Overview - MicroWave

US ex-official pleads guilty in heist to steal and sell water with secret pipe (www.theguardian.com)

Dennis Falaschi charged in multi-million dollar scheme as records show he wasn’t only one to take water from California’s farm region...

Poland's leader says the border with Belarus will be further fortified after a soldier is stabbed (apnews.com)

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday that its forces would further fortify the border with Belarus and can use “all available means” to defend the NATO nation’s frontier, after a soldier was seriously wounded with a knife by a migrant....

A synthetic drug ravages youth in Sierra Leone. There's little help, and some people are chained (apnews.com)

In Sierra Leone, a cheap, synthetic drug is ravaging youth. Trash-strewn alleys are lined with boys and young men slumped in addiction. Healthcare services are severely limited. One frustrated community has set up what it calls a treatment center, run by volunteers. But harsh measures can be used....

Social media bosses are ‘the largest dictators’, says Nobel peace prize winner (www.theguardian.com)

Journalist Maria Ressa named Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk in speech at Hay literary festival in Powys...

Germany and France agree Ukraine may strike Russian military targets (www.euronews.com)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would not prohibit Ukrainian attacks on Russian military targets, saying Ukraine “is allowed to defend itself.”...

US returns stolen Italian art worth $65m in vow to put loot back ‘where it belongs’ (www.theguardian.com)

Italy celebrates getting back 600 antiquities that were taken and sold years ago and recovered as a result of criminal investigations...

The Alitos, the neighborhood clash and the upside-down flag (www.nytimes.com)

Inside the escalating conflict on a bucolic suburban street that Justice Alito said prompted a “Stop the Steal” symbol at his home....

Russian influence: Police raid EU parliament offices and staffer home (www.euronews.com)

The Belgian prosecutor says the employee played a ‘significant role’ in a suspected Russian propaganda operation which infiltrated the European Parliament....

It’s not just boomers, young people are voting far right too (www.politico.eu)

Ahead of the European election, striking data shows where Gen Z and millennials’ allegiances lie....

Summer 2024: Temperatures cross 50C in northern India (www.bbc.com)

Temperatures have crossed 50C in parts of northern and central India as the country grapples with extreme heatwave conditions....

North Korea drops balloons carrying trash in South (www.bbc.com)

North Korea has dropped at least 260 balloons carrying rubbish in the South, prompting authorities to warn its residents to stay indoors....

Macron opens the door for Ukraine to ‘neutralize’ Russian bases (www.politico.eu)

Ukraine wants to use donated weapons to attack targets inside Russia, but its allies are split on the issue....

Why are German young people so easily seduced by AfD's ideas? (www.euronews.com)

Recent voter surveys say between 14% and 22% of under-30s would vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany party in the upcoming European elections. But who are these potential voters?...

Lawyers to plastics makers: prepare for ‘astronomical’ PFAS lawsuits (www.nytimes.com)

At an industry presentation about dangerous “forever chemicals,” lawyers predicted a wave of lawsuits that could dwarf asbestos litigation, audio from the event revealed....

EPA accused of ‘egregious’ misconduct in PFAS testing of pesticides (www.theguardian.com)

US agency found PFOS and other types of PFAS in pesticides but failed to disclose those results, watchdog group alleges...

Wisconsin judge to hear union lawsuit against collective bargaining restrictions (apnews.com)

A law that drew massive protests and made Wisconsin the center of a national fight over union rights is back in court on Tuesday, facing a new challenge from teachers and public workers brought after the state’s Supreme Court flipped to liberal control....

Turbulence on Doha-Dublin flight leaves 12 injured (www.bbc.com)

Twelve people have been injured due to turbulence on a flight from Doha to Dublin....

Hong Kong arrests six under new security law for 'inciting rebellion' (www.bbc.com)

Hong Kong has announced its first arrests under a new security law - detaining six people for publishing social media posts which “incited hatred” against Beijing....

Is China building a strategic foothold in Cambodia? (www.dw.com)

Joint military drills this month suggest the ties between China and Cambodia are growing stronger. Experts argue Beijing will use Cambodia as a conduit to further its strategic interests in the South China Sea....

Ditch brightly coloured plastic, anti-waste researchers tell firms (www.theguardian.com)

Studies find red, blue and green plastic decomposes into microplastic particles faster than plainer colours...

Majority of US voters support climate litigation against big oil, poll shows (www.theguardian.com)

And almost half of respondents back the filing of criminal charges against oil companies that have contributed to the climate crisis...

Thousands of Americans without power due to severe weather (www.bbc.com)

Tornadoes and devastating thunderstorms have left nearly 300,000 residents across seven states without power as of Monday night....

Luxury perfumes linked to child labour, BBC finds (www.bbc.com)

Children have picked ingredients used by suppliers to two major beauty companies, the BBC can reveal....

Pope uses homophobic slur in meeting with bishops — reports (www.dw.com)

Italian media has said that the pope used a highly derogatory slur against LGBTQ+ people at a bishops conference. The remark may sour attempts by the pope to make the church more welcoming....

Belgium gives Ukraine nearly €1B in military aid, including 30 supersonic fighter jets (www.politico.eu)

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Alexander De Croo sign new security pact....

EU ministers fume as ‘outrageous’ Hungary yet again blocks military aid for Ukraine (www.politico.eu)

A large number of EU resolutions on Ukraine are being blocked by Hungary, said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis....

Georgia set to approve ‘foreign agents’ law amid growing Western backlash (www.politico.eu)

The U.S. has imposed sanctions over the controversial legislation, while Brussels warns it will sink the country’s efforts to join the EU....

Top Mexican cartel criminal El Nini, once among America’s most wanted, extradited to the US (www.cnn.com)

A top Mexican cartel member known as ‘El Nini,’ who was one of America’s most-wanted criminals for his alleged role in the fentanyl trade, has been extradited to the United States....

Tech company fined by DOJ over ‘whites only’ job posting (www.independent.co.uk)

In March 2023, a recruiter for Arthur Grand Technologies posted a job advertisement looking for ‘US Born Citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates]’...

Mexico City could run out of water in a month unless it rains (www.businessinsider.com)

Mexico City could run out of drinking water by June 26, an event locals call "Day Zero."...

Visitor to Taiwan hit with $9,000 fine over 'roast chicken and pork combo' lunch box (www.abc.net.au)

Taiwan’s customs officials have issued a fine of NT$200,000 ($9,369) to a traveller for attempting to bring a lunch box containing pork into the country....

Trying to buy a house is 'playing a game you can't win' (www.bbc.com)

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Poland presents plan to fortify border to Russia, Belarus (www.dw.com)

Defense officials in Poland have shared details on a plan to strengthen the country’s eastern border. They say Poland is at constant risk of hostile actions by Russia and its ally, Belarus....

China is flexing its missile arsenal in a new simulation for a mass Taiwan attack as the US watches Beijing's Rocket Force closely (www.businessinsider.com)

China released a simulation video on Friday of how it could strike Taiwan with waves of missiles....

India elections: PM Narendra Modi claims he has been chosen by God (www.theguardian.com)

Indian leader tells interviewer God ‘just keeps making me do things’ but that he ‘cannot dial him directly’...

World has ‘moral responsibility’ to help small island states survive climate crisis – UN agency chief (www.theguardian.com)

Vulnerable economies must be supported with finance and practical aid to find long term solutions, says Jorge Moreira da Silva of Unops...

Millions in US face extreme-heat threat as experts urge better protections (www.theguardian.com)

Recommendations include heat forecasts and outdoor-worker safeguards to prevent thousands of deaths and injuries...

Six newborn babies die after fire tears through Delhi hospital (www.theguardian.com)

Bystanders ran in to rescue 12 newborns from fire at children’s hospital as PM Narendra Modi says deaths are ‘heart-rending’...

$150m paid in police misconduct claims shows violent response to 2020 protests, experts say (www.theguardian.com)

In the four years since mass protests broke out over the killing of George Floyd, cities across the US have settled more than 130 lawsuits involving police misconduct with payouts totaling nearly $150m to protesters, journalists, legal observers and bystanders, according to an analysis of the lawsuits published this week....

‘They call us Nazis’: inside the wealthy German town where the far right is on the rise (www.theguardian.com)

Counter rallies in Kaufbeuren show split between supporters of AfD and locals who acknowledge the Bavarian town’s Nazi past...

Brazil floods: Waterborne disease outbreak kills four people (www.bbc.com)

Authorities in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul have confirmed 54 cases of the waterborne leptospirosis disease after the region experienced unprecedented floods in the months of April and May....

Papua New Guinea landslide: UN fears 670 people are dead (www.bbc.com)

About 670 people are estimated to be buried under a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, a UN official says....

Tunisia: Thousands of migrants 'dumped' in the desert (www.dw.com)

Human rights observers say the Tunisian authorities are conducting illegal “collective expulsions” of migrants, with funds from the European Union. They say that the practice is becoming increasingly common....