Europe

July 21 hottest day ever recorded globally: EU climate monitor

  PARIS, July 24, 2024 (AFP) – July 21 was the hottest day ever registered globally, according to preliminary data published Tuesday by the EU’s climate monitor. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said the global average surface air temperature of 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.7 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday was the warmest in their record books, which go back to 1940. It comes as heatwaves and wildfires ravage swathes of Europe and the United States. […]

Russia jails US reporter Gershkovich for 16 years

YEKATERINBURG, Russia, July 20, 2024 (AFP) – US reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced by a Russian court on Friday to 16 years in prison for “espionage”, a verdict slammed as “despicable”, “disgraceful” and a “sham” by Western governments and his employer. Gershkovich was sentenced after just three court sessions in a secretive closed-door trial in the Urals City of Yekaterinburg, the city where he was arrested while on a reporting trip in March 2023. After […]

Trump says spoke with Zelensky, pledges to ‘end the war’

  By Robin LEGRAND WASHINGTON, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday he had spoken by telephone with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, and pledged to end the European country’s war with Russia. “I appreciate President Zelensky for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent […]

Massive global IT outage hits airlines, banks, media

By Joseph BOYLE PARIS, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – Airlines, banks, TV channels and other business across the globe were scrambling to deal with one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years on Friday, apparently caused by an update to an antivirus program. Major US air airlines initially grounded all flights over a communication issue — though American Airlines later said it had reinstated its flights. Airports across the world said check-in systems were […]

Kyiv and Prague agree to produce rifles, ammo in Ukraine

PRAGUE, July 16, 2024 (AFP) – Kyiv and Prague have agreed to launch joint production of assault rifles and ammunition components inside Ukraine, the countries’ prime ministers said Tuesday following talks in the Czech Republic. Ukraine has been working to develop its own fledgling arms industry to reduce its dependence on Western military aid since Russian forces invaded in 2022. “Today we have signed two important agreements, among others, in the defence industry. A new […]

Blazes intensify in Russia, N. America in fierce start to wildfire season

PARIS, July 16, 2024 (AFP) – Extreme wildfires are spreading across Russia and North America and shrouding swathes of the region in smoke, the EU’s climate monitor said Tuesday as it warned of worse to come. Copernicus said unusually hot and dry conditions were causing blazes in Siberia, Canada and Alaska and a “remarkable intensification” of planet-heating gases as swathes of forest burn. A column of smoke containing ash and harmful particles from wildfires in […]

UN says world population to peak at 10.3 billion in the 2080s

NEW YORK (AFP) – Earth’s population will peak in the mid-2080s at around 10.3 billion people, then drop slightly to a level much lower than anticipated a decade ago, the United Nations said. The current population of 8.2 billion people will rise to that maximum over the next 60 years, then dip to 10.2 billion by the end of the century, says a report released Thursday entitled “World Population Prospects 2024.” It said the size […]

China, Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol

  BEIJING, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – China and Russia conducted a joint naval patrol in the northern and western Pacific, Beijing’s defence ministry said Sunday, adding that the exercise was not “targeted” at any other nation. The two countries have drawn closer in recent years and tout their friendship as having “no limits”. Both share hostile relations with US-led Western defence alliance NATO. Beijing has further strengthened its diplomatic, economic and military ties with […]

Musk’s X ‘deceives’ users with blue checks, EU charges

By Raziye AKKOC BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform is misleading users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines. EU regulators are unhappy with the blue badge system under Musk’s ownership since anyone can now obtain it with a premium subscription, whereas before it was reserved for verified accounts […]

At least three dead as scaffolding collapses in Switzerland

By Elodie LE MAOU, Fabrice COFFRINI LAUSANNE, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – At least three people were killed and eight injured on Friday when scaffolding collapsed off a 19-storey building under construction in the western Swiss city of Lausanne, police said. The scaffolding collapsed shortly before 9:30 am (0730 GMT), falling “like a house of cards”, according to one witness. The entire scaffolding structure on one side of the 60-metre (200-foot) tower came down, sending […]

Suitcases dumped on UK bridge contained remains of two people: police

LONDON, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – Detectives from the UK’s largest police force said Friday that they were leading the manhunt after two suitcases believed to contain the remains of two men were dumped on a famous bridge. Avon and Somerset Police received a report late on Wednesday night of a man with a suitcase acting suspiciously on the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, southwest England. Officers arrived at the scene around 10 minutes later, […]

Hungarian airport suspends operation after heatwave damage

  BUDAPEST, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – An airport in eastern Hungary is temporarily closed due to runway damage caused by the scorching temperatures of a heatwave hitting the central European country, its operator said on Friday. Despite a typically temperate climate, Hungary has been experiencing daily highs exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days, and temperatures could hit a record high over the weekend. Due to the “continuous thermal stress”, the […]