At least 90 killed in Chinese coal mine explosion, state media reports
The blast in Shanxi province constitutes the country's worst mining disaster in 16 years.
Watch: Pitches, PlayStations and protein ice cream – A look inside Brazil’s World Cup base camp
BBC's Brandon Livesay toured the Columbia Park Training Facility in Morris Township, New Jersey that will host the team in the coming weeks.
French pair held until trial after boys abandoned by road in Portugal
The couple, who allegedly left two young boys on a roadside in the south of Portugal, will remain in custody, a court rules.
Rubio meets Modi during India visit with energy high on agenda
The secretary of state wants to sell US energy to Delhi to make up for shortfalls caused by the Iran war.
Senegal’s president sacks PM and former ally after months-long feud
Bassirou Diomaye Faye also dissolved the government, creating uncertainty amid a debt crisis in the country.
Reeves’s tax cut on children’s meals a political ‘soundbite’, say restaurateurs
Chancellor’s measure to help families save money during summer holidays ‘won’t make any difference’
Cutting tax on children’s meals is a political “soundbite” that will make little difference to families or businesses, restaurateurs have said.
This week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced a temporary reduction in VAT on the children’s menu in restaurants from 20% to 5% between June and September, in order to help families with the cost of living crisis and offer a boost to the hospitality sector.
Continue reading...Board of Peace focus on Hamas risks return to war in Gaza, critics say
US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts say
The top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed board’s lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war.
The “high representative for Gaza”, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the “principal obstacle” to the ceasefire’s continued implementation because “it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition”.
Continue reading...China mine explosion: death toll leaps to 90 after gas blast
Xi Jinping urges authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in rescue operation after blast in northern Shanxi province
At least 90 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in China’s northern Shanxi province, the country’s deadliest mining accident since at least 2009.
The gas explosion occurred late on Friday at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, with 247 workers on duty underground, the state news agency Xinhua reported.
Continue reading...Gaza flotilla activists allege abuse by Israeli forces while detained
The detainees say they were slapped, hit, humiliated and even subjected to sexual violence, but Israel's prison service says the allegations are false.
Fraudster trying to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s foiled over bogus invoices
Paperwork supplied by Andrew Crowley, 46, found to be made using printing methods 25 years too modern
A fraudster who tried to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s was foiled when his bogus accompanying paperwork was found to be written with printing methods that were 25 years too modern, a court has heard.
Andrew Crowley, 46, asked the auctioneers to value three Cycladic figures and one Anatolian stargazer statuette that he had inherited from his grandfather, Southwark crown court in London was told on Friday.
Continue reading...Albanese joins coalition of nations calling for an end to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank
Australia joins the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand in condemning illegal settlements
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The Israeli government is undermining stability in the West Bank as settler violence reaches unprecedented levels, a coalition of western countries says, as its leaders call for an end to construction of Israeli settlements it says breach international law.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, Anthony Albanese and the leaders of the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand said:
Continue reading...Burn-like rashes and hunger: Gaza’s children face skin disease crisis
Overcrowded camps in Gaza see a surge in skin diseases. Children are most affected as healthcare services collapse.
Trump releases new batch of previously classified UFO files
The Trump administration has released a second batch of previously classified files on UFO sightings.
Jacinta Allan launches state-sponsored apprenticeships at Victoria’s Labor conference ahead of election
The premier is offering 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission as part of a pre-election push
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Jacinta Allan has used Labor’s final state conference before the election to announce a plan for a government-owned electricity body to hire apprentices to address significant workforce shortages and job insecurity.
The Victorian premier announced the plan in a speech that drew on her father’s experience as a linesman at the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which was revived by Daniel Andrews in 2023 after being privatised by former premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s.
Continue reading...Stephen Hawking’s father worried his son ‘does not study much’, diaries reveal
Exclusive: New biography uncovers Frank Hawking’s papers in which he lamented that his son had ‘little initiative’
In exploring the physics and geometry of the universe, Stephen Hawking became a world-renowned pioneer of black hole theory, writing the bestselling book A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 13m copies, and inspiring people to “look up at the stars and not down at your feet”.
But, during Hawking’s student years and as he approached adulthood, his father was deeply concerned about how his son would turn out. Frank Hawking lamented that “he hangs round the house with little initiative and does not study much”, according to previously unknown diaries that he had written partly in code.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese visibly emotional after defending Labor’s capital gains tax and negative gearing changes
Prime minister launches impassioned argument in favour of much-maligned reforms announced in last week’s federal budget
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A visibly emotional Anthony Albanese has launched an impassioned defence of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount and family trusts, saying he will “not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some”.
The prime minister has faced sustained criticism to the reforms, which include limiting negative gearing to new-builds while grandfathering existing properties, changing how CGT is calculated and imposing a new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts.
Continue reading...Over 1.6 million pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia for hajj pilgrimage
More than 1.6 million Muslim pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage
Are India and Pakistan quietly preparing to restart dialogue?
India and Pakistan remain publicly entrenched, even as unofficial voices push for renewed dialogue and restraint.
Why are anti-migrant attacks increasing in South Africa?
Rising xenophobia in South Africa leaves migrants facing harassment, job losses and community violence.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed 10, including six paramedics, health ministry says
Lebanon’s health ministry condemns attacks as violations of international law; Israel says it struck Hezbollah infrastructure sites and militants
Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed 10 people, including six paramedics and a child, in the space of 24 hours, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Friday, placing further strain on a US-brokered ceasefire. The ministry condemned the attacks as violations of international law.
Further airstrikes were reported on Friday night into Saturday. An AFP correspondent in the southern city of Tyre reported hearing two blasts as one building on the outskirts was struck, then another inside the city, sending plumes of smoke into the air. Earlier, officials worked to evacuate people from the neighbourhood, using loudspeakers urging them to leave.
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