Pompeyo González Pascual, 76, sent explosive packages to Spain’s prime minister and US and Ukrainian embassies
A Spanish court has sentenced a man to 18 years in prison over letter bombs sent to Spain’s prime minister and the US and Ukrainian embassies in 2022.
Pompeyo González Pascual, 76, who opposed western support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, was found guilty of terrorism and manufacturing explosives by Spain’s top criminal court, the audiencia nacional.
Continue reading...More than 150 reported dead and thousands injured as peaceful demonstrations turn violent
Student activists in Bangladesh have alleged they were abducted and tortured during a violent police crackdown on the protests that have swept the country and led to the arrest of thousands of political opponents and government critics.
Nahid Islam, a Dhaka University student and one of the main organisers of the protest movement, which has been fighting against “discriminatory” quotas for government jobs, said he was picked up by police late last week, tortured and left unconscious on the side of the road.
Continue reading...Diplomatic coup for China as Beijing declaration sets out deal to unite across territories and prepare for elections
Leaders from Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions have agreed after three days of talks in Beijing to form a national unity government at an unspecified point in the future, in a move that has bolstered China’s status as a global mediator, particularly in the Middle East.
The “Beijing declaration”, signed by 14 Palestinian factions, also represents a significant step forward in negotiations between the groups, although it is light on detail about how to actually achieve Palestinian unification.
Continue reading...Women who sorted frankincense told to change their story ‘or face consequences’ in doTERRA’s investigation
An investigation into the abuse of women working to supply frankincense to a leading US essential oils brand built on ethical sourcing has left workers unpaid and frightened, with some saying they were told to change their stories “or face the consequences”.
Last year doTERRA, which sells essential oils and other wellness products to a mostly female customer base, launched an investigation into its frankincense supplier in Somaliland after reporting by the Fuller Project uncovered allegations of serious abuses, including sexual harassment and assault. Many women hired as frankincense sorters said they were routinely underpaid and faced harsh working conditions that had impacted their health.
Continue reading...Ex-president’s campaign claims money going to Harris is ‘$91.5m heist’; senator makes impassioned speech on eve of Israeli leader’s visit
Harris will not preside over the chamber when when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.
According to an aide, she will meet with Netanyahu at the White House at some point this week. On Wednesday, Harris is scheduled to be in Indianapolis to moderate a conversation with the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Inc, one of the nation’s oldest Black sororities.
Continue reading...Billionaire says Optimus will start performing tasks for carmaker in 2025 and could be ready for sale in 2026
The Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, has claimed the company will produce “genuinely useful” humanoid robots to start working in its factories next year.
The world’s richest person, who has a penchant for making overambitious claims on social media, posted on his platform X, formerly Twitter, that he also hoped to expand into “high production” mode to make robots with a humanlike form available sell to other companies in 2026.
Continue reading...Israeli company aims for stock market flotation after spurning biggest deal in tech group’s history
The cybersecurity firm Wiz has turned down a $23bn (£18bn) takeover bid from Google’s parent, Alphabet, spurning what would have been the tech company’s biggest ever acquisition and seeking a stock market flotation instead.
Alphabet had been in talks with Wiz, founded by alumni of Israel’s cyberintelligence unit, as it seeks to catch rivals Microsoft and Amazon in the hyper-competitive cloud services market.
Continue reading...Harris insiders say she is more likely to engage in public criticism of the Israeli prime minister than Joe Biden and to focus attention on the civilian toll in Gaza
One of the key intrigues hanging over Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious visit to Washington this week is what kind of reception he will receive from the White House, and how he will be received by Joe Biden and his vice-president – and the likely Democratic party nominee – Kamala Harris.
For much of Monday, no meetings between Netanyahu and either Biden or Harris had been confirmed, even though the Israeli PM had already departed for the US and was scheduled on Wednesday to address a joint session of Congress at the request of the House leader, Mike Johnson, a Republican.
Continue reading...The right-wing government had told Pharmac that it no longer needed to consider the Treaty of Waitangi in its funding decisions
A director of New Zealand’s medicine funding agency Pharmac has resigned in protest of a government directive telling the agency that it no longer needed to consider the Treaty of Waitangi, the country’s founding document which upholds Māori rights, in its funding decisions.
In a letter to Pharmac, the associate health minister and leader of the libertarian Act party David Seymour set out his expectations of the government agency, including his thoughts on how the principles of Treaty of Waitangi, or Te Tiriti o Waitangi, should be applied.
Continue reading...Late spring and early summer blazes in Canada, Alaska and eastern Russia add to carbon emissions
The northern hemisphere has had a large number of intense wildfires in the first half of summer, carrying vast amounts of smoke across Eurasia and North America.
Research by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams) showed large-scale and intense wildfires had been developing throughout the late spring and summer, with numerous fires burning in Canada, Alaska and eastern Russia.
Continue reading...Support of California delegation puts vice-president over threshold needed when party meets at Chicago convention
More Democrats come out for Harris – live
Kamala Harris has said she is looking forward to “formally accepting the [presidential] nomination” of the Democratic party after she earned enough support from delegates including hundreds from her native California.
“When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination,” she said in a statement late Monday.
Continue reading...Firm behind ‘California Forever’, a proposed green city for up to 400,000 people on farmland, pulls back from vote
The company behind the highly criticized “California Forever” project, a plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaires to build a green city for up to 400,000 people on California farmland, withdrew the ballot measure for the election in November, according to a letter released Monday.
The decision followed a discussion between Mitch Mashburn, chair of the board of supervisors in Solano county, and Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader and chief executive of California Forever.
Continue reading...Vice-president receives backing from top figures and rakes in $81m in 24 hours, before giving rousing speech to staff
Kamala Harris was closing in on the Democratic party’s presidential nomination on Monday after the former House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, joined a slew of Democratic heavyweights endorsing her run for the White House – and the vice-president gave a rousing evening speech to campaign staff, with Joe Biden calling in by phone to support her.
Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris acknowledged the “rollercoaster” of the last several weeks, but expressed confidence in her new campaign team.
Continue reading...Tensions over Palestinian death toll have eerie parallels to western concerns about current Israeli operations
Tony Blair’s government accused Israeli forces of acting more like the “Russian army than that of a civilised country” during a major military incursion into the occupied West Bank, newly released official files show.
The tensions, which have eerie parallels to western concerns over current Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip, are laid bare in papers released by the National Archives.
Continue reading...Brazilian leader says he was ‘frightened’ by counterpart’s warnings of ‘bloodbath’ if he loses to Edmundo González
Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has urged Venezuela’s government to respect the result of next Sunday’s election, saying he had been “frightened” by Nicolás Maduro’s warnings of a “bloodbath” if he loses the vote.
After 11 years in power, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader is currently trailing in opinion polls to the opposition candidate, the retired diplomat Edmundo González, and in recent weeks, Maduro and his allies have stepped up their predictions of post-election violence following what they say will be a victory for the ruling party.
Continue reading...Israeli PM will visit US amid political tumult and his meeting with Biden will be a test of US president’s influence
Benjamin Netanyahu is due to arrive in Washington on Monday at a moment of historic political tumult, as he is scheduled to meet the outgoing US president, Joe Biden, and address a divided Congress amid fears of a growing regional war in the Middle East.
The Israeli prime minister’s arrival will come just a day after Biden bowed out of the presidential race, and will be a major test of Biden’s ability to project US influence and restraint on Israel in the lame duck period of his presidency. Netanyahu will be forced to walk a tightrope as he balances between the Donald Trump-led Republican party and a reinvigorated Democratic campaign that may unite behind the vice-president, Kamala Harris.
Continue reading...Leftwingers set up protest camp on Sylt to demonstrate against far right, economic exclusion and climate crisis
Punks from across Germany have set up a summer-long protest camp on the North Sea holiday island of Sylt to demonstrate against economic exclusion, environmental degradation and the presence of the far right in one of the country’s most exclusive areas.
For the third consecutive year, the young leftwingers with mohawks, torn T-shirts and facial piercings began descending on Sylt at the weekend, mainly by train, to disrupt the seasonal repose of the elites.
Continue reading...British Columbia says fire crews are battling more than 300 blazes, with more than half classified as out of control
Wildfires have forced hundreds from their homes in Canada’s westernmost province and officials warn weeks more of scorching temperatures will add pressure to fire crews already in the parched region.
The British Columbia wildfire service said crews were battling more than 300 blazes, with more than half of the fires are classified as out of control. Thousands of residents are under evacuation alert, readying to leave their homes at a moment’s notice.
Continue reading...Five residents, including gunman’s mother, and one employee killed in shooting in town of Daruvar, say police
A gunman has opened fire in a nursing home in Croatia, killing at least six people, including his mother, officials have said.
Five residents and one employee were fatally injured when the gunman entered the private nursing home in Daruvar in north-east Croatia on Monday and began shooting, according to police, in a rare instance of gun violence in the Balkan country.
Continue reading...Kyiv indicates it will keep reaching out to Republicans and Democrats, as Zelenskiy pays tribute to Biden
Ukraine will continue to reach out to Republicans and Democrats and avoid being sucked into US internal politics, and a bruising probable contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, officials in Kyiv indicated on Monday.
Its president, Volodymyr Zelenksiy, paid a warm tribute to the departing Joe Biden on Sunday, thanking him for his “unwavering support”. He praised the US president’s “bold steps” taken in response to “challenging times” and Russia’s 2022 invasion.
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