.

Wildfires in eastern Germany
The Interior Ministry said the army was always prepared to help — especially with forest fires. Soldiers were involved in the aerial effort to fight massive wildfires in Saxony and Brandenburg, with water dumped from helicopters.

There, firefighters, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief and local residents were able to avoid the worst on July 1. The Ghorischheide area of northern Saxony was especially affected. An area of about 2,100 hectares burned for days and some homes had to be evacuated as a precaution.

The federal government’s NINA app also provides warnings of such fires. It has been used by 12 million people since it was developed 10 years ago. It contains current information and warnings about floods and weather conditions, including heat waves. Recently, it has added warnings from the police.

Doctors warn against trivializing hot weather
In hospitals, elderly care facilities and homeless shelters, workers are even busier than usual on hot days, ensuring that people have enough water and, above all, protection from the sun.

“Such a heat wave should not be underestimated,” Peter Bobbert, president of the Berlin Medical Association, told DW. “We all need to actively protect ourselves: avoid hot places in the city, drink enough — and above all care for people who are not able to protect themselves.”

High temperatures do not only reduce people’s concentration and performance. Doctors like Bobbert warn that heat can lead to heart and circulatory failure — which can be deadly for people who are ill or elderly.

According to the German consumer comparison website Verivox, in 2023 there was air conditioning in 13% of German homes. Last year, the rate was 19%. Currently, demand is lower again, which experts attribute to Germany’s high electricity prices. Air conditioning is, however, still lacking in hospitals, care facilities and schools.

It is very difficult for road construction workers to avoid the heat — as seen in the big heat wave of early July in Munich. One worker described how he and his colleagues normally lay about 100 meters (328 feet) of new road surface per day. During the heatwave, that reduced by half.

“We drink enough,” civil engineer Charikleia Kagiaoglo said. “We take a lot of breaks and make ourselves as comfortable as we can on the building site.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/how-germany-manages-extreme-heat-and-climate-change/a-73227923

In the final four minutes of the doomed flight, power to the aircraft’s flight recorders was cut off – initially obstructing the investigation

THE pilots of the doomed South Korean plane switched off the wrong engine after flying into birds before crashing, investigators have said.

The crash at Muan International Airport on December 29 killed 179 people after the plane did an emergency landing, hit a concrete slab at the end of the runway, and exploded into a fireball.

Officials took back copies of the interim findings from reporters after grieving relatives of victims killed in the crash disrupted a news conference of Saturday.

They accused them of prematurely blaming the pilots for the devastating crash.

Prior to the media event, investigators told relatives and their representatives that they had concluded that there was no engine defect on the plane.

They added that various errors by the pilots had led them to land the aircraft too quickly, without the wheels being down.

Preliminary findings confirmed the conclusions that aviation experts had reached from the plane’s final path, as well as horror video footage captured from the fatal crash.

In the final four minutes of the doomed flight, power to the aircraft’s flight recorders was cut off – initially obstructing the investigation.

After going into the flock of birds, one of the engines failed – while the other continued to produce a bit of power.

Investigators revealed: “A pilot may have mistakenly turned off the engine.”

While an official told South Korea’s MBN TV news: “The pilot should have turned off the right engine, which was severely damaged by the bird strike, but he turned off the left engine, which was spinning, and the black box and power went out.”

The pilots then ignored standard procedure for continuing of landing after a bird strike on approach.

They are said to have climbed back up before performing unorthodox manoeuvres and turning to make a rushed landing in the opposite direction – on the same runway.

As the heartbroken families of victims entered the media briefing, officials were quick to take copies of the report back from reporters, explaining how it hadn’t been officially issued.

A man was heard shouting: “They’ve just blamed it all on the pilots.”

Head of the relatives’ group Kim Yu-jin slammed the report as being unsatisfactory.

She said: “When investigators take a position, it should be accompanied by documents that support their position and convince the bereaved family that their conclusions are inevitable.

“We were only given their conclusions.

“We have repeatedly asked them to be careful about these disclosures because the way that the results of the investigation are communicated can have an impact on the compensation that families receive.”

The packed jet – Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 – was carrying 181 people from Bangkok, Thailand.

Firefighters said two of the six crew members, one man and one woman, survived after being pulled from the tail of the plane.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/14767718/korean-plane-engine-failure-crash/

US President Donald Trump on Monday stepped up his attack on Barack Obama by posting an AI-generated video of the FBI arresting the former President in the Oval Office.

US President Donald Trump on Monday stepped up his attack on Barack Obama by posting an AI-generated video of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arresting the former President in the Oval Office.

The video, posted on Truth Social, begins with Obama saying, “especially the President is above the law”. It then features many US politicians stating, “no one is above the law.” The clip then switches to an AI-generated video of Obama being handcuffed by two FBI agents in the same office he once occupied as the President. Trump can be seen sitting and smiling during the “arrest”.

The fake video ends with Obama standing inside jail, wearing the prison’s orange jumpsuit.

Trump did not issue a disclaimer for the video being fictional – a move reportedly slammed by critics, who called him “deeply irresponsible.”

This comes weeks after Trump accused Obama of a “high-level election fraud”.

Last week, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed that she has “striking” and “overwhelming” evidence of ex-Obama officials allegedly manufacturing the Trump-Russia collusion theory after the 2016 election to prevent Trump’s presidency. She called for a trial of the former Obama administration.

“Americans will finally learn the truth about how in 2016, intelligence was politicised and weaponised by the most powerful people in the Obama administration to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Donald Trump, subverting the will of the American people and undermining our democratic republic,” she wrote on X.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/donald-trump-posts-ai-video-of-barack-obamas-arrest-no-one-is-above-law-8913868?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

A MAN who died after being sucked into an MRI machine was brought into the room by a technician before the horror accident, his wife revealed.

Keith McAllister, 61, was dragged into the machine by his necklace during his wife’s scan – and suffered catastrophic injuries before dying the next day.

His wife, Adrienne Jones-McAllister, told News 12 Long Island about the harrowing ordeal which unfolded on Wednesday afternoon.

She said her partner entered the MRI room at Nassau Open MRI in Long Island while a scan on her knee was underway.

Adrienne asked the technician to bring her husband in as she needed his help getting up off the table.

He was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck – which turned into a “torpedo” and caused him to be pulled of his feet and into the machine.

Adrienne said she saw the scanning device suddenly “snatch him” as he approached her.

The heartbroken patient said: “He went limp in my arms, and this is still pulsating in my brain.”

She recalled saying: “Could you turn off the machine, call 911, do something, Turn this damn thing off!”

The technician seemingly allowed Adrienne’s husband into the room – despite the fact he was wearing a 20-pound chain.

His wife said that he used it regularly for weight training.

And she revealed that it was not the first time the pair had visited Nassau Open MRI – and even claimed that the staff member had previously discussed Keith’s huge chain.

She said: “That was not the first time that guy has seen that chain. They had a conversation about it before.”

And she revealed that they had previously made casual comments about the accessory, saying things like: “Ooooooh, that’s a big chain!”

Keith was then rushed to hospital with critical injuries – but after suffering several heart attacks he died the next day, police said.

New York’s Department of Health said it was reviewing the incident.

It said: “MRI facilities in NY are not regulated as part of diagnostic and treatment centers, so are therefore not subject to routine inspections.”

MRI machines use powerful magnets that can pull in metal objects – and this makes it unsafe to bring metal of any kind near the machine.

And the magnetic field is always on – meaning even small objects can cause accidents.

Dr. Payal Sud, a doctor from North Shore University Hospital, told CBS: “The dangers [of not following protocol] could be catastrophic and it underscores why we have all the safety precautions in place.

“If this was a chain that was wrapped around the neck, I could imagine any kind of strangulation injuries that could happen. Asphyxiation, cervical spine injuries.”

Charles Winterfeldt, the hospital’s director of imaging services, said: “It [the necklace] would act like a torpedo trying to get into the middle of the center of the magnet.”

North Shore says that MRI machines can pose a particular danger to people with oxygen tanks, in wheelchairs or those even wearing magnetic jewelry.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14760353/man-dies-mri-machine-metal-necklace/

More than 100 people protesting the decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terror group have been arrested across the UK.

Demonstrations in support of the pro-Palestine activist group took place in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol and Truro on Saturday.

The Met Police said 55 people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action, at the largest of the demonstrations in Westminster.

The government proscribed the group earlier this month under the Terrorism Act of 2000, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence, following a break-in at an RAF base.

Across the country, protesters held placards with the words: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

In London, arrests were made near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, where as many as 20 police vans attended.

Officers moved in swiftly to arrest those holding the placards, many of whom appeared to be over the age of 60.

One woman claimed to be in her 80s and was walking with a stick. Some were led away while others had to be carried.

Avon and Somerset Police said 17 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act after a demonstration on College Green in Bristol.

It said a further three people would be invited to attend a voluntary interview at a future date.

Devon and Cornwall Police said two men and six women were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after protesters gathered near Truro Cathedral.

The force said around 30 people were involved in the peaceful demonstration, organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries.

Earlier, the campaign group said that one of those arrested near the cathedral was an 81-year-old former magistrate.

Greater Manchester Police said it arrested 16 people on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation, and that they remained in custody for questioning.

Police Scotland said officers in Edinburgh attended after the force was made aware of images online showing people holding placards in support of Palestine Action in Edinburgh’s Parliament Square area.

However, a spokesperson said no arrests were made as the protesters had gone by the time officers arrived. Enquiries are ongoing.

There were also no arrests at a separate pro-Palestinian protest in the city, the force added.

Separately, a march organised by the Palestine Coalition took place in London on Saturday.

The Met said 10 people had been arrested so far at that demonstration, including nine suspected of supporting Palestine Action.

Saturday’s protests came ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday at which the co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for permission to challenge the decision to ban the group.

Last Saturday, 71 arrests were made across the UK at similar protests against the decision.

Palestine Action has engaged in activities that have predominantly targeted arms companies since the start of the current war in Gaza.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20rvdexj8jo

Pope Leo XIV declared the 2007 recovery of an ailing premature baby at a Rhode Island hospital a miracle, crediting a physician’s prayer with saving the baby’s life, the Vatican announced.

Little Tyquan Hall, who was born via emergency cesarean section, suffered from oxygen deprivation, was pale, cyanotic, and barely had a pulse — and doctors did not expect him to survive, according to the Diocese of Almeria.

In a desperate plea, attending physician Dr. Juan Sanchez, a native of Huercal-Overa, Spain, prayed for the miraculous intercession of the region’s patron, 19th century Father Valera Parra, WJAR reported.

A few minutes after the faithful prayer the child’s heart began to beat normally without medical intervention.

Despite the scientifically inexplicable recovery, Tyquan was expected to have serious neurological damage due to the severe lack of oxygen in his first hours of his life.

Tyquan, however, grew up strong and hit all of his developmental milestones — including speaking at 18 months and walking at 2 years, according to WJAR.

The miracle intercession declared by Pope Leo indicates that Father Valera Parra could be on the path to sainthood.

Reverend Timothy Reilly of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, celebrated the official declaration.

“We are thrilled that this recognition will move the cause of beatification and canonization forward for Venerable Servant of God Salvador Valera Parra,” Reilly said in a statement reported by WJAR.

“The cool thing is, the more you think about the miracle itself, Father Valera lives in the 19th century. He never came to the U.S. We have no knowledge of him coming here. Never came to Rhode Island,” Reilly said.

“And yet, because the doctor called out and called upon his name for help in the situation back in ‘07 on behalf of that little baby, he decided to intervene and ask God for a miracle,” the reverend concluded, according to the outlet.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/us-news/pope-leo-xiv-declares-a-miracle-at-a-rhode-island-hospital-says-dying-baby-was-saved-by-a-prayer/

Over 200 Venezuelans who were deported from the United States on allegations of gang membership earlier this year and detained in an El Salvador jail arrived home to Caracas on Friday.
The release was part of a coordinated prisoner exchange, with 10 Americans held in Venezuela returned to the United States, officials from all three countries said.

In a post on X, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said the Americans were en route to El Salvador from where they would continue “their journey home,” while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the release of “ten Americans who were detained in Venezuela.” He thanked Bukele for his help in securing the agreement.

Venezuela’s government said 252 Venezuelans held in El Salvador had been freed. President Nicolas Maduro celebrated the arrival of two airplanes carrying them near Caracas on Friday evening.
The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the United States in March after U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without going through normal immigration procedures. They were held in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT maximum security prison.
The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and a legal battle with the Trump administration over allegations that due process was not followed.

Family members of many of the Venezuelans and their lawyers deny they had gang ties, and say they were not given a chance to contest the Trump administration’s allegations in court.
“I can’t believe it,” said Angie Rios, the U.S. citizen wife of Venezuelan CECOT detainee Jesus Rios after seeing Bukele’s X post about the release. “I have chills all over my body.”
Some family members of Venezuelan CECOT prisoners told Reuters they expected to greet their loved ones from a distance before the men are processed by Venezuelan authorities.
The government has said all the men will receive a full medical check and then be released to go home. It says only seven of them have a serious criminal record.

POLITICAL PRISONERS

The shuttered U.S. embassy in Caracas shared a photo on X of 10 men waving American flags alongside U.S. Charge d’Affaires John McNamara, who is based in Bogota. A press representative said the photo was taken in Caracas. A later photo showed the men onboard a plane.

Senior U.S. officials also said 80 domestic political prisoners in Venezuela would be freed, although the Venezuelan government referred only to “alternative” detention measures in its statement.
Former opposition governor and politician Williams Davila, arrested in August of last year, was released on Friday, said Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, while an NGO for political prisoners published a list of 14 others they said had been released.
Separately, Venezuela hailed the return of seven migrant children who had been separated from their parents in the United States. The children were among another batch of Venezuelans who returned from the U.S. on a regular deportation flight.
Venezuela’s government has always decried the detention of its citizens as a violation of human rights and international law. But the government’s critics say the country holds activists and opposition figures in similar conditions in Venezuela.

The U.S. Alien Enemies Act is best known for being used to intern and deport people of Japanese, German and Italian descent during World War Two.
Trump’s use of the act kicked off a major legal standoff in the U.S. that tested the balance of power between the president and the judiciary, a co-equal branch of government to the executive.
Much of the legal battle focused on whether the Trump administration had violated a court order by declining to turn around the planes carrying the Venezuelans to El Salvador, despite a judge’s directive to halt the deportations.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-sends-detained-venezuelans-home-swap-americans-2025-07-18/

United States President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with a common, benign vein condition, the White House said on Thursday (Jul 17), following speculation about his heavily bruised hand and swollen legs.

The 79-year-old, who in January became the oldest person ever to assume the presidency, was found to have “chronic venous insufficiency”, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

The widely noted discolouration on Trump’s right hand, meanwhile, was “tissue irritation from frequent handshaking” and the use of aspirin as part of a standard cardiovascular treatment, she said.

Presidential physician Sean Barbabella said Trump “remains in excellent health” despite the condition, in a letter released by the White House.

The Republican frequently boasts of his good health and energy levels while the administration recently even posted an image depicting him as Superman.

Trump has alleged that Democrats covered up the mental and physical decline of his predecessor, Joe Biden, who was 82 when he left office in January.

Now, Trump, who said after undergoing a routine medical check-up that he was in “very good shape”, has been forced to answer questions about his own health.

Leavitt’s revelations follow widespread online discussions about the president’s visibly swollen ankles, seen in particular at the recent FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey, and a bruised hand that often appeared to be covered with makeup.

“In recent weeks, President Trump noted mild swelling in his lower legs,” Leavitt said, adding that he was examined by White House doctors “out of an abundance of caution”.

Ultrasound tests “revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70”.

The condition involves damaged leg veins that fail to keep blood flowing properly.

Leavitt said Trump had asked her to share the diagnosis “in the effort of transparency”.

“PRETTY COMMON”

Dr Matt Heinz, an internist and hospitalist from Tucson, Arizona, told AFP that chronic venous insufficiency is “pretty common”, especially in older adults. It results from vein valves becoming less effective.

“It comes with age, gravity, and obesity doesn’t help if that’s a condition that people suffer from. I know the president’s been losing some weight, though, so I think that’s probably a little better,” he said.

The White House pressed home its message that the condition did not pose a serious risk to Trump, saying that “importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease”.

Trump had “normal cardiac structure and function, no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness”, added Leavitt.

Of the hand bruising issue, Leavitt said: “This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.”

For months, however, the White House had previously dismissed questions about Trump’s bruised hand, saying that it was purely down to handshaking.

The health of US presidents has always been closely watched, but with the White House seeing its two oldest ever occupants since 2017, the scrutiny is now heavier than ever.

Biden’s health was a key issue in the 2024 election, and the then-president was forced to drop his campaign for a second term after a disastrous debate performance against Trump.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have issued subpoenas to several Biden aides, including his doctor, to get them to testify in an investigation into the Democrat’s mental fitness.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-diagnosed-common-vein-condition-hand-discolouration-swollen-ankles-us-5244376

Rice prices in Japan soared 99.2 per cent in June year-on-year, official data showed Friday (Jul 18), piling further pressure on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of elections this weekend.

Public support for Ishiba’s administration has tumbled to its lowest level since he took office in October, partly because of frustration over the cost of living.

One of the main sources of anger has been inflation and in particular the surging cost of rice, as well as scandals within the ruling party.

The price of the grain already rocketed 101 per cent year-on-year in May, having jumped 98.4 per cent in April and more than 92.5 per cent in March.

Overall, Japan’s core inflation rate slowed to 3.3 per cent in June from 3.7 per cent in May, the data from the internal affairs ministry showed.

The reading, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, was slightly below market expectations of 3.4 per cent.

Excluding energy and also fresh food, consumer prices rose 3.4 per cent, compared with 3.3 per cent in May.

Opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s election suggest the ruling coalition may lose its majority in the upper house.

This could force Ishiba to resign after less than a year in office.

In October, his coalition was deprived of a majority in the powerful lower house.

It was the worst election result in 15 years for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955.

TARIFF PRESSURE

Ishiba is under additional pressure to reach a trade deal with the United States before new tariffs of 25 per cent take effect on Aug 1.

Japan’s important auto imports into the world’s biggest economy are already subject to painful levies, as are steel and aluminium.

US President Donald Trump wants to get Japanese firms to manufacture more in the US, and Tokyo to buy more US goods – notably gas and oil, cars and rice – to reduce the US$70 billion trade deficit with the Asian powerhouse.

Ishiba, who has sent his trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa to Washington seven times to try and broker a deal, was due to host US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday.

Akazawa was also set to join the talks, and travel with Bessent to visit the World Expo in Osaka on Saturday, the Japanese government said.

The Bank of Japan has been tightening monetary policy since last year as inflation crept up but worries about the impact of US tariffs on the world’s number four economy has forced it to take a slower approach.

Factors behind the rising price of rice include shortages due to an intensely hot and dry summer two years ago that damaged harvests nationwide.

Since then, some traders have been hoarding rice in a bid to boost their profits down the line, experts say.

The issue was made worse by panic buying last year prompted by a government warning about a potential “megaquake” that did not strike.

The government has taken the rare step of releasing its emergency stockpile since February, which it typically only ever did during disasters.

“Policy flip-flops, delayed pass-through from producer to consumer prices, and yen depreciation will keep price pressures elevated in the near term,” said Stefan Angrick at Moody’s Analytics.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-rice-prices-double-pressure-pm-ishiba-5244941

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (Jul 16) he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, even as he unleashed a fresh round of criticism against the central bank chief for not lowering interest rates and declined to completely reject the possibility of ousting him.

A Bloomberg report earlier on Wednesday that the president is likely to fire Powell soon sparked a drop in stocks and the dollar, and a rise in Treasury yields.

Trump, who criticises Powell on an almost daily basis for being “TOO LATE” to cut interest rates, said the report wasn’t true, but confirmed he had floated the idea with Republican lawmakers on Tuesday evening, marking the latest chapter in an escalating campaign of pressure by Trump against the independent central bank and its embattled chief.

“I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud,” Trump said, a reference to recent White House and Republican lawmaker criticism of cost overruns in the US$2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s historic headquarters in Washington.

There has been no evidence of fraud, and the Fed has pushed back on criticism of its handling of the project.

Treasury yields pared declines and stocks ended the day up after Trump’s comments, which also included the familiar complaint that Powell is a “terrible” chair for keeping the Fed’s short-term policy rate in the 4.25 per cent – 4.50 per cent range since December while the central bank assesses the impact of sharply higher tariffs on inflation.

Trump blames the Fed for higher long-term rates that increase the cost of US government borrowing, and his attacks on Powell have continued since his Jul 4 signing the “Big Beautiful Bill” tax and spending Bill that independent analysts say will add trillions of dollars to the US deficit.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who opposed that Bill and has since said he would not run for re-election, delivered a spirited defence of an independent Fed, which economists say is the linchpin of US financial and price stability.

In an interview with the Real America’s Voice network that aired later on Wednesday, Trump said he would love for Powell to resign but acknowledged that many have said it would disrupt the markets if the president were to remove him.

“I’d love if he wants to resign, that would be up to him. They say it would disrupt the market if I did,” said the US president.

“HUGE MISTAKE”

“There’s been some talk about potentially firing the Fed chair,” said Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee that oversees the Fed and confirms presidential nominations to its Board.

Subjecting the Fed to direct presidential control would be a “huge mistake”, he said.

“The consequences of firing a Fed Chair, just because political people don’t agree with that economic decision, will be to undermine the credibility of the US going forward, and I would argue if it happens you are going to see a pretty immediate response, and we’ve got to avoid that,” said Tillis.

Asked if it would be a problem for Trump to fire Powell, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters: “My understanding is he doesn’t have any intention of doing that.”

“President Trump’s own analysis and that of his Treasury Secretary is that he cannot fire Jay Powell,” House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill told CNBC earlier on Wednesday.

Powell, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by Democratic President Joe Biden four years later, has repeatedly said he intends to serve out his term that goes through May 15, 2026.

A recent Supreme Court opinion has solidified a long-standing interpretation of the law that the Fed chair cannot be fired over policy differences but only “for cause”.

RENOVATIONS AT THE FED

Last week, the White House appeared to try to lay the groundwork for that when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, sent Powell a letter saying Trump was “extremely troubled” by the renovations of two Fed buildings.

Powell responded by asking the US central bank’s inspector general to review the project, and the central bank posted a “frequently asked questions” factsheet, which rebutted some of Vought’s assertions about VIP dining rooms and elevators that he said added to the costs.

“Nobody is fooled by President Trump and Republicans’ sudden interest in building renovations – it’s clear pretext to fire Fed Chair Powell,” Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee and herself a longtime critic of Powell, posted on X.

Warren was the committee’s only member to vote against Powell’s renomination to chair in 2022.

Fed policymakers are worried that, with 40-year-high inflation only recently in the rear-view mirror, any bump up in inflation coupled with a too-early cut to short-term borrowing costs could ignite expectations that inflation is back, a potentially self-fulfilling prophecy that could weaken the economy and undermine progress on price stability.

Analysts said they feared the pressure campaign on Powell would continue, with deleterious effects on the Fed’s ability to do its congressionally mandated job of keeping prices stable and to maximise employment.

“Any reduction in the independence of the Fed would likely add upside risks to an inflation outlook that is already subject to upward pressures from tariffs and somewhat elevated inflation expectations,” wrote JP Morgan chief US economist Michael Feroli, who said he doubts the “saga” of the president’s repeated threats to remove Powell is over with.

He and others noted that continued pressure on Powell would likely push up longer-term interest rates as investors demand more protection from the risk of higher inflation, making US government borrowing more, not less, expensive.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-not-planning-fire-powell-interest-rates-us-5241976

Taipei is due to come to a standstill as the capital of Taiwan holds one of its largest-ever civil defence exercises against a possible Chinese invasion.

Air raid sirens will ring out across the metropolitan area on Thursday, and in some areas residents must seek shelter indoors, while traffic will grind to a halt. The city will also hold mass evacuation drills and mass casualty event rehearsals.

The exercise is held in conjunction with Taiwan’s largest ever war games – the annual Han Kuang exercises – as the island increasingly ramps up its defences.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to “reunify” with the island.

Tensions have increased since last year when Taiwan elected its president William Lai, whom China reviles as a “separatist”.

While previous Han Kuang exercises also had civil defence components, this year authorities have combined them in a single Urban Resilience exercise across the island which began on Tuesday and ends on Friday.

Each day of the exercise sees air raid sirens ringing out for half an hour in several cities across Taiwan.

Residents in designated areas in each city must shelter indoors – or risk incurring a fine – and all shops and restaurants must pause operations. Road traffic must also come to a stop, with drivers required to pull over and head indoors immediately.

In Taipei, emergency workers and volunteers will take part in evacuations of a market and temple, schools, subway stations and highways.

They will also hold a mock mass casualty event and practise their response in treating the injured, and set up distribution points for emergency supplies.

This week’s Urban Resilience exercise is the latest civil defence drill Taiwan has held this year as it tries to prepare its cities for possible attacks and raise its population’s defence awareness.

While US officials have warned of an imminent threat from China and that President Xi Jinping wants his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027, most Taiwanese remain sceptical that an actual invasion will take place.

One poll done last October by a government-linked think tank, the Institute for National Defence and Security Research (INDSR), found that more than 60% of Taiwanese do not believe China will invade in the next five years.

“The chances of China invading are low. If they really wanted to invade us, they would have done it long ago,” said Ben, a 29-year-old finance professional interviewed by the BBC in Taipei on Wednesday.

“But I do believe we need these drills, every country needs it and you need to practise your defence… I believe there is still a threat from China.”

But a few were sceptical.

“There is just too big a difference in the strengths of China and Taiwan’s militaries,” said Mr Xue, a 48-year-old office worker. “There is no use defending ourselves against an attack.”

The IDSR poll had found that only half of Taiwan’s population had confidence in their armed forces’ capability to defend the island.

It is a long-running sentiment that has spurred the Taiwanese government in recent years to beef up its military and expand Han Kuang.

More than 22,000 soldiers – about 50% more than last year – rehearsed defending the island from potential attacks from China in land, sea and air drills.

Newly acquired military hardware such as the US-supplied Himars mobile missile system as well as Taiwan-made rockets were tested.

This year’s Han Kuang exercise also focused on combating greyzone warfare and misinformation from China, as well as rehearsing military defence in cities.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0w6wrlld0o

The Constitutional Court has ruled that Berlin is not in breach of international law over US drone attacks guided from Germany. The case was brought by two Yemenis whose relatives were killed in a 2012 US drone mission.

The German Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Germany did not violate international law by failing to strictly monitor or prevent US drone attacks carried out with the help of signals from the Ramstein air base.

The ruling comes after two Yemenis who say they had family members killed in a US drone attack in their home country more than 10 years ago, invoking the right to life and physical integrity enshrined in the German constitution in a complaint to the court.

What did the court say?

The court did state that Germany had a certain obligation to protect basic human rights even of foreigners living abroad.

However, it said it had been unable to establish that the US had employed unjustifiable criteria in its differentiation between military targets and civilians in its attack.

The court also ruled that any such attack would have to have a sufficient connection to German state authority for the obligation to hold, something that it said could not be claimed in this case.

The ECCHR, who supported the plaintiffs, told DW that it was “unlikely” that they would pursue the case further, for example at the European Court of Human Rights.

The German government has welcomed the verdict.

A joint statement by the Foreign and Defense Ministries said that the court had recognized the wide leeway granted to the government in assessing whether an action by a third country conformed to international law.

The statement said the ruling sent an important signal with regard to Germany’s actions in the spheres of foreign affairs and security.

What was the case against the Ramstein air base?

The two Yemeni men bringing the case, Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber, said they lost some of their relatives in a US drone strike on the village of Khashamir in 2012 that occurred during a wedding meal of a male family member.

They argued that Germany held partial responsibility for the attack, as the drone mission used signals relayed from the Ramstein base, situated near the city of Kaiserslautern in the southwest.

The two men were supported in their case by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which has said: “Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen.”

Assessing German responsibility

The case has been before the courts for more than 10 years, being initially rejected in 2015 before a higher administrative court in the city Münster in 2019 ordered the German government to investigate the legality of the US use of the Ramstein airbase for such attacks.

That ruling was then overturned by a federal court.

The German Defense Ministry has argued that Berlin has received repeated assurances from Washington that no drones are launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces have adhered to international law in their actions.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/court-rejects-german-responsibility-in-yemen-drone-case/a-73278983

Thousands of Afghans have moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, it can be revealed.

In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked.

The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 when some of the details appeared on Facebook.

A new resettlement scheme for those on the leaked list was set up nine months later, and has seen 4,500 Afghans arrive in the UK so far.

President Trump announced Monday the US will send “billions of dollars” worth of weapons to Ukraine via Washington’s NATO allies — and threatened to impose “secondary tariffs” on Moscow’s business partners in 50 days if no peace is agreed to end the 40-month-old war.

The weapons will include “everything,” Trump said during his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office — though the president did not immediately reveal specifics.

The White House also did not provide additional information on the specific weapons sent over to Europe.

When asked whether “Patriot missiles” — officially known as Guided Mulitple Launch Rocket Systems — or “Patriot batteries” would be sent to Ukraine, the president responded: “It is all of them. It is a full complement.”

“We will have some within days,” Trump continued. “A couple of countries that have Patriots will swap over, or replace the Patriots with the ones they have.”

“NATO may choose to have certain of them sent to other countries where we can get a little additional speed, where the country will release something, and it’ll be mostly in the form of a replacement,” he added.

Later Monday, ahead of a White House faith luncheon, the 79-year-old Trump reiterated that there will be “weapons of all kinds” sent across the Atlantic, with other members of the alliance paying for them by raising their defense spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade.

“We are going to be sending them weapons and they’re going to be paying for them,” Trump said, with Rutte agreeing that European countries should be “stepping up” and paying for the American-made materiel.

“This is really big,” Rutte, 58, said of the announcement, lauding Trump’s leadership in supplying Kyiv with much-needed munitions.

“It will mean that Ukraine can get its hands on really massive numbers of military equipment, both for air defense, but also missiles, ammunition, etc., etc.,” the NATO secretary general and former Dutch prime minister added.

Though Trump used the phrase “secondary tariffs” during his meeting with Rutte, pledging that “they’ll be at 100%,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later clarified that the president meant to announce secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners.

Secondary sanctions are meant to punish individuals or entities who do business with a country. Should those sanctions take effect on Sept. 2, 50 days from Monday, they are meant to put more pressure on Moscow — which has already been hit with direct sanctions — by deterring further business and isolating Russia’s economy.

A White House official told The Post that “Russia will face severe sanctions and tariffs if they do not sign a cease-fire deal in 50 days,” without providing more details on the secondary sanctions or weapons.

Trump has been hesitant to impose heavy sanctions on Russia, but has grown more frustrated in recent months with a lack of willingness by Russian President Vladimir Putin to get to a peace deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“I’m disappointed in President Putin, because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump told reporters.

“I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done, and I always hang up and say, ‘Well, that was a nice phone call.’ And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city. And I said, ‘Strange.’ And after that happens three or four times, you say the talk doesn’t mean anything,” he continued.

“My conversations with him are always very pleasant. They say, ‘Isn’t that good? Very lovely conversation.’ And then the missiles go off that night. I go home, I tell the first lady [Melania Trump], ‘I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ She said, ‘Oh, really? Another city was just hit.’

“So, it’s like — look, he’s, I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy. He’s been proven over the years. He’s fooled a lot of people. He fooled [George W.] Bush. He fooled a lot of people, [Bill] Clinton, Bush, [Barack] Obama, [Joe] Biden, he didn’t fool me, but what I do say is that at a certain point, you know, ultimately, talk doesn’t talk. It’s got to be action. It’s got to be results.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/14/world-news/trump-vows-billions-of-dollars-in-weapons-for-ukraine-100-tariffs-on-russia-if-no-peace-in-50-days/

Starbucks (SBUX.O), CEO Brian Niccol said the coffee giant will require many of its employees to work out of office for a minimum four days a week, from the current three, as part of a new policy expected to kick in later this year.
The policy would include common days of work from Monday to Thursday, applicable to Seattle and Toronto support centers as well as regional officers in North America, Niccol said in a message shared, opens new tab with partners on the company’s website on Monday.

Niccol, who will complete a year in the job in less than two months, has been steering Starbucks back to its coffeehouse roots by focusing on enhancing in-store experience and reducing dependence on mobile and to-go orders.
“Being in person also helps us build and strengthen our culture. As we work to turn the business around, all these things matter more than ever,” Niccol said.
“We want leaders and people managers to be physically present with their teams,” he added.
The four-day office work policy is expected to take effect from September 29.
In February, the coffee chain operator asked the remotely working vice president level leadership to begin relocating to Seattle or Toronto. It is now extending this requirement to all support center people leaders, who are expected to move within 12 months.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/starbucks-shift-four-day-work-office-three-says-ceo-2025-07-14/

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine, saying they are necessary to defend the country because Russian President Vladimir Putin “talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening.”
Trump did not give a number of Patriots he plans to send to Ukraine, but he said the United States would be reimbursed for their cost by the European Union. The U.S. president has grown increasingly disenchanted with Putin because the Russian leader has resisted Trump’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump is expected to announce a new plan to arm Ukraine with offensive weapons in a sharp departure from his earlier stance, Axios reported on Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters
request for comment. Reuters couldn’t immediately verify the report.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked for more defensive capabilities to fend off a daily barrage of missile and drone attacks from Russia.
“We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then bombs everybody in the evening. But there’s a little bit of a problem there. I don’t like it,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-says-us-will-send-patriot-missiles-ukraine-2025-07-14/

Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari died in London on Sunday following a “prolonged illness,” a presidential spokesperson said.

“President Buhari died today in London at about 4:30 p.m. (1530 GMT),” President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson wrote in a post on X.

He did not disclose the nature of the 82-year-old’s illness.

Buhari had been in the UK for the past three months.

Army ruler then democratic leader
Buhari first led Africa’s most populous nation as a military ruler after a coup in the 1980s.

He later rebranded himself as a “converted democrat” and then defeated incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 in what was judged to be Nigeria’s fairest election to date.

He remained in power until 2023.

Buhari’s health kept under wraps
Tinubu ordered flags to fly at half-staff in honour of Buhari, whose tenure was dogged by health rumours.

Buhari’s government faced accusations of a lack of transparency over his illness, especially as he sometimes took long absences.

However, Buhari’s health was still kept from the public, although he admitted that during one of the trips he had “never been so ill” and that he had received several blood transfusions.

Initial rule brief, but Buhari made comeback
Buhari seized power in 1983 as a military ruler, promising to revitalize a mismanaged country.

Taking a tough line on corruption, he also questioned Nigeria’s bailout conditions sought by the International Monetary Fund.

But his first stint was short-lived. He was removed after only 18 months by another military officer, Ibrahim Babangida, and spent much of the following 30 years in fringe political parties and trying to run for president.

After his 2015 election win, Buhari took six months to name his cabinet. During that time, the oil-dependent economy was hobbled by low crude prices, prompting people to call him “Baba Go Slow.”

He won a second victory in 2019, despite his first term being blighted by Nigeria’s first recession in a generation, militant attacks on oilfields, and repeated hospital stays.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/nigerias-ex-president-buhari-dies-in-london/a-73263188

Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries and are taking an increasing toll on health, economies and the environment, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization says.

“About 2 billion tons of dust are emitted yearly, equivalent to 300 Great Pyramids of Giza” in Egypt, the organization’s U.N. representative, Laura Paterson, told the General Assembly.

More than 80% of the world’s dust comes from the deserts in North Africa and the Middle East, she said, but it has a global impact because the particles can travel hundreds and even thousands of kilometers (miles) across continents and oceans.

The General Assembly was marking the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms on Saturday and its designation of 2025 to 2034 as the U.N. decade on combating sand and dust storms.

Assembly President Philemon Yang said the storms “are fast becoming one of the most overlooked yet far-reaching global challenges of our time.”

“They are driven by climate change, land degradation and unsustainable practices,” he said.

Yang, in a speech Thursday that was read by an assembly vice president, said airborne particles from sand and dust storms contribute to 7 million premature deaths every year. He said they trigger respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and reduce crop yields by up to 25%, causing hunger and migration.

Undersecretary-General Rola Dashti, head of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, told the assembly the storms’ economic costs are “staggering.”

In the Middle East and North Africa, the annual cost of dealing with dust and sand storms is $150 billion, roughly 2.5% of GDP, she said.

“This spring alone, the Arab region experienced acute disruption,” Dashti said, citing severe storms in Iraq that overwhelmed hospitals with respiratory cases and storms in Kuwait and Iran that forced schools and offices to close.

Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa has reached as far as the Caribbean and Florida, she said,

Dashti, who also co-chairs the U.N. Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, said over 20 U.N. and international agencies are working to unite efforts on early warning systems for storms and to deal with other issues, including health and financing.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/un-sand-dust-storms-mideast-africa-health-b2de9e7e2cda1519b88f65e9d726d083

Shehbaz Sharif dismissed rumours of Asif Ali Zardari stepping down or Asim Munir seeking presidency, calling such claims “mere speculations”.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday dismissed the notion of a nuclear exchange during the recent conflict with India, saying his country’s nuclear programme was meant for “peaceful purposes and self-defence”.

Sharif made the comments while addressing a group of Pakistani students in Islamabad.

Recalling the four-day military confrontation, Sharif said 55 Pakistanis were killed during the Indian military strikes. However, he claimed that Pakistan had responded with “full might” during the escalation.

When asked about the possibility of using nuclear weapons, Sharif said, “Pakistan’s nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes and national defence, not for aggression.”

India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

As part of Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces carried out strikes on May 7, targeting nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Bahawalpur, a known stronghold of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit. The strikes were in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre, in which 26 civilians were killed.

Sharif denies rumours of Zardari stepping down

Sharif also dismissed rumours that Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari may be forced to step down and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir aspired to assume the presidency, Sharif said such claims were “mere speculations”.

“Field Marshal Asim Munir has never expressed any desire to become the president, nor is there any such plan in the offing,” he told The News on Friday.

Sharif added that he, Zardari and Munir shared a relationship built on mutual respect.

The clarification followed interior minister Mohsin Naqvi’s statement on X on Thursday, in which he denounced the “malicious campaign” targeting Zardari, Sharif, and Munir.

“We are fully aware of who is behind the malicious campaign,” said Naqvi, who is considered close to the top military leadership.

“I have categorically stated there has been no discussion, nor does any such idea exist, about the president being asked to resign or the COAS aspiring to assume the presidency,” he added.

Naqvi also alleged the involvement of hostile foreign elements in fuelling the campaign and said, “To those involved in this narrative, do whatever you wish in collaboration with hostile foreign agencies. As for us, we will do whatever is necessary to make Pakistan strong again, InshAllah.”

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistans-nuclear-programme-for-peaceful-purposes-not-for-aggression-shehbaz-sharif-101752356219077.html

Nearly 800 people have died trying to access aid in Gaza since late May, with most killed near the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s sites, the UN said on Friday (Jul 11).

An officially private effort, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking warnings of imminent famine.

Since those operations began and through Jul 7, United Nations rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the agency had recorded “615 killings in the vicinity of the GHF sites”.

Another 183 people had been killed “presumably on the routes of aid convoys” carried out by UN and other aid organisations, she told reporters in Geneva.

“This is nearly 800 people who have been killed while trying to access aid,” she said, adding that “most of the injuries are gunshot injuries”.

GHF operations, which effectively sidelined a vast UN aid delivery network in Gaza, have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The GHF, which said on Thursday it had distributed more than 69 million meals to date, has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.

The Israeli army has accused Hamas of being responsible for firing at civilians in the vicinity of aid centres.

The army said Friday it had issued instructions to Israel’s forces in the field “following lessons learned” after reports of deadly incidents at distribution facilities.

It explained that it “allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip”.

“As part of this effort, IDF forces have recently worked to reorganise the area through the installation of fences, signage placement, the opening of additional routes, and other measures,” it said.

The army stressed that “following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted,” adding those incidents were “under review by the competent authorities in the IDF”.

Shamdasani highlighted that the UN rights office had repeatedly raised “serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law principles” in the war in Gaza, which erupted following Hamas’s deadly Oct 7, 2023 attack inside Israel.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/gaza-humanitarian-foundation-aid-800-killed-un-israel-5234056

US President Donald Trump plans to impose a 50% import tariff on products from Brazil as of August. The threat sparked outrage in the South American nation, partly because of fears of economic fallout, but also for another reason: Trump linked his move to the ongoing trial of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president from 2019 to 2023, on charges of forming a criminal organization to stage a coup.

On January 8, 2023, about a week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, Bolsonaro supporters stormed Congress, the seat of government, and the Supreme Court in the capital, Brasília, vandalizing both buildings. To this day, Bolsonaro refuses to acknowledge Lula’s election win.

“Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Trump wrote Monday on his Truth Social platform. “I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE.” Trump wrote that that he would be “watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro.” He added: “LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!”

Delighted by Trump’s statement, Bolsonaro wrote on X: “Thank you for being there and for setting an example of faith and resilience.” The auhoritarian former president has called his trial “political persecution.”

‘Quite an affront’

Since starting his second term in January, Trump has imposed or threatened extremely high tariffs on imports from many countries. His argument has been that years of high trade deficits have threatened US national security.

The president has used tariffs as a political tool in other cases — for example, he threatened tariffs on Mexico to force the country to clamp down on US-bound illegal immigration and drug trafficking, and he used the levies to pressure the European Union into relaxing regulations that affect US companies. Yet this time things are different: Trump’s tariffs are mainly about a domestic Brazilian issue, irking many in Brazil.

“It is unacceptable and quite an affront for one country to try to interfere in the politics of another country in this way,” the Brazilian political scientist and international relations expert Leonardo Paz Neves told DW.

Brazil’s government responds

Lula wrote on X that unilateral tariff increases on imports from Brazil would produce a response on the basis of the principle of economic reciprocity. Lula also said legal proceedings against Bolsonaro were in the hands of a constitutional and independent judiciary. The Brazilian president has called an emergency meeting with his ministers in view of Trump’s tariff plans.

“Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not be told what to do by anyone,” Lula wrote.

Not all Bolsonaro backers continue to support the former leader amid Trump’s looming tariffs. Paz Neves, an analyst with the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), told DW the US leader’s move could backfire on Trump and Bolsonaro. He says that even some conservative Brazilians have begun criticizing the incoming tariffs and supporting Lula.

Brazil is unlikely to yield to Trump’s pressure and allow the United States to interfere in its national affairs or with the independence of its judiciary. “That’s not possible, even if we wanted to [interfere],” says Paz Neves. “We have a separation of powers, and the Bolsonaro trial is a legal matter.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/outrage-in-brazil-as-trump-threatens-50-tariff-on-imports/a-73244289

A US federal judge has blocked Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship for some babies. The New Hampshire ruling makes the case a class action, covering all families at risk nationwide.

A federal judge in New Hampshire has ruled to block US President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for some babies born in the United States.

US District Judge Joseph LaPlante said he will certify a class action lawsuit that includes all children who are set to be affected by Trump’s order.

What did the judge say?

LaPlante made the ruling after immigrant rights advocates asked him to expand their lawsuit to cover all children who could lose their citizenship under Trump’s policy.

The judge agreed to certify the case as a class action lawsuit — meaning it includes every baby whose citizenship status might be threatened.

The class is slightly narrower than that sought by the plaintiffs, who originally included parents as plaintiffs.

LaPlante also said he would issue a preliminary injunction — a legal order that stops the policy from taking effect for now.

What’s behind the latest case?

Trump’s executive order, issued in January, says that children born to parents living in the US illegally or temporarily should not automatically get citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which has guaranteed for more than 100 years that anyone born on US soil is a citizen.

The Trump administration argues a clause in the amendment, “subject to the jurisdiction thereof [the United States]” means babies born to people here illegally should not be covered.

Several federal judges around the country have already tried to block Trump’s order, but the conservative majority US Supreme Court recently ruled that lower court judges should not automatically issue injunctions that can be applied nationwide.

Instead, courts now need to limit their orders to just the people directly affected.

For this reason, groups suing Trump asked Judge LaPlante to make their case a class action.

By doing so, they include all families in the same situation — which makes the judge’s order much broader than it would be for just a few families.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-judge-pauses-trump-order-ending-birthright-citizenship/a-73233015

The US State Department has said it is going to issue single-entry three-month visas for Nigerians in non-immigrant and non-diplomatic categories, rolling back five-year multiple-entry visas.

The US State Department has announced new visa rules for Nigerians wishing to travel to the US in the non-immigrant and non-diplomat categories.

The US embassy in Nigeria posted to its website on July 8 that the US would issue single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.

That rolls back the previous five-year multiple-entry visas that Nigerians enjoyed when it came to traveling to the US.

US President Donald Trump has signed a directive banning the citizens of 12 countries, seven in Africa, from entering the US.

A State Department memo from June indicated the US was considering a travel ban on 36 other countries, including Nigeria. That proposed, expanded, ban has not yet been officially announced.

“We wish to underscore that as is standard globally, visa reciprocity is a continuous process and is subject to review and change at any time, such as increasing or decreasing permitted entries and duration of validity,” the statement said.

A Nigerian foreign ministry official told local media that Nigeria had no similar policy toward US citizens, according to Reuters news agency.

Nigeria received nearly one-fifth of the non-immigrant visas issued by the US government in 2024 in Africa, according to the State Department.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/nigerians-face-new-us-visitor-visa-restrictions/a-73218523

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) has dismissed claims of a new nomination-based Golden Visa program in the UAE, which allegedly allowed Indian nationals to gain permanent residency for approximately Rs 23 lakh.

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) has denied reports claiming that a new nomination-based Golden Visa programme was launched by the UAE government. The response comes after a report claimed that a new golden visa programme provided Indians an opportunity to become permanent residents of the UAE for just Rs 23 lakh. Earlier, a PTI report claimed that under the “new nomination-based visa policy,” Indians can now enjoy the UAE’s Golden Visa for life by paying a fee of AED 1,00,000 (INR around 23.30 lakh).
However, the ICP has clarified that the categories, eligibility criteria, and regulations for the UAE Golden Visa are clearly outlined based on official laws, ministerial decisions, and legislative frameworks, a Gulf News report said. Those interested in applying can access accurate and up-to-date information through the Authority’s official website or smart app.
The ICP authorities further pointed out that all Golden Visa applications are handled exclusively through official government channels within the UAE.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Jul 8) the US would “pretty soon” charge a 10 per cent tariff on imports from BRICS countries, drawing another complaint from Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who just hosted the bloc’s annual summit.

Trump, who raised the tariff threat on Sunday, said in a Tuesday Cabinet meeting at the White House that the duty was on the way: “Anybody that’s in BRICS is getting a 10 per cent charge pretty soon … If they’re a member of BRICS, they’re going to have to pay a 10 per cent tariff … and they won’t be a member long.”

The BRICS group expanded last year beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include members such as Iran and Indonesia. Leaders at the summit in Rio de Janeiro voiced indirect criticism of US military and trade policies.

Asked about Trump’s tariff threat, Lula told journalists at the BRICS summit on Monday that the world does not want an emperor.

After a state visit from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lula on Tuesday expressed further disagreement.

“We will not accept any complaints about the BRICS summit. We do not agree with the US president insinuating he’s going to put tariffs on BRICS countries,” he told journalists in Brasilia.

Trump gave no specific date for the BRICS tariff to kick in. On Monday, a source familiar with the matter said the Trump administration would charge the tariff only if countries adopted anti-American policies, differentiating actions from statements like the one adopted by the BRICS leaders on Sunday.

Trump claimed without evidence on Tuesday that the group was set up to hurt the United States and the US dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency. He said he would not allow that to happen.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-says-brics-nations-get-10-tariff-pretty-soon-5227701

Foreign tourists are trickling back to China after the country loosened its visa policy to unprecedented levels. Citizens from 74 countries can now enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, a big jump from previous regulations.

The government has been steadily expanding visa-free entry in a bid to boost tourism, the economy and its soft power. More than 20 million foreign visitors entered without a visa in 2024 — almost one-third of the total and more than double from the previous year, according to the National Immigration Administration.

“This really helps people to travel because it is such a hassle to apply for a visa and go through the process,” Georgi Shavadze, a Georgian living in Austria, said on a recent visit to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

While most tourist sites are still packed with far more domestic tourists than foreigners, travel companies and tour guides are now bracing for a bigger influx in anticipation of summer holiday goers coming to China.

“I’m practically overwhelmed with tours and struggling to keep up” says Gao Jun, a veteran English-speaking tour guide with over 20 years of experience. To meet growing demand, he launched a new business to train anyone interested in becoming an English-speaking tour guide. “I just can’t handle them all on my own” he said.

After lifting tough COVID-19 restrictions, China reopened its borders to tourists in early 2023, but only 13.8 million people visited in that year, less than half the 31.9 million in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

30 days for many in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast
In December 2023, China announced visa-free entry for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. Almost all of Europe has been added since then. Travelers from five Latin American countries and Uzbekistan became eligible last month, followed by four in the Middle East. The total will grow to 75 on July 16 with the addition of Azerbaijan.

About two-thirds of the countries have been granted visa-free entry on a one-year trial basis.

For Norwegian traveler Øystein Sporsheim, this means his family would no longer need to make two round-trip visits to the Chinese embassy in Oslo to apply for a tourist visa, a time-consuming and costly process with two children in tow. “They don’t very often open, so it was much harder” he said.

“The new visa policies are 100% beneficial to us,” said Jenny Zhao, a managing director of WildChina, which specializes in boutique and luxury routes for international travelers. She said business is up 50% compared with before the pandemic.

While the U.S. remains their largest source market, accounting for around 30% of their current business, European travelers now make up 15–20% of their clients, a sharp increase from less than 5% before 2019, according to Zhao. “We’re quite optimistic” Zhao said, “we hope these benefits will continue.”

Trip.com Group, a Shanghai-based online travel agency, said the visa-free policy has significantly boosted tourism. Air, hotel and other bookings on their website for travel to China doubled in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year, with 75% of the visitors from visa-free regions.

No major African country is eligible for visa-free entry, despite the continent’s relatively close ties with China.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/china-visa-free-entry-transit-tourism-48ff1727c87e11becd18e6d1a113f49d

A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted, spewing a colossal ash tower 18km into the sky on Monday (Jul 7), authorities said, just weeks after it caused dozens of flight cancellations to and from the popular resort island of Bali.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, a 1,584m-high twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted at 11.05am local time, the volcanology agency said in a statement.

“An eruption of Lewotobi Laki-laki Volcano occurred … with the observed ash column height reaching approximately 18,000m above the summit,” the agency said.

The agency said the explosion came with loud thuds. It warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods – a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials – if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities near rivers.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-volcano-eruption-lewotobi-laki-laki-ash-5224066

Russia’s Investigative Committee says former Russian transport minister Roman Starovoit has been found dead, apparently with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He was dismissed earlier on Monday by President Vladimir Putin.

No reason for Starovoit’s dismissal was given and deputy transport minister Andrei Nikitin was announced as his replacement shortly after.

The Investigative Committee said it was working to establish the circumstances of the incident.

Starovoit was appointed minister of transport in May 2024.

Before that, Starovoit had served as governor of the Kursk region for almost six years, until May 2024.

The region was partly seized by Ukrainian troops in August 2024 in a surprise offensive. Moscow only recently managed to drive out the Ukrainian forces, although in late June Kyiv said it was still holding a small area of territory inside Russia.

Starovoit’s successor, Aleksey Smirnov, was only in post for a short while. He was arrested in April and was later accused of embezzling funds that had been allocated for the building of fortifications on the border with Ukraine.

According to Russian outlet Kommersant, Starovoit was about to be brought in as a defendant in the same case.

It is unclear when, exactly, Starovoit died.

The head of the State Duma Defence Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, told Russian outlet RTVI that his death occurred “quite a while ago”.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7nvxzrvr0o

Russia has become the first country in the world to formally recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban government. This improves the radical group’s standing on the world stage, and puts pressure on the West to follow suit.

“This brave decision will be an example for others.” With these words, Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister in Afghanistan’s Taliban government, welcomed the announcement by Russia that it was officially recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry wrote on X that this would be the start of “a new phase of positive relations, mutual respect, and constructive engagement.” It also posted a video of the meeting in Kabul between Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, and Muttaqi, in which Muttaqi declares: “Now that the process of recognition has started, Russia was ahead of everyone.”

Economic interests
Afghanistan expert Conrad Schetter, the director of the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (bicc), commented that Russia may have very specific reasons for recognizing the Taliban. It may, he told DW, have considerable interests in establishing economic ties with Afghanistan, not least as a potential hub for trade with Asia. Russia has been under international sanctions since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace drew the same conclusion in a study published in 2024. “Russian officials have again begun speaking about using Afghanistan as a transit hub — for exporting Russian natural gas to India, and other goods to ports in Pakistan,” it said. “However, this requires a gas pipeline to be built through the mountains, and a railroad, which currently ends at Mazar-i-Sharif at the Uzbek border, to be extended.”

Until now, the construction of a railroad from Russia to Pakistan via the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan has been nothing more than a pipe dream. If it were built, it would give Russia direct access to the Indian Ocean.

According to a study by the consultancy SpecialEurasia published on Friday, Moscow is hoping that its formal recognition of Afghanistan means it will become a major supplier and economic partner for the country “by expanding trade in oil, gas, and wheat, and by collaborating on infrastructure, energy, and agriculture projects.”

Schetter believes that Moscow wants to be the trendsetter in establishing a new way of dealing with Afghanistan, and that this is probably also a major factor in the decision. “They’re now hoping that other countries under authoritarian rule will follow suit,” he says. “With this step, they want to assume a leading role among the autocratic states. This too is probably a significant motivation behind this decision.”

Pressure on the West
While Russia is the first country to recognize the Taliban officially, others, mostly countries under authoritarian rule, have maintained relations with the Taliban for some time. The Chinese embassy in Kabul is still open, for example, and meetings between the two countries have taken place at ministerial level. Iran also maintains diplomatic contacts with the Taliban, and it too has an embassy in Kabul.

Pakistan has a close relationship with Afghanistan, despite political tensions caused by the activities of Sunni extremists along the border between the two countries. The region is seen as a breeding ground for extremist and terrorist activity around the world. The forced mass exodus of ethnic Afghans from Pakistan to Afghanistan shows the extent to which the two countries actually cooperate.

Qatar is acting as an intermediary between the Taliban government and the West, and the 2020 Agreement between the US and Taliban governments that regulated the withdrawal of US troops was signed in Doha.

Schetter comments that if these countries were to follow the Russian example, it would put considerable political pressure on Western states to do the same. “These states would then have to consider their attitude toward the Taliban. And this is precisely what could create a diplomatic dynamic that the Taliban now, because of this latest move by Russia, are more hopeful for.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-russia-recognizes-the-taliban-government/a-73162697

The joint statement by the group’s finance ministers marks the first time the BRICS countries have agreed on a unified position on the proposed reforms.

Rio De Janeiro: Finance ministers from the BRICS group of developing nations called on Saturday for reform of the International Monetary Fund, including a new distribution of voting rights and an end to the tradition of European management at the helm.

The joint statement by the group’s finance ministers marks the first time the BRICS countries have agreed on a unified position on the proposed reforms. They agreed to back the shared proposal at an IMF review meeting coming up in December, which will discuss changes to a quota system that defines contributions and voting rights.

“Quota realignment should reflect members’ relative positions in the global economy, while protecting the quota shares of the poorest members,” the ministers wrote in their statement after meetings in Rio de Janeiro, adding that the new formula should increase quotas for developing countries.

The BRICS ministers called for a new formula weighted by economic output and purchasing power, considering the relative value of currencies, which should better represent low-income countries, said a Brazilian official who followed negotiations.

The ministerial meetings came ahead of a leaders summit in Rio for the bloc that expanded last year beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

That has added diplomatic clout to the group, which aims to speak for developing nations in the Global South, urging reforms of institutions long dominated by traditional Western powers.

“With full respect to a merit-based selection process, regional representation must be enhanced for the IMF management, overcoming the anachronistic post-World War II gentlemen’s agreement that is unfit for the current world order,” the finance ministers wrote.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/world/brics-finance-ministers-make-unified-proposal-for-imf-reforms-3617633

ELON Musk has launched a new political party following his explosive row with President Donald Trump.

The billionaire promised to “give back your freedom” as he made the announcement on X last night.

Musk created an online poll on July 4 where he asked his followers if he should spearhead a fresh political party.

Of those polled, over 65% answered ‘yes’, which paved the way for the announcement.

“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he wrote.

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.

“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

It is unclear whether the party has been formally registered with US election authorities.

Musk has not provided any details around the party’s leadership either, or put forward any specific policies he hopes to fight for.

His latest announcement comes in the wake of his public feud with Trump, which saw the Tesla boss delete a post on X last month claiming the president was named in the so-called “Epstein files”.

The former allies were locked in an ensuing war of words for days – publicly hurling insults back and fourth.

When asked about a possible call with Musk to calm tensions, Trump told ABC News: “You mean the man who has lost his mind?”

“Not particularly,” he added when pressed on whether he planned to speak to the billionaire.

Musk was a key Trump advocate in the 2024 election, splashing $250m (£187m) to help him regain office.

He was later appointed leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), tasked with helping to identify cuts in the federal budget.

However, his fallout with Trump began when he left the White House in May, publicly criticising Trump’s tax and spending plans and branding his “big, beautiful bill” a “disgusting abomination”.

The legislation was narrowly passed by Congress and signed into law by the president this week.

Republicans have expressed concern that Musk’s on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14637062/elon-musk-launches-new-political-party/

At least 24 people are dead after ten inches of rain caused deadly flash flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas.

There also fears for 20 schoolgirls who are missing from a summer camp after the rain raised waters by 22 feet overnight bringing catastrophic flooding to the area.

The raging waters have overtaken areas in South Central Texas, including overnight summer camps for kids and families in the area.

Acting Texas Governor Dan Patrick said more than 20 girls from Camp Mystic, an all-girls camp along the river in Kerr County, were missing after the camp evacuated overnight.

The camp said on Friday morning that the parents of missing children had been notified.

“Right now, there are 20-something [children] that aren’t accounted for,” Patrick said on Friday afternoon.

“That does not mean they’ve been lost. They could be in a tree or out of communication,” he added.

“We’re praying for all of those missing to be found alive.”

Patrick said rescue teams are searching the area by ground as helicopters and drones look by air.

Footage shared on social media showed what appeared to be a camp cabin traveling down the river with multiple people inside.

It’s unclear where the cabin came from and the condition or identities of the people inside.

The raging floods have swept away homes, entire RV parks and cars across the region, which was pummeled with one-third of a year’s worth of rain over the course of just a few short hours.

Kerr County residents near the river are being told to evacuate the region immediately and to avoid traveling.

The South Central Texas area is experiencing historic rainfall, which has triggered a “deadly flood wave” that prompted four flash flood emergency warnings.

Over seven inches of rain fell within six hours in the county.

“Flash flooding is already occurring. This is a Flash Flood Emergency for the Guadalupe River from Center Point to Sisterdale,” the National Weather Service warned.

“This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!”

The deadly floods have already claimed the lives of several people.

“We can confirm (the deaths) but we are afraid there may be more,” County Judge Rob Kelly told the Austin American-Statesman.

“They are still looking.”

First responders rushed to an RV park near Howdy’s Restaurant in Kerrville, where the second flash flood warning was issued.

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office reiterated earlier warnings for residents to move to higher ground.

“The entire county is an extremely active scene,” the office shared on Facebook.

“Residents are encouraged to shelter in place and not attempt travel.

“Those near creeks, streams, and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14629808/deadly-flooding-guadalupe-river-texas/

It was a very emotional moment outside the Palace of Justice in Istanbul last Sunday. Two men ran toward each other, brimming with impatience; they hugged, and just stood there for a moment, clasped together. The taller man was visibly fighting back tears, and kept wiping his eyes, but the smaller of the two appeared relaxed. He turned with a smile to the group nearby: “Nobody is allowed to criminalize us LGBTQ+ people,” he said resolutely.

This gray-haired man in his late 40s is Irfan Degirmenci, a well-known TV presenter in Turkey. He presented news broadcasts for more than 25 years until he came out at the end of last year and moved into politics. Degirmenci was the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP) candidate in the mayoral election in the capital, Ankara, and although he lost, he remains politically active. Last Saturday, he — along with 41 others — was arrested while giving a speech at an LGBTQ+ event for Istanbul Pride Week.

Bans and police action

The governor of Istanbul, Davut Gül, had made threatening statements beforehand.

In a reference to the LGBTQ+ community, he wrote on X that “some marginal groups” had called on people to assemble for a rally. Governor Gül asserted that these calls “undermine social peace, family structure, and moral values” and would not be tolerated.

The police, he said, would take action against anyone who did not abide by the ban on events.

The very next day, the security forces went ahead with a crackdown on those who participated in the Istanbul Pride parade. The march was announced in advance, but it wasn’t given permission to go ahead.

Despite the threats, some people still took to the streets, chanting, “We insist on life!”

More than 50 demonstrators were detained.

“Insisting on life”: The theme for 2025

“Insisting on life” — “Yasamda Israr” in Turkish — is the slogan of this year’s Pride Month. The LGBTQ+ community wants to stress that it still exists, and is still active, in spite of repression and attempts at intimidation.

This takes a lot of courage, as was apparent once again in mid-June. In the run-up to Pride Week, the homepage and social media channels of news magazine Kaos GL — the oldest magazine in Turkey with an LGBTQ+ focus — were blocked by court order. The magazine has been reporting on discrimination and violence against this community since 1994, as well as campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights. There is now also a non-profit association of the same name, offering services that range from a hotline where people can report hate crimes to advice and information.

For Yildiz Tar, editor-in-chief of Kaos GL, the blocking of their online portal is not just censorship, but part of a systematic mechanism attempting to erase the very existence of the LGBTQ+ community.

Demonization of LGBTQ+

The association ÜniKuir also reports being targeted by hate campaigns. It advocates for the equal rights and participation of LGBTQ+ people in higher education. Its current report says that between June 2023 and September 2024, 41 members of the Turkish parliament openly opposed the rights of LGBTQ+ people. In particular, MPs from the government alliance of the Islamic-conservative AKP and the ultra-nationalist MHP used words like “deviant” and “perverse” to portray LGBTQ+ people as a global threat.

ÜniKuir says there has been a huge increase in verbal attacks. It adds that the murders of trans women, as well as other hate crimes and crimes against LGBTQ+ people, especially in the big metropolises like Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, did not even make it onto the parliamentary agenda.

“The media hardly report on hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people and events, or Pride marches,” complains Yildiz Tar from Kaos GL. There are also no LGBTQ+ characters in films or TV series, he points out, which is why news portals like his are so important: “Instead, hostile rhetoric and targeted verbal attacks and discrimination are getting worse.”

Tar says the persecution has assumed a dimension that can’t be explained by prejudice or ignorance alone.

Politics has contributed to the dangerous atmosphere

Observers are also convinced that the government’s decision to declare 2025 the “Year of the Family” is no coincidence.

At the ceremony to launch this initiative, Turkey’s Islamic-conservative president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stressed that his government wanted to protect families and children at all costs. He described the LGBTQ+ community as a great threat to the family, and claimed that digital platforms and articles devoted a great deal of space to LGBTQ+ interests.

According to the journalist Irfan Degirmenci, violence begins with the language coming from the top. “We’re described as deviant, perverse,” he says, and warns that LGBTQ+ people are dehumanized on a daily basis by Diyanet, the state institution that oversees religious affairs, as well as by the ministries of family and education, and by provincial governors.

Lawyer Nilda Balta confirms this. There are many disturbing developments in the country, she says, such as the family ministry’s decree that people should stop using terms like gender equality, LGBTQ+, and others that it claims harm the image of the family.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/lgbtq-in-turkey-insisting-on-life/a-73161247

At least 69 people have been killed by Israeli fire across Gaza on Thursday, rescuers say, as Israel intensified its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

One air strike killed 15 people at a school-turned-shelter for displaced families in Gaza City, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. The Israeli military said it targeted a “key” Hamas operative based there.

The Civil Defence also reported that 38 people were killed while queueing for aid, or on their way to pick it up. The military said such reports of extensive casualties were “lies”.

It comes as pressure mounts on both Israel and Hamas to agree to a new ceasefire and hostage release deal being pushed by US President Donald Trump.

Trump announced on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire. However, there are still obstacles that could prevent a quick agreement.

Hamas has said it is studying the proposals – the details of which have still not been made public – but that it still wants an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will travel to Washington on Monday, has meanwhile insisted that the Palestinian armed group must be eliminated.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its aircraft had struck around 150 “terror targets” across Gaza over the previous 24 hours, including fighters, tunnels and weapons.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said 118 people had been killed during the same period.

Fifteen people, most of them women and children, were killed when a school housing displaced families in the al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City was struck before dawn on Thursday, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency and medics said.

Witness Wafaa al-Arqan told Reuters news agency: “Suddenly, we found the tent collapsing over us and a fire burning… What can we do? Is it fair that all these children burned?”

The IDF said it struck a “key Hamas terrorist” who was operating in a “command-and-control centre” in Gaza City, without mentioning the school.

The IDF added that it took numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians and accused Hamas of using human shields – an allegation the group has repeatedly denied.

At least another five displaced people were reportedly killed when a tent was struck overnight in the southern al-Mawasi area, where the IDF has told residents of areas affected by its evacuation orders to head for their own safety.

Ashraf Abu Shaba, who lived in a neighbouring tent, said he saw the bodies of children and women wrapped in blankets afterwards.

“The occupation [Israel] claims there are safe zones, but there are no safe zones. Every place is a target… The situation is unbearable,” he added.

Later, Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP news agency that another 38 people were killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid.

He said 25 were killed near the Israeli military’s Netzarim corridor in central Gaza. Six died at another location nearby, while seven were killed in the southern Rafah area, he added.

Medics at Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis separately told Reuters that at least 20 people were killed while making their way to an aid distribution centre.

There was no direct response to the reports from the IDF.

Last week, the IDF said it was examining reports of civilians being harmed while approaching sites in southern and central Gaza run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

On Thursday, IDF spokesman Brig-Gen Effie Defrin acknowledged at a briefing that Israeli forces were facing a “complex challenge” and drawing “lessons from every incident to prevent similar cases in the future”.

But he declared: “The reports of allegations of extensive casualties in the aid distribution centres are lies.”

There have been reports of deadly incidents near the distribution sites almost every day since the GHF began operating on 26 May.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 408 people have been killed near GHF centres over the past five weeks. Another 175 people have been killed seeking aid elsewhere, including along routes used by UN aid convoys, it says.

The GHF, which uses US private security contractors, said “distribution at all sites ran smoothly” on Thursday and that it had now handed out more than one million boxes of food.

The GHF also rejected as “categorically false” allegations from a former security contractor, who told the BBC that he witnessed colleagues opening fire on civilians waiting for aid.

The UN and other aid groups refuse to co-operate with the GHF, saying its new system contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3d1r93gg9ro

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday (Jul 3) secured a major political victory when Congress narrowly passed his signature tax and spending Bill, cementing his radical second-term agenda and boosting funds for his anti-immigration drive.
A jubilant Trump said the Bill’s passage would supercharge the US economy “into a rocket ship” – glossing over deep concerns within his own Republican Party that it will balloon the national debt and gut health and welfare support.

Speaking to reporters as he headed for a rally in Iowa to kick off America’s 250th birthday celebrations, the president called the spending package “the biggest Bill of its kind ever signed”.

A small group of Republican opponents finally fell into line after Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral dissenters in the House of Representatives behind the “One Big Beautiful Bill”.

The Bill squeezed past a final vote, 218-214. The White House declared “VICTORY” on social media and said Trump would sign the Bill into law on Friday, the Jul 4th Independence Day holiday.

The timing of the vote had slipped back to Thursday as Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke against the Bill for nearly nine hours to delay proceedings.

MASS DEPORTATIONS, TAX BREAKS
The legislation is the latest in a series of big wins for Trump, including a Supreme Court ruling last week that curbed lone federal judges from blocking his policies, and US air strikes that led to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

His sprawling mega-Bill narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday and had to return to the lower chamber for a rubber stamp of the senators’ revisions.

The package honours many of Trump’s campaign promises: boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing US$4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief.

“Everything was an absolute disaster under the Biden-Harris radical regime, and we took the best effort that we could, in one big, beautiful Bill to fix as much of it as we could,” Johnson said.

“And I am so grateful that we got that done.”

But it is expected to pile an extra US$3.4 trillion over a decade onto the country’s fast-growing deficits, while shrinking the federal food assistance programme and forcing through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch.

Some estimates put the total number of recipients set to lose their insurance coverage under the Bill at 17 million. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close.

While Republican moderates in the House fear the cuts will damage their prospects of reelection next year, fiscal hawks chafed over savings that they say fall far short of what was promised.

Johnson had to negotiate tight margins, and could only lose a handful of lawmakers in the final vote, among more than two dozen who had earlier declared themselves open to rejecting Trump’s 869-page text.

Trump has spent weeks hitting the phones and hosting White House meetings to cajole lawmakers torn between angering welfare recipients at home and incurring the president’s wrath.

Democrats hope public opposition to the Bill will help them flip the House in the 2026 midterm election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-big-beautiful-bill-trump-spending-pass-republicans-5219606

Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has passed the US Senate and now only needs to be sent to his desk by the Republican-controlled House to be signed into law.

It means the US president, who has long pressured Republicans to pass the bill, is now on the brink of an important legislative milestone and political victory.

Much of his second term has so far been marked by executive orders, which are presidential instructions with the force of laws but which don’t need the approval of Congress. But having this major spending and tax bill passed by Congress will finance a huge chunk of his presidential campaign promises.

“I think, politically, this is a winner for Donald Trump, he can point to some sort of legislative success for his agenda,” said Steven Webster, a political scientist at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Trump has demanded the House pass the bill for him to sign by July 4 — suggesting his desire for an Independence Day themed victory lap — but there are still hurdles to overcome within his own party.

“Some people dislike the bill because of the cuts to part of the American health care and safety net system,” said Peter Loge, a political analyst at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

“Some people don’t like the legislation because it adds a tremendous amount to the US debt. It’s incredibly expensive.”

So what’s in the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’?

The big bill is a big attempt to check off Trump’s long list of campaign promises.

It includes a mix of individual and business tax cuts, massive cash injections to immigration controls, increased military spending and a ramping up of fossil fuel incentives.

There are also changes to health and social program eligibility and a winding down of some of the climate transition initiatives introduced by former President Joe Biden.

The winners, unsurprisingly, are policy realms that have been the foundation of Trump’s “America First” mantra.

A total of $178 billion (about €150 billion) in spending will go to programs intended to restrict immigration, including resuming the construction of Trump’s Mexico border wall, as well as to staff and resource border police, immigration prosecutions, detention and criminal investigations.

Around $153 billion will be spent on defense: shipbuilding, missile defense, nuclear weapons and supporting military assistance of the border.

And after promising to “drill, baby, drill” during his campaign and in his victory speech — a call for fossil fuel extraction to be ramped up — the bill would simultaneously incentivize gas exploration and exports, while ending concessions and incentives for electric vehicles, clean energy and emissions reduction programs.

There also tax cuts of about $4.5 trillion (€3.8 trillion) for individuals and business, which include Trump’s pledges to stop taxing tips and overtime.

“Nothing in this bill should be surprising,” Loge said, “It promises to spend a lot of money capturing immigration concerns in the US… it would spent a huge amount of money strengthening our immigration system and finding and deporting people who are here without proper authorization. That’s by-and-large popular among many people.”

A big bill, but not beautiful to everyone

In both houses, Republican leaders have been forced to balance the demands of holdouts — those unhappy with the measures contained within the bill.

Debt is a major concern for fiscal conservatives. Nonpartisan analysts project about $3.4 trillion (€2.3 trillion) will be added to the US national debt over the next decade because of the bill. The debt limit has been raised by $5 trillion.

The debt disquiet inside the Capitol has been echoed outside, most notably from one-time Trump ally Elon Musk.

Prior to the Senate passing the bill, the world’s richest person and the top donor to Trump’s presidential campaign threatened to run candidates against Republicans who supported the measures during upcoming primary contests, and went as far to suggest he’d start his own “America Party” in opposition.

“I think the party is likely to struggle to explain how adding three-and-a-half trillion dollars to the national debt is in line with their stated goal of getting the nation’s fiscal house in order,” said Webster.

The bill is also unpopular with the public.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll from mid-June, 53% of Americans support the bill and 27% don’t (the rest didn’t offer an opinion). Only two-thirds of Republican voters are in favor. Analysts DW spoke with said that when the content of the bill tends to be explained to voters, including Republicans, support declines.

Changes to health and social programs likely play a major role.

New eligibility rules, particularly for the Medicaid scheme which extends health care coverage to low-income people, and the SNAP food aid program could see millions of people lose health insurance coverage by 2034, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office. In all, more than $1 trillion have been cut from health measures.

“It’s about 17 million that would lose coverage,” said Elisabeth Wright Burak, a senior fellow at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, a nonpartisan research center.

“Even if there are some sort of tax or other benefits, if you’re losing your health insurance coverage, or you’re losing your nutrition assistance, that’s a hit to your [personal] bottom line.”

That could also hit important parts of Trump’s MAGA base — including working Americans who have flipped their support to him during the last decade.

While many of the health program changes have been made because of what Trump has called large scale “fraud and abuse” within the US public health infrastructure, many experts have argued the claimed attempt to cut fat from health care initiatives is hacking into muscle.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/how-will-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-impact-americans/a-73116182

At least four people were dead and dozens unaccounted for on Thursday (Jul 3) after a ferry sank on its way to the resort island of Bali, according to local authorities who said 23 survivors had been plucked from the water so far.

Rescuers were racing to find 38 missing people in rough seas after the vessel carrying 65 passengers sank before midnight on Wednesday as it sailed to the popular holiday destination from Indonesia’s main island Java.

“23 rescued, 4 dead,” Rama Samtama Putra, police chief of Banyuwangi in East Java, where the boat departed, told AFP.

President Prabowo Subianto, who was on a trip to Saudi Arabia, ordered an immediate emergency response, Cabinet secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement on Thursday, adding the cause of the accident was “bad weather”.

Java-based Surabaya search and rescue agency head Nanang Sigit confirmed the same figures in a statement, and said efforts to reach the boat were initially hampered by adverse weather conditions that have since cleared up.

Waves as high as 2.5m with “strong winds and strong currents” had affected the rescue operation, he said.

The agency had earlier said 61 people were missing and four rescued, without giving a cause for the boat’s sinking.

“KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya … sank about 25 minutes after weighing anchor,” the Surabaya search and rescue agency said.

“The ferry’s manifest data totalled 53 passengers and 12 passenger crews,” it said.

A rescue team of at least 54 personnel, including those from the navy and police, were dispatched along with inflatable rescue boats, while a bigger vessel was later sent from Surabaya city to assist the search efforts.

The ferry crossing from Ketapang port in Java’s Banyuwangi regency to Bali’s Gilimanuk port – one of the busiest in Indonesia – is around 5km as the crow flies and takes around one hour.

It is often used by people crossing between the islands by car.

Four of the known survivors saved themselves by using the ferry’s lifeboat and were found in the water on early Thursday, the rescue agency said.

It said the ferry was also transporting 22 vehicles, including 14 trucks.

It was unclear if any foreigners were onboard when the ferry sank.

ACCIDENTS COMMON

Rescuers said they were still assessing if there were more people onboard than the ferry’s manifest showed.

It is common in Indonesia for the actual number of passengers on a boat to differ from the manifest.

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, in part due to lax safety standards and sometimes due to bad weather.

In March, a boat carrying 16 people capsized in rough waters off Bali, killing an Australian woman and injuring at least one other person.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-bali-61-missing-boat-sinks-5217481

Sales of Tesla electric cars fell 13 per cent in the last three months as boycotts over Elon Musk’s political views continue to keep buyers away, a significant development given expectations that anger with the company’s billionaire CEO would have faded by now.

The plunging sales add to growing signs that Musk’s embrace of US President Donald Trump and far-right politicians in Europe has had a deep and enduring hit to Tesla’s brand appeal.

The new figures are also a possible sign that Tesla could disappoint when it announces second-quarter earnings later this month. In the first three months this year, net income fell 71%.

Sales fell to 384,122 in April through June, down from 443,956 in the same period last year. During this period, Musk formally left the Trump administration as a cost-cutting czar, and hopes rose that sales would recover.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/tesla-sales-fell-13-three-months-due-anti-musk-sentiment-5216591

United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Jul 1) 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 in late May, may train its sights on the Tesla and SpaceX founder’s government subsidies.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he would consider deporting Musk.

“We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”

Trump doubled down on the threat when he said he believed Musk was attacking his so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” because he was annoyed that it had dropped measures to support electric vehicles (EV).

“He’s losing his EV mandate. He’s very upset about things, but you know, he could lose a lot more than that, I can tell you right now. Elon can lose a lot more than that.”

Trump made similar comments on his Truth Social network late on Monday, saying that “without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa”.

Musk, the world’s richest person, was Trump’s biggest donor in the 2024 election and initially maintained a near-constant presence at the newly elected president’s side.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-look-deporting-elon-musk-doge-subsidies-tesla-5214391

Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday, pending an ethics investigation over accusations that she was too deferential to a senior Cambodian leader when the two discussed a recent border dispute in a phone call that was leaked.

Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the dispute, which involved an armed confrontation on May 28, in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. In a call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, she attempted to defuse tensions — but instead set off a string of complaints and public protests by critics who accused her of being too fawning.

Paetongtarn’s suspension raises the possibility of renewed instability in Thailand, a still fragile democracy that has suffered several similar bouts of uncertainty. At the root of much of that were concerns from the conservative establishment, including the military, that the political dynasty started by Paetongtarn’s father, the popular but divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was growing too powerful.

She is the third member of her family to hold the prime minister’s office — and the third to face the possibility of removal before her term ended. Thaksin was removed from office in a 2006 coup and driven into exile, while his sister, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawtra, was removed by a court order in 2014, followed shortly after by a coup.

This “recurring cycle of political instability” would likely keep repeating unless Thailand goes through a genuine democratic reform that includes limiting power of unelected institutions, said Purawich Watanasukh, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University in Bangkok.

“Without such foundational reforms, any government, regardless of who leads it, will remain vulnerable to the same forces that have repeatedly disrupted Thailand’s democratic development,” he said.

Growing discontent

The suspension also comes at a time when the country is facing an economic slowdown and growing discontent with Paetongtarn and her Pheu Thai party, in general, with critics saying her government’s performance has been underwhelming.

The judges voted unanimously Tuesday to review the petition accusing her of a breach of the ethics, and voted 7-2 to immediately suspend her from duty as a prime minister until a ruling is given. The court gave Paetongtarn 15 days to give evidence to support her case.

After the court order, Paetongtarn said that she would accept the process and defended her actions.

“I only thought about what to do to avoid troubles, what to do to avoid armed confrontation, for the soldiers not to suffer any loss,” she said.

Fallout from leaked call

She also apologized to people upset over the leaked call and left the Government House shortly after.

Suriya Jungrungruangkit, who is a deputy prime minister and a transport minister, will take charge as acting prime minister, said Chousak Sirinil, minister of the prime minister’s office.

Earlier Tuesday, before the court suspended Paetongtarn, King Maha Vajiralongkorn had endorsed a Cabinet reshuffle after a major party left the government coalition over the leaked call.

G7’s statement reiterated its stance that Iran “can never have nuclear weapons” and urged Iran from “reconstituting its unjustified enrichment activities”.

The foreign ministers of the ‘Group of 70 (G7) countries have urged Iran to resume negotiations for a deal to address the country’s nuclear program in a joint statement on Monday. The statement said that they support the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which was announced by United States President Donald Trump, and have urged all the parties to avoid actions that could “further destabilize the region”.

The statement also reiterated in the context of the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran that the former “has a right to defend itself.”

“We reiterate our support for the security of Israel,” the group said.

The foreign ministers of the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America – met on June 25 in The Hague and discussed Middle East tensions.

In the joint statement released on Monday, the G7 countries appreciated Qatar’s “important” role in facilitating the ceasefire between Israel and Iran and expressed “full solidarity to Qatar and Iraq following the recent strikes by Iran and its proxies and partners against their territory.”

‘Iran can never have nuclear weapons’

The statement reiterated the G7 nations’ stance that Iran “can never have nuclear weapons” and urged Iran from “reconstituting its unjustified enrichment activities”.

“We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran’s nuclear program,” the statement said.

“In order to have a sustainable and credible resolution, we call on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required by its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors,” it added.

The group of some of the world’s most advanced economies also condemned calls in Iran for “the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi”.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/g7-seeks-resumption-of-talks-for-agreement-on-irans-nuclear-program-101751316546500.html

Human trafficking-fueled scam centers have significantly expanded their operations worldwide, according to a crime trend update released on Monday by the international police agency Interpol.

Hubs where trafficking victims are forced to take part in online fraud first emerged in a few Southeast Asian nations, but investigators are now also uncovering similar fraud centers in other regions.

Where are scam centers spreading?

According to the international police organization, victims now come from 66 countries across all continents, highlighting what Interpol describes as a “global crisis” involving hundreds of thousands of people.

Scam centers are now increasingly found in other regions, including the Middle East, West Africa — fast emerging as a new regional hub — and Central America.

Victims are often lured with fake job offers and then held captive in scam compounds. Many are blackmailed over alleged debts, beaten, sexually exploited, and in some cases tortured or raped.

Inside these centers, they are forced to run online scams, mostly targeting people abroad to steal money.

A 2024 Interpol-led operation exposed dozens of cases where victims were coerced into committing fraud, including a raid on an industrial-scale scam centre in the Philippines. That same year, police dismantled a centre in Namibia where 88 youths were forced to scam others.

Emerging technologies are fuelling this trend further. The crime update notes a surge in the use of artificial intelligence, from generating fake job ads to creating deepfake profiles for “sextortion” and romance scams.

Who are the victims?

Interpol says the pool of those preyed upon has widened significantly.

While early human trafficking victims were mainly Chinese-speaking and came from China, Malaysia, Thailand or Singapore, people are now being trafficked to such hubs from South America, East Africa and Western Europe.

“Tackling this rapidly globalizing threat requires a coordinated international response,” said said Interpol’s acting head of police services Cyril Gout.

Who are the people traffickers?

The report found that about 90% of human trafficking facilitators came from Asia, while 11% were from South America or Africa.

About 80% of these facilitators were men, with 61% aged between 20 and 39.

Online scam centers were initially concentrated in Cambodia, with additional trafficking hubs later uncovered in Laos and Myanmar. Today, similar operations have been identified in at least four more Asian countries, and evidence shows the model is spreading to other regions such as West Africa, where cyber-enabled financial crime is already common.

In its findings, Interpol warned that the spread of such criminal networks needs urgent, coordinated action to disrupt trafficking routes and support victims.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/human-trafficking-on-the-rise-as-online-scam-hubs-go-global/a-73095664

It comes as Tehran contradicted the Ayatollah by admitting damage done to their nuclear sites was “severe”

DONALD Trump has claimed that he saved Iran’s Supreme Leader from an “ugly death” by ordering Israeli jets to turn around mid-air during an attack.

The President slammed the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he claimed Iran had won the war – following Tehran’s response to Trump’s Operation Midnight Hammer attack.

In a Truth Social post, Trump raged: “I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH.

“And he does not have to say, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!’

Iran responded to Trump’s strikes on key nuclear sites in Iran by targeting a US army base in Doha, Qatar, with a daring missile blitz.

Tehran admitted that Operation Midnight Hammer and Israeli attacks had caused “excessive and serious” damage to the nuclear facilities.

But the admission on Friday contradicted the Supreme Leader’s claims that Trump “exaggerated” the success of the sophisticated attack.

Trump said of the American strikes: “His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered.”

The US President then made the bombshell claim that he saved the Ayatollah’s life, saying he “would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life”.

He explained: “In fact, in the final act of the War, I demanded that Israel bring back a very large group of planes, which were heading directly to Tehran, looking for a big day, perhaps the final knockout!”

He added: “Tremendous damage would have ensued, and many Iranians would have been killed.

“It was going to be the biggest attack of the War, by far.”

Trump also blasted the Ayatollah’s claims that Iran won the war.

He said: “Why would the so-called ‘Supreme Leader,’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of the war torn Country of Iran, say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the War with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie, it is not so.

“As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister said that US and Israeli airstrikes caused “excessive and serious damage” to the Ayatollah’s nuclear facilities.

And he shut down suggestions that the mullahs would return to the negotiating table for a nuclear deal following the devastating blitz.

Abbas Araghchi said: “I would like to state clearly that no agreement, arrangement or conversation has been made to start new negotiations.

“Don’t take Trump’s words seriously… No plan has been set yet to start negotiations.”

His words came after the White House claimed Iran’s nuclear sites had been “completely and totally obliterated” by the strikes – and said they would take years to rebuild.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/14577725/trump-saved-ayatollah-death/

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday (Jun 29) the 12-day war with Iran had created opportunities for Israel, and the first was the return of hostages held in Gaza by Palestinian militants who attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

His remarks, coupled with the Jerusalem District Court’s postponement of his testimony this week in his long-running corruption trial, gave rise to speculation that progress may be made to end the Gaza conflict and secure the hostages’ release.

The court accepted on Sunday Netanyahu’s request for the delay, citing classified diplomatic and security grounds. US President Donald Trump had suggested on Saturday the trial could interfere with the Israeli leader’s ability to negotiate.

Israel’s military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on Friday the war in Iran, which ended on Jun 24, could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Hamas group in the Gaza Strip.

Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power”, was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.

“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honour and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.

Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-holds-funeral-top-military-commanders-scientists-killed-by-israel-2025-06-28/

Budapest advertises itself as a party town. On Saturday, the party spilled out onto the streets, and occupied, in the scorching heat of summer, the Elizabeth Bridge and the river banks and downtown areas on both shores of the Danube.

Between 100,000 and 200,000 mostly young people danced and sang their way from Pest to Buda.

A distance that usually takes only 20 minutes on foot stretched to three hours.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ban, many Budapest Pride participants told me, spurred them to attend an event they usually stay away from. Last year, just 35,000 took part.

Many banners mocked the Hungarian prime minister. It was like a peaceful revenge by some of those he has declared war on during his past 15 years in power.

“In my history class, I learnt enough, to recognise a dictatorship. You don’t need to illustrate it – Vik!” read one hand-made banner. “I’m so bored of Fascism,” read another.

T-shirts with Orban’s image, in bright eyeshadow and lipstick, were everywhere.

While the LGBT community with its vivid paraphernalia made up the core of the march, this year’s Pride turned into a celebration of human rights and solidarity.

“We don’t exactly look as though we were banned!” a beaming Budapest mayor, Gergely Karacsony, told the crowd, in a speech in front of the Budapest Technical University.

Saturday’s march could go down as the crowning moment of his political career. A city hall starved of funds and in constant struggle with the central government dared to host an event the government tried to ban, and won – for now at least.

“In fact, we look like we’re peacefully and freely performing a big, fat show to a puffed-up and hateful power. The message is clear: they have no power over us!” Karacsony continued.

Among the attendees was Finnish MEP Li Andersson, who felt Orban was using arguments on family values as a pretext to ban the march.

“It’s important to emphasise that the reason why we are here is not only Pride – this is about the fundamental rights of all of us,” she said.

The ban was based on a new law, passed by the big majority held by Orban’s Fidesz party in parliament, subordinating the freedom of assembly to a 2021 Child Protection law that equated homosexuality with paedophilia, and therefore banned the portrayal or promotion of homosexuality in places where children might see it.

The police justified a ban on Saturday’s march on the grounds children might witness it. In response, the mayor cited a 2001 law stating events organised by councils do not fall under the right of assembly.

In the end, the police officers present at the march kept a discreet presence, looking on mournfully at a party from which they were excluded.

In another part of the city, Orban attended the graduation ceremony of 162 new police and customs officers, and new officials of the National Directorate-General for Policing Aliens.

“Order does not come into being by itself, it must be created, because without it civilised life will be lost,” Orban told the students and their families.

Earlier, he and other prominent Fidesz officials posted pictures of themselves with their children and grandchildren, in an attempt to reclaim the “pride” word.

“Post a picture, to show them what we’re proud of,” Alexandra Szentkiralyi, the head of the Fidesz faction in the Budapest Council, posted on Facebook, alongside a picture of herself in a rather plain “Hungary” T-shirt.

The police presence was restrained in Budapest on Saturday, but temporary cameras installed ahead of the march and mounted on police vehicles recorded the whole event.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clylnev5y36o

Four people have been arrested in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that involved vandalizing military aircraft at an airbase in in the United Kingdom, authorities said.

On June 20, two activists from the group Palestine Action allegedly broke into the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire, England, where they sprayed red paint on two refueling and transport aircraft and damaged them with crowbars.

Three individuals, aged 29 to 36, were arrested on suspicion of committing, preparing, or instigating acts of terrorism. A fourth person, a 41-year-old woman, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, according to UK police.

UK moves to ban protest group Palestine Action

Palestine Action, who claimed the action, responded to the arrests by accusing authorities of cracking down on “nonviolent protests” that disrupt the flow of weapons to Israel during what it called the country’s “genocide in Palestine.”

Last week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer labeled the act “disgraceful,” while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Monday announced plans to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.

According to Cooper, the group’s actions have become “more aggressive,” with members showing a “willingness to use violence.”

The Home Secretary decided to proscribe the group following the incident. Once the ban takes effect next Friday, supporting the group will become a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/four-arrested-over-pro-palestine-vandalism-at-uk-air-base/a-73067757

Wall Street climbed into record territory on Friday (Jun 27) as the United States and China moved closer to a trade deal and Washington signalled it could reach tariff agreements with over a dozen other partners.

With the Israel-Iran ceasefire holding, investors turned attention back to the wider economy and President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz.

Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on goods from nearly every country at the start of April, but he delayed higher rates on dozens of nations until Jul 9 to allow for talks.

On Thursday, he said the United States had signed a deal relating to trade with China, without providing further details.

China said on Friday that Washington would lift “restrictive measures”, while Beijing would “review and approve” items under export controls.

“While details remain sparse, the announcement removed another layer of uncertainty from the global risk environment,” said David Morrison, an analyst at financial services firm Trade Nation.

“Investors welcomed the confirmation as a positive signal for supply chains and global trade, even if the implementation timeline remains vague,” he added.

TRADE DEAL PROGRESS

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added on Friday that Washington could reach key tariff deals with over a dozen partners in the coming months and have its trade agenda completed by early September.

The United States is focusing on agreements with 18 key trading partners.

“If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labour Day (Sep 1),” Bessent told Fox Business.

Wall Street stocks pushed higher, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices entering record territory.

The gains came despite the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, coming in at a higher-than-expected 0.2 per cent increase in May.

“Today’s inflation report should not be enough to give markets a significant scare, but it probably dashes the slim hopes investors had for a July rate cut,” said eToro US investment analyst Bret Kenwell.

“Further, it may give investors a bit of hesitation with stocks surging into record high territory as we near quarter-end,” he added.

EUROPEAN AND ASIAN MARKETS

European stock markets also rose, with the Paris CAC 40 leading the way, boosted by a rise in luxury stocks.

Traders brushed off data showing that inflation edged up in France and Spain in June, even as it added to speculation that the European Central Bank might pause its interest rate cut cycle.

In Asia, Tokyo rallied more than one per cent to break 40,000 points for the first time since January, while Hong Kong and Shanghai equities closed lower.

WEAKER DOLLAR

The dollar held around three-year lows on Friday as traders bet on US interest rate cuts, especially after Trump hinted at replacing Fed chief Jerome Powell.

The prospect of lower borrowing costs sent the Dollar Index, which compares the greenback to a basket of major currencies, to its lowest level since March 2022.

Weak economic data on Thursday, showing that the world’s top economy contracted more than previously estimated in the first quarter and softer consumer spending, further fuelled rate cut expectations.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-stocks-hit-record-us-china-trade-progress-5208076

At least 29 school students were killed in a stampede in the Central African Republic as they took their exams, authorities said on Thursday.

The incident occurred as more than 5,300 pupils sat their baccalaureate exams at Barthelemy Boganda High School in the capital, Bangui, on Wednesday.

An electrical transformer exploded and sparked panic, leading to a stampede. Some students were seen jumping from the first floor of the school.

Most of the victims — including 16 girls — died at the scene, according to the Health Ministry. At least 260 other students were treated for injuries.

“The hospital was overwhelmed by people to the point of obstructing caregivers and ambulances,” a Health Ministry source told the AFP news agency.

President declares 3-day mourning period

Central African President Faustin Archange Touadera responded to the news while attending a vaccine summit in Brussels, Belgium. He announced three days of national mourning.

“I would like to express my solidarity and compassion to the parents of the deceased candidates, to the educational staff, to the students,” he said in a video posted to Facebook.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/dozens-killed-in-central-african-republic-school-stampede/a-73051599

WATCH as Kim Jong Un surveys the “North Korean Benidorm” which will finally welcome guests next week after the dictator personally oversaw the mega tourism project.

Hundreds of Brits have already signed up to visit the artificial resort – eager for a glimpse of life inside the Hermit Kingdom – and Kim has now cut the ribbon.

The first guests will finally be welcomed to the Wonsan-Kalma resort next week after years of blundering delays.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the site and made a grand speech at a ceremony on Tuesday.

Footage shows him beaming in front of jack-rabbiting crowds and taking a seat to watch “volunteers” fly down waterslides.

Kim declared that the completed project would go down as “one of the greatest successes this year” and hailed the site as “the proud first step” towards a thriving tourism industry.

The only hitch is that very few foreigners are actually allowed into North Korea.

Foreign visitors are almost exclusively Russian, reflecting Kim’s bromance with Vladimir Putin.

After a total shutdown during the pandemic, Pyongyang opened the border to Russian tourists in February 2024.

Before Covid, Chinese group tours made up 90 percent of North Korea’s overseas tourism, but that inflow is still being heavily limited.

Wonsan-Kalma, built at a former missile base, is modelled on Spain’s Costa Blanca.

Kim event sent a party of stooges there in 2017 to take notes.

Work kept stalling and the site was even overrun by homeless wanderers – known as “kotjebi” in North Korea – who filled the empty hotels with faeces.

But Kim plodded on with the project, and visited one numerous occasions to monitor progress.

He was pictured strolling along the beach with his daughter Ju-ae at the end of last year.

When word spread that the resort was almost ready, holiday planners On The Beach opened a link for people to express their interest – and it racked up more than 250 sign-ups from Brits within a month.

This is despite a terrifying warning that a trip to the dictatorship could cost holidaymakers their lives.

Campaigners have warned that nobody’s safety is assured in Kim’s kingdom.

Greg Scarlatoiu, director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said a trip there would be unsafe and immoral.

He said: “The Wonsan-Kalma resort was built with forced labour. Vacationing there is morally and ethically wrong – it is truly an abomination.

“Having Russian nationals vacation there is testament to the pathetic isolation of both Russia and North Korea.”

Past tourists in the country have even lost their lives.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14566026/kim-jong-un-north-koreas-benidorm-open/

LGBTQ+ Sri Lankans face violence, while promises by the government to repeal colonial-era laws remain unmet.

When 20-year-old Maya went to what he thought was a meeting with a Facebook acquaintance two months ago, it turned out to be a trap.

Maya described how he was met by four men who assaulted him for being gay.

“They said ‘How can you be like this? This isn’t legal in Sri Lanka,’ and beat me,” Maya told DW.

“I didn’t go to the police, because there’s no law, and they won’t take any action.”

Sri Lanka has not yet repealed sections 365 and 365A of the penal code, colonial-era laws that criminalize “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and “acts of gross indecency.”

Although the law broadly applies to all kinds of sexual activity with no reproductive nature, it has “overwhelmingly been used against the LGBT community,” rights lawyer Aritha Wickramasinghe told DW.

Wickramasinghe works with iProbono, a global group of organizations providing free legal service to help people access their rights.

Many of Maya’s friends have cut him off for being gay, he said, adding that hateful comments directed toward him have deeply affected him.

“When other people go and tell my family members, ‘How can a man behave like this?’ I feel really upset. I’ve even attempted suicide, that’s how disturbed I was,” Maya said.

A history of discrimination

Sri Lanka’s colonial-era laws echo those once seen across Asia. Many countries have repealed these laws — notably India in 2018 and Singapore in 2022 — but Sri Lanka still lags behind.

Kannan Sathurshan, a 27-year-old performance artist, said he felt “trapped between society and the law, and unable to move forward” and was considering leaving Sri Lanka to live more openly with his boyfriend.

“As a gay man, I can’t be open about who I am,” he told DW. “There are younger people who look up to me as a role model, but when they see that even I’m not open about who I am, how will they be?”

Although the laws are not widely enforced, LGBTQ+ people in Sri Lanka continue to face discrimination in many aspects of life.

“Sri Lankans never had a problem with homosexuality,” said Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, founder and director of the LGBTQ+ organization EQUAL GROUND.

“It was the British who brought this into our country, and it has been used by some politicians to vilify LGBTQI people in order to cause division within society,” Flamer-Caldera said.

She told DW that Sri Lankan society had “come a long way” in the last 20 years, with far more public support for LGBTQ+ people. However, she also noted a rise in hateful rhetoric towards the LGBTQ+ community.

Wickramasinghe said that although the use of the law was going through its “quietest period,” police officers continued to use it against LGBTQ+ people, contrary to reports that it was unenforced or dormant.

He said his organization had previously handled cases of forced anal and vaginal examinations of LGBTQ+ people being conducted by the police.

Police media spokesperson Frederick Udayakumara Wootler told DW that consenting LGBTQ+ couples could not be prosecuted for having sex in private in the absence of a complaint that alleged a use of force or a lack of consent.

He said the message of sensitivity towards LGBTQ+ individuals had been conveyed “very clearly” to police officers through circulars and directives, and said, “there won’t be any harassment against” LGBTQ+ individuals.

Fight for decriminalization

Sri Lanka’s current government, led by leftist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, promised in itsbmanifesto to repeal the laws that criminalize the LGBTQ+ community.

However, seven months after it won a supermajority in November’s parliamentary elections, there has been no official action on the topic.

A private member’s bill was put forward in 2023 by parliamentarian Premnath C. Dolawatte to repeal the colonial-era laws.

The same year, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court welcomed the move and said decriminalization would not be unconstitutional.

The court ruled that the decriminalization of sexual activity amongst consenting adults “only furthers human dignity and as such this cannot be considered as being an offence that must be maintained in the statute book.”

Lawyer Wickramasinghe told DW the Human Rights Commission had also written to the government to ask them for decriminalization.

Adhil Suraj, the executive director of the LGBTQ+ organization Equite, told DW the government’s lack of action was “questionable.”

He said Equite was planning to meet parliamentarians from the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) alliance, opposition leaders and international stakeholders to advocate for decriminalization.

“We can’t express ourselves as who we really are,” he said. “The law is a really bad barrier to day-to-day life on many levels — economically, socially, politically.”

Maya believes that a change in the law will mean a change in attitudes both within the community and beyond.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/lgbtq-discrimination-persists-in-sri-lanka/a-73034352

Meanwhile, a Brit couple have been held in Iran for unspecified espionage charges

IRAN executed three more prisoners accused of spying for Israel as it launched a major crackdown in the wake of the 12-Day War.

The three men – named as Idris Ali, Azad Shojai and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul – were hanged yesterday morning.

The trio were paraded on State TV in blue prison uniforms after being convicted of espionage.

At least six men have been killed in the past 10 days on the orders of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A further 700 have been rounded up and arrested.

Iran human rights boss, Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, said: “After the ceasefire with Israel, the Islamic Republic needs more repression to cover up military failures, prevent protests, and ensure its continued survival.

“Executions are the Islamic Republic’s most important tool for instilling societal fear, and in the coming days and weeks, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners might be at risk of execution.”

In May, a young son of a British couple imprisoned in Iran on spying charges revealed how devastated he was after hearing of his parents’ arrest.

Husband and wife Craig and Lindsay Foreman have spent almost 150 days in jail since being detained during a round-the-world motorbike trip.

The Brits entered Iran despite being warned by the Foreign Office and their family to avoid passing through the notoriously strict state.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14562617/iran-executes-prisoners-spying-israel/

A shaky ceasefire began to take hold between Israel and Iran on Tuesday (Jun 24) under pressure from US President Donald Trump, raising hopes for an end to the biggest ever military confrontation between the Middle East arch-foes.

Trump scolded both sides for early violations of the truce he announced at 0.500 GMT, but directed especially stinging criticism at Washington’s close ally Israel over the scale of its strikes, telling it to “calm down now”.

He later said Israel called off further attacks at his command to preserve the deal to end a 12-day air war with Iran.

Both Iran and Israel sent signals that the conflict was over, at least for now.

President Masoud Pezeshkian hailed a “great victory” in a war he said Iran had successfully ended, according to Iranian media.

Iran’s official news agency IRNA earlier reported Pezeshkian as saying during a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Iran was ready to resolve differences with the US based on international frameworks.

Israel’s military, meanwhile, said all regions of the country had moved to full activity level without restrictions from 8.00pm local time (17.00 GMT). Its airport authority said Ben Gurion Airport had reopened.

Israeli armed forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir said the military was at “the conclusion of a significant chapter, but the campaign against Iran is not over”, though he added the military was refocusing on its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Whether the Israel-Iran truce can hold is a major question. Signalling a difficult path ahead, it took hours for Israel and Iran to even acknowledge that they had accepted the ceasefire that Trump said he had brokered.

Still, oil prices plunged and stock markets rallied worldwide in a sign of confidence arising from the ceasefire pact, which was taken to mean there would be no threat of disruption to critical oil supplies from the Gulf.

CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS?

Iran and Israel earlier on Tuesday accused each other of violating the truce.

Trump, en route to a NATO summit in Europe, admonished Israel with an obscenity in an extraordinary outburst at an ally whose war he had joined two days before by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites.

“All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

That followed a post in which he had said: “Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!”

Before departing the White House, Trump told reporters he was unhappy with both sides for breaching the ceasefire, but particularly frustrated with Israel, which he said had “unloaded” shortly after agreeing to the deal.

“I’ve got to get Israel to calm down now,” Trump said. Iran and Israel had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office acknowledged that Israel had bombed a radar site near Tehran in what it said was retaliation for Iranian missiles fired three-and-a-half hours after the ceasefire had been due to begin.

It said Israel had decided to refrain from further attacks following a call between Netanyahu and Trump, but did not explicitly say whether the strike on the radar site took place before or after they spoke.

The Islamic Republic denied launching any missiles and said Israel’s attacks had continued for an hour-and-a-half beyond the time the truce was meant to start.

Pezeshkian said later Tehran would not violate the ceasefire unless Israel did so, and that it was prepared to return to the negotiating table, without elaborating, according to state-run Nournews.

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One heading to the NATO summit, Trump said he did not want to see Iran’s ruling system toppled.

“I don’t want it. I’d like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible. Regime change takes chaos and ideally we don’t want to see so much chaos,” he said.

“Iran’s not going to have a nuclear weapon, by the way, I think it’s the last thing on their mind right now.”

In the hours before the truce took effect, four people – one of them an off-duty Israeli soldier – were killed by Iranian missiles that hit a residential building in Beersheba in southern Israel, according to the Israeli ambulance service.

Iranian officials said nine people were killed by a strike on a residential building in northern Iran.

SENSE OF RELIEF

In both countries, there was a palpable sense of relief that a path out of war had been charted, 12 days after Israel launched it with a surprise attack, and two days after Trump joined in with strikes on Iranian nuclear targets.

“We’re happy, very happy. Who mediated or how it happened doesn’t matter. The war is over. It never should have started in the first place,” said Reza Sharifi, 38, heading back to Tehran from Rasht on the Caspian Sea, where he had relocated with his family to escape the airstrikes.

Arik Daimant, a software engineer in Tel Aviv, said: “Regrettably, it’s a bit too late for me and my family, because our house back here was totally destroyed in the recent bombings last Sunday. But as they say: ‘better late than never’, and I hope this ceasefire is a new beginning.”

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One heading to the NATO summit, Trump said he did not want to see Iran’s ruling system toppled.

“I don’t want it. I’d like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible. Regime change takes chaos and ideally, we don’t want to see so much chaos,” he said.

“Iran’s not going to have a nuclear weapon, by the way, I think it’s the last thing on their mind right now.”

In the hours before the truce took effect, four people – one of them an off-duty Israeli soldier – were killed by Iranian missiles that hit a residential building in Beersheba in southern Israel, according to the Israeli ambulance service.

Iranian officials said nine people were killed by a strike on a residential building in northern Iran.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-says-hit-iran-radar-conflict-refrained-other-strikes-donald-trump-call-5200861

Dozens of tourists and workers, some carrying children, were left stranded on Tuesday (Jun 24) at Thailand’s main land crossing with Cambodia, after the army stopped almost all border traffic in an escalating territorial dispute.

Thailand has closed crossing points in all seven border provinces to everyone except students and those seeking medical treatment, after a long-running row erupted into military clashes last month in which a Cambodian soldier was killed.

There was confusion at the Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint in Sa Kaeo province – the main crossing for people travelling overland to Cambodia’s Siem Reap, where the Angkor Wat complex is located.

Around 50 Cambodian workers, mostly vendors who regularly cross into Thailand for trade, found themselves stuck at the checkpoint, unable to return home.

“I wanted to go back last night but had to sleep at my shop instead because police didn’t allow me to cross,” said Malin Po, 38, a clothing seller.

“I usually cross every day because I come to work in Thailand and go back home to Cambodia.”

She said no one had explained why the checkpoint was closed, leaving many frustrated.

Riot police were stationed near the crossing point – a grand archway sealed shut with yellow railings – as people trudged back towards the Thai side after being turned away.

Chanta Wo, 32, a Cambodian carpenter based in Sa Kaeo, said he was trying to cross the border after learning that his 73-year-old mother-in-law had just died.

Travelling with his wife, brother, two-year-old daughter and one-month-old baby, he was seen changing his infant son’s nappy on a bench near the checkpoint.

“I was warned away by the police … I’m very concerned,” he told AFP.

BORDER ROW

As well as Cambodian workers, a handful of tourists hoping to cross the border also found themselves stuck.

Matteo Toso, 34, from Turin, Italy, said he was backpacking across Asia and had spent two months starting from Nepal before attempting to cross into Cambodia.

“I might have to go back to Bangkok and take a plane to Cambodia but of course that’s more expensive,” he told AFP.

He said he was concerned that tensions between Thailand and Cambodia could impact Thailand’s tourism in the long run.

Dozens were also stuck on the Cambodian side of the border, where food sellers urged the two sides to reconcile.

“I appeal to both Cambodia and Thailand to get along with each other again, so all people can make mutual benefits,” seafood vendor Phong Ratanak, 37, told AFP.

Touch, 18, who has been working on a farm in Thailand, said she did not know the news about the border restrictions imposed by the Thai army.

“I have been waiting at the checkpoint since the morning. I don’t know what would happen,” she told AFP, adding she felt “a bit sad”.

Thailand and Cambodia are at odds over several small sections of their border in a row that dates back to the drawing of the 800km frontier in the early 20th century during the French occupation of Indochina.

Violence sparked by the dispute has led to at least 28 deaths in the region since 2008, but the issue had died down in recent years until last month’s flare-up.

Peace-seeking talks stalled, and Cambodia has banned imports of fuel and oil from Thailand, as well as Thai fruit and vegetables.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/cambodia-thailand-border-crossing-shut-confusion-5200766

The US Embassy in India now requires F, M, and J visa applicants to make their social media profiles public to strengthen identity verification and eligibility screening. This builds on a 2019 rule mandating all visa applicants to submit social media identifiers as part of the application process.

The US Embassy in India has introduced a new requirement for F, M, and J non-immigrant visa applicants to adjust their social media privacy settings, making their profiles publicly visible. This measure aims to enhance the screening process, allowing officials to verify applicants’ identities and assess their eligibility under US law.
In the social media post announcing the requirement, the US Embassy noted that in 2019, the United States had implemented a requirement for all visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms.

The post does not specify the duration for which applicants need to make their social media profiles public. The US State Department under President Trump has taken several steps to increase scrutiny for foreign nationals entering the US. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously announced that visa applicants with social media activity related to the Israel-Gaza war can face stricter vetting or outright rejection.

In addition, the US government has announced a new travel ban targeting 12 countries, completely barring entry for nationals from those nations and imposing partial visa restrictions on seven others. The policy, aimed at safeguarding national security, focuses on countries considered high-risk due to security gaps and terrorism-related concerns, primarily in the Middle East and Africa.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/us-embassy-in-india-announces-new-social-media-privacy-requirement-for-f-m-and-j-visa-applicants-article-152139037

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (Jun 24) said Israel has agreed to US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire with Iran after it achieved its goal of removing Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat.

A statement issued by Netanyahu’s office thanked Trump and the US for their support and participation. Israel also said it would “react with force” to any violation of the truce.

Trump’s declaration came after a sharp escalation of the conflict since Sunday, when the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites, prompting Iran to retaliate by firing missiles at a US base in Qatar on Monday.

Israel agrees to Trump’s proposal for ceasefire with Iran

Israel has agreed to US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire with Iran, having achieved its goal of removing Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement just posted by his office.

The statement added that Israel had “inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets”, and “all the objectives” of Operation Rising Lion, which was launched on Jun 13, had been met.

“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat. Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire.”

Iran-Israel ceasefire is now in effect, proclaims Trump

“The ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it,” said US President Donald Trump in his latest Truth Social post.

However, both Iran and Israel have yet to officially confirm the agreement, although Iranian state TV earlier announced that a ceasefire had been “imposed” on Israel.

A senior White House official had said Trump brokered a deal in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel had agreed so long as Iran did not launch further attacks.

Death toll in Iran missile strike on Israeli city rises to 4

In an update, Israel’s emergency services said four people had now been killed, while over a dozen were wounded after an Iranian missile struck the city of Beersheba in the country’s south.

Israel’s Magen David Adom added that over 20 people were injured, and search and rescue operations were ongoing. Pictures and videos of the incident showed a partially wrecked residential block, with debris everywhere in the aftermath of the strike.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-ceasefire-iran-israel-5197361

The NATO alliance has crafted a summit in The Hague this week to shore itself up by satisfying U.S. President Donald Trump with a big new defence spending goal – but it now risks being dominated by the repercussions of his military strikes on Iran.
The two-day gathering is also intended to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that NATO is united, despite Trump’s previous criticism of the alliance, and determined to expand and upgrade its defences to deter any attack from Moscow.
The summit and its final statement will be short and focused on heeding Trump’s call to spend 5% of GDP on defence – a big jump from the current 2% goal. It is to be achieved by investing more in both militaries and other security-related spending.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, however, upset NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s preparations on Sunday as he declared Madrid did not need to meet the new spending target even as Spain approved the summit statement.
Rutte insisted on Monday that Spain did not have an opt-out and NATO was “absolutely convinced” Madrid would have to hit the new target to fulfil its military commitments to the alliance.

“NATO does not have – as an alliance – opt-outs, side deals, et cetera, because we all have to chip in,” he told reporters in The Hague.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has had to settle for a seat at the pre-summit dinner on Tuesday evening – rather than a formal session with the leaders when they meet on Wednesday – due to his volatile relationship with Trump.
The U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend makes the summit much less predictable than Rutte – a former prime minister of the Netherlands hosting the gathering in his home city – and other NATO member countries would like.
IRAN ADDS UNCERTAINTY
Much will depend on the precise situation in the Middle East when the summit takes place – such as whether Iran has retaliated against the U.S. – and whether other NATO leaders address the strikes with Trump or in comments to reporters.

The deal to increase NATO member countries’ defense spending reportedly went through after Spain secured an exemption, following its staunch opposition. Spain called the rise to 5% “disproportionate and unnecessary.”

NATO members agreed on Sunday to increase defense spending to 5% of their countries’ GDP, a benchmark long sought by US President Donald Trump, who had complained more vocally than other US presidents that his country had shouldered much of Europe’s security for too long.

Spain had sought to block the measure, but ultimately dropped its opposition after a deal was reached for it to be exempt.

It is expected that NATO members will vote in favor of ramping up defense spendingto 5% during the upcoming two-day NATO meeting set to start Tuesday in The Hague.

Once adopted, all member nations except Spain will have until 2035 to reach the goal of 5%.

The agreement calls for at least 3.5% of national GDP to be spent on core military needs, while an additional 1.5% can be allocated for related expenditures.

Spain claims exemption
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez fought the deal. In a blistering letter to NATO chief Mark Rutte, Sanchez said the 5% figure “would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive.”

Sanchez went further during a national address on Spanish television. “A 5% spending would be disproportionate and unnecessary,” he said.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/nato-members-agree-to-increase-defense-spending-to-5/a-73000676

Iran’s parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping channel through which around 20% of the world’s daily oil flows.

The move, which could block $1 billion in oil shipments per day, is likely to send oil prices soaring.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, jumped 3.9% to $80 a barrel on Sunday, while US crude rose 4.3% to $77 a barrel.

The conflict between Israel and Iran has sent oil prices yo-yoing over the past week, which has in turn caused see-saw moves for the U.S. stock market, because of rising and ebbing fears that the war could disrupt the global flow of crude. Iran is a major producer of oil and also sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s crude passes.

It will come into effect pending a final decision by Iran’s Supreme Council.

The Supreme Council’s decision must be made by tonight, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV.

Iran’s major escalation in response to US strikes on its nuclear facilities “will be done whenever necessary,” Email Kosari, Commander in the Revolutionary Guards, said on Sunday.

The strait connecting the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf is one of the world’s most critical chokepoints — just 20 miles wide at its narrowest point.

Shipping lanes in the strait — the area that is deep enough for ships to pass — are even narrower at less than two miles wide in each direction, making them much more vulnerable to attacks and threats of closure.

The channel is shallow, making it a particular target for underwater mining, while the narrowness of the strait makes passing vessels vulnerable to attack from shore-based missiles or interception by patrol boats or helicopters.

“Iran would most likely pursue a multi-layered asymmetric strategy rather than attempting an outright naval blockade,” Gregg Roman, Executive Director of the Middle East Forum told The Post.

“Their primary approach would involve rapidly deploying naval mines across the shipping lanes—this is their most effective tool for immediate disruption. They’d simultaneously launch anti-ship missiles from mobile coastal batteries like their Ghader and Nasir systems, targeting oil tankers from distances up to [185 miles].”

Iran has no legal authority to block sea traffic through Hormuz, and any attempts by its navy to bar entry to the strait would likely be met by a strong response.

Ships with the US Fifth Fleet, along with other Western navies, are patrolling the area at all times.

It is bordered by Iran to the north and Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south.

The bulk of all oil exported by the regional petro giants, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, all travel through this narrow waterway.

Asia is likely to bear the brunt most from any closures to the waterway, with China, India, Japan and South Korea all getting most of their oil imports through the strait.

China, the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil and a critical partner that has previously used its veto power at the UN Security Council to block sanctions or resolutions against Tehran, would be particularly affected by any closure.

The move would also hit Iran’s own economy.

“Any closure attempt would be temporary and ultimately self-destructive. Iran depends on the strait for its own vital imports and knows that such action would trigger an overwhelming response from the US 5th Fleet, which maintains detailed operational plans for exactly this scenario,” Roman said.

“It would amount to economic suicide while alienating China, their primary oil customer. Tehran understands this calculus, which is why the threat remains more valuable as leverage than as an actual course of action.”

Iran last disrupted traffic in the Persian Gulf in April last year when it seized an Israel-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the MSC Aries of violating maritime regulations.

In April 2023, Iran seized a US-bound tanker, claiming the ship had struck another vessel.

And in May 2022, two Greek tankers were held for six months in what was widely seen as retaliation to the confiscation of Iranian oil on a different ship by Greek and US authorities.

In previous years, the Houthi militia in Yemen was able to successfully disrupt traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait leading into the Red Sea on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

Using the firing of missiles and drones, the Houthis were able to cut ship traffic through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden some 70% in June compared with the average levels in 2022 and 2023, according to Clarkson Research Services Ltd, a unit of the world’s largest shipbroker.

Vessel operators have been forced instead to reroute traffic around the southern tip of Africa instead of using the Suez Canal, making journeys for ships traveling between Europe and Asia vastly more expensive and much longer.

Iran’s Navy was likely to employ the same tactics previously used by the Houthis, along with cyber attacks and other sabotage operations, Roman added.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/06/22/world-news/iran-orders-closure-of-strait-of-hormuz-putting-one-fifth-of-worlds-oil-supply-at-risk/