Schools close and crops wither as ‘historic’ heatwave hits south-east Asia (www.theguardian.com)
Governments across region grappling for response as temperatures soar to unseasonable highs...
Global rainforest loss continues at rate of 10 football pitches a minute (www.theguardian.com)
Despite major progress in Brazil and Colombia, deforestation led by farming still cleared an area nearly equal to Switzerland...
‘I saw my sister forced to say she was a spy on Iranian TV. It was the worst day of my life’ (www.theguardian.com)
French teacher Cécile Kohler was on holiday in Iran when she became one of dozens of European nationals used as pawns by the regime. Her sister Noémie explains the ongoing fight for her release...
Chinese presence in a Polish port triggers security fears (www.politico.eu)
The Polish government is under pressure to designate the terminal as critical infrastructure....
EU’s Russiagate hits German far right (www.politico.eu)
AfD lawmaker under pressure to say whether he received payment from pro-Russian network....
JK Rowling, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk are fuming over Scotland’s hate crime law (www.politico.eu)
It was no April Fool’s joke....
US braces for retaliation after attack on Iran consulate — even as it says it wasn't involved (apnews.com)
Shortly after an airstrike widely attributed to Israel destroyed an Iranian consulate building in Syria, the United States had an urgent message for Iran: We had nothing to do with it....
President Javier Milei fires 24,000 government workers in Argentina: ‘No one knows who will be next’ (english.elpais.com)
## Public sector employees denounce that the cuts will put many state functions on hold...
Russia says NATO, at 75, has returned to Cold War mindset (www.reuters.com)
‘No choice’: Ukraine eyes Kerch bridge in Crimea for drone attack (www.theguardian.com)
Third attack on Kerch bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea ‘inevitable’, say Ukraine’s military intelligence...
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz calls for early elections (www.axios.com)
Taiwan condemns 'shameless' China's thanks for global sympathy on quake (www.reuters.com)
Taiwan on Thursday condemned China as “shameless” after Beijing’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations thanked the world for its concern about a strong earthquake on the island....
Palestinian Fatah group says Iran trying to spread chaos in West Bank (www.reuters.com)
Israel won't release journalist whose sick baby is solely reliant on breast milk (www.middleeasteye.net)
An Israeli court has refused to release a female Palestinian journalist whose prematurely born baby is solely reliant on her mother’s breast milk for nutrition, her family told Middle East Eye....
Gaza: Israeli Strike Killing 106 Civilians an Apparent War Crime (www.hrw.org)
Between January and March 2024, Human Rights Watch spoke by phone with 16 people about the October 31 attack on the residential Engineers’ Building, and the death of their relatives and others. Human Rights Watch analyzed satellite imagery, 35 photographs, and 45 videos of the attack’s aftermath, as well as other relevant...
UN Security Council fails to condemn strike on Iran in Syria (www.reuters.com)
The United States, Britain and France on Wednesday opposed a Russian-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have condemned an attack on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria, which Tehran has blamed on Washington’s ally Israel....
Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law (www.theguardian.com)
Three former supreme court justices, including the court’s former president Lady Hale, are among more than 600 lawyers, academics and retired senior judges warning that the UK government is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel....
Earthquake showed Taiwan was well prepared for a big one — more so than parts of U.S. (www.nbcnews.com)
Following a devastating earthquake in 1999, Taiwan upgraded its seismic infrastructure. Experts said it offers lessons for the U.S. West Coast....
IDF Allowed 100 Civilian Deaths for Every Hamas Official Targeted by Error-Prone AI System (www.commondreams.org)
Top Israeli official Ron Dermer began yelling during a meeting with U.S. officials on Gaza, Israel plans for a ground invasion of Rafah (www.nbcnews.com)
The Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again – another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights (theconversation.com)
Food price fears as Brexit import charges revealed (www.bbc.com)
The government has revealed how much companies will have to pay to import foods from the EU due to Brexit....
Taiwan quake to hit some chip output, disrupt Asia supply chain, analysts say (www.yahoo.com)
BEIJING (Reuters) -Taiwan’s biggest earthquake since 1999 is likely to cause some disruption across Asia’s semiconductor supply chain, analysts said, after chipmakers from TSMC to UMC halted some operations to inspect facilities and relocate employees....
Satellite images capture how Russia is shielding its warships in port from threats like Ukraine's exploding drone boats (www.businessinsider.com)
Satellite images show Russia has placed barriers at its ports to defend the Black Sea Fleet....