Fiji declares national HIV emergency as Pacific nation grapples with surge in cases

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Government estimates that one in 60 adults in Fiji now living with HIV, as escalating use of methamphetamine fuels ‘epidemic’

Fiji has declared a national HIV emergency amid a spike in infections as the Pacific nation grapples with a correlating rise in methamphetamine use.

The country’s health and medical services minister, Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu, said in a statement on social media that an outbreak-level response was no longer sufficient to address what he described an “epidemic”.

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Trump calls EU offer to Canada of associate membership ‘laughable’, while threatening tariffs

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The US president call the move a ‘hostile act’, as Canada seeks to move closer to the EU and diversify its defence ties

Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with “serious tariffs” and a cut to trade after the bloc proposed to make Canada its first ever associate member, calling the idea “laughable”.

Suggesting the move was a “hostile act”, the US president told reporters he could put “very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe”. He added: “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.”

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Peter Max, psychedelic pop artist who epitomized flower power, dies aged 88

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The US artist, whose swirly, colorful, instantly recognizable designs became hugely commercially successful, died on Monday

Peter Max, whose colorful, psychedelic pop art expressed the optimism of the “flower power” movement of the 1960s and graced everything from postage stamps to a cruise ship, has died at 88.

Max died on Monday, his son, Adam Max, said in a written statement on Wednesday. No cause was given.

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Texas kills man by lethal injection in state’s fifth execution this year

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LeJames Norman, 40, killed at Huntsville penitentiary while scheduled execution in Georgia halted by judge

A man convicted over the shooting deaths of three people was executed on Wednesday in Texas, while another execution scheduled for the same time in Georgia was halted by a judge.

It’s the fifth execution in Texas this year. Georgia has yet to put anyone to death this year. The nation’s busiest death chamber is in Florida, which accounted for more than half the 25 executions already carried out in the US this year.

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LA homelessness non-profit workers arrested over alleged corruption and bribes

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Pair accused of misappropriating millions in taxpayer dollars as Trump officials target alleged fraud in blue states

Federal law enforcement officers have arrested two employees of California-based homelessness non-profits on corruption charges, alleging that they misappropriated millions in taxpayer dollars.

The US justice department has arrested Michael Young, a founder of the Culver City-based nonprofit Home At Last, and Lakiya Malone, an employee of the Los Angeles-based Special Service for Groups. The two are expected to appear in court on Wednesday.

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Climate crisis likely behind devastating Nepal-Tibet floods that killed more than 1,300, first study finds

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Scientists say global heating was a destabilising factor in collapse of 200,000 sq metre glacier in August

Climate breakdown probably weakened the glacier that collapsed causing catastrophic floods and killing hundreds of people in Nepal and Tibet last month, the first scientific study of the disaster has found.

Researchers identified unusually warm conditions before the glacier’s collapse, which sent an avalanche of 110m cubic metres (3,885 cu ft) of snow and ice into the valley below. This triggered flash floods on an almost unprecedented scale, hitting communities downstream without warning.

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English far-right extremist who discussed killing Jews, Muslims and migrants is jailed

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Ivan Jennings, 46, sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to encouraging terrorism on social media

A rightwing extremist who discussed poisoning Jews and Muslims and called for the killing of migrants and minority communities has been jailed.

Ivan Jennings, 46, called for the murder of hundreds of people he labelled “subhumans”, saying it was “justified and actually needed”, in extreme far-right groups over a period of three months in 2024.

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Nato leader warns of ‘most dangerous and complex security environment in a generation’

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Mark Rutte asks UK and Europe to ‘provide hard power Nato needs’ in face of geopolitical uncertainty

Nato needs “more UK and more Europe” to deal with the most dangerous security environment faced by the west in a generation, the secretary general of the 32-country military alliance said this afternoon on a visit to the UK.

Mark Rutte praised Britain for promising to increase defence spending in line with US demands after a meeting prime minister Andy Burnham – but argued that the military and financial effort must continue into the future.

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Prisoners to ‘double up’ in one-person prefab cells, leaked documents show

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Exclusive: Ten category C prisons in England and Wales asked to add second beds, in breach of safe occupancy limits

The Prison Service has drawn up plans to “double up” hundreds of prisoners in temporary prefabricated cells built for one person, at the request of the Ministry of Justice, leaked documents show.

Amid an ongoing overcrowding crisis in England and Wales, governors of 10 category C prisons have been asked to sign off the installation of second beds in “rapid deployment cells [RDCs]”.

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Planning permission for new Scottish AI datacentres suspended for up to a year

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MSPs vote for strict environmental impact assessments and will delay decisions until national strategy is developed

Holyrood has voted to pause planning applications for all new AI datacentres for up to a year until the Scottish government has developed a national strategy.

On Wednesday, MSPs backed a Scottish Labour motion to halt new schemes for up to 12 months while rules on hyperscale datacentres are developed in what could be a blow to the British government’s AI strategy.

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More Republicans are turning on Iran war as midterms come into view

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Three more GOP members voted for war powers resolution to force withdrawal from the conflict as election looms

As the US war with Iran drags on, the ranks of Republicans signaling the conflict is a liability for their party continues to grow.

When the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening considered its sixth war powers resolution intended to force Donald Trump to withdraw troops from the conflict, three Republicans who had not supported the previous efforts broke with their party to vote this one to passage. Earlier that day, a Republican who had lost his primary after repeatedly clashing with Trump proposed impeaching the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, alleging a variety of constitutional transgressions including prosecuting the war against Iran without congressional authorization.

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