Small cruise ship rescued skiff in south-east Alaska even though Meta billionaire’s $300m megayacht was closer
Mark Zuckerberg has faced questions over why a small cruise ship in south-east Alaska rescued a stranded skiff and its crew when his 387ft superyacht had been closer.
The Silicon Valley billionaire’s yacht, worth a reported $300m, is said to have “repeatedly” declined to assist when a nearby boat called for help last week.
Continue reading...Astronomers say viewing conditions promising for this year’s shower, and 50 to 100 meteors an hour may be visible
The Perseid summer light show is back, and viewing conditions are especially promising across the northern hemisphere.
The meteor shower’s is expected to peak on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and coincides with a total solar eclipse across Spain, Iceland and Greenland and a six-planet parade – though the best time to view the fireballs will come after totality.
Continue reading...In rare public break with Trump, Israel’s prime minister says IDF will not withdraw until Hamas is disarmed
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza in a rare public break with Donald Trump.
In a statement on Sunday, Netanyahu said that he was confronting a “wave of rumours about Israeli weakness and Israeli withdrawals on all fronts” and rebuked US pressure to end wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran without Israel’s buy-in.
Continue reading...British Columbia battling 102 fires day and night across province, as breakneck speed hampers firefighters’ efforts
Canada’s federal government has announced it will provide urgent assistance to British Columbia after an onslaught of unprecedented fast-moving wildfires forced about 22,000 people to flee their homes in frantic evacuations.
A total of 102 wildfires were raging across the province on Sunday, of which nearly half were categorised as “out of control”, according to the BC Wildfire Service. Of those fires, 78 ignited during the past week.
Continue reading...Tropical cyclone brings torrential rain and high winds to east coast after hitting Japan’s southern Okinawa province
Typhoon Dolphin, the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit China this year, has made landfall on the country’s east coast, bringing torrential rain and strong winds and triggering warnings of flooding and landslides.
The storm has already swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings.
Continue reading...Levels at reservoir along Arizona-Nevada border dipped below previous record set in 2022, amid water crisis in west
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level since it was filled some 90 years ago, the latest sign of a deepening water crisis in the American west.
Water levels at the reservoir, which straddles the Arizona-Nevada border outside Las Vegas, hit 1,040.4ft (317.1 meters) above sea level on Friday, according to federal data. That’s just below the record set on 28 July 2022, according to the US Bureau of Reclamation.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Sadiq Khan urges Westminster council to adopt ‘positive vision of economic growth’ of nightlife
Sadiq Khan has ordered Westminster council to scrap a policy that would ban new pubs and bars from opening in Soho and the West End of London.
This comes after the Guardian revealed the council’s new licensing policy asks pubs to stop customers from standing up while consuming beverages, which it calls “vertical drinking”. The policy is under consultation and also asks pubs to have table service rather than allowing orders at the bar.
Continue reading...Drone strike comes after Riyadh signs defence pact and Tehran issues tough demands to reopen strait of Hormuz
Yemen’s Tehran-aligned Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.
The attack early on Sunday came after Iran said tough new demands would have to be met before it would reopen the strait of Hormuz, and after the United Arab Emirates said one of its ships had been targeted by an Iranian missile, as a deal to open the waterway remained out of reach.
Continue reading...Travellers caught up in migration row as Madrid introduces checks on visitors from Italy in retaliation for Rome’s move
Italy’s foreign minister has called Spain’s decision to impose retaliatory checks on travellers from Italy “incomprehensible and completely unacceptable” as people making their way between the two EU countries were left grappling with the effects of the escalating feud.
Spain started carrying out spot checks on visitors from Italy at midnight on Saturday. The tit-for-tat move came after Rome infuriated Madrid by launching checks on 1 August for travellers from Spain in response to the recent influx of about 72,000 people into Ceuta, a Spanish territory in north Africa.
Continue reading...Manuel Hernandez charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment after boat overturned in New York harbor
The captain of a boat that capsized in the New York harbor on Saturday evening has been charged following the deaths of a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old daughter.
Manuel Hernandez, 46, was arrested and charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment in the early hours of Sunday morning, a New York police department spokesperson told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Rage-baiting efforts of Trump accounts silenced after posts such as a video linking her Red album to Republicans
Some of Taylor Swift’s songs have been removed from videos posted on social media by Donald Trump’s campaign and the White House, silencing efforts to mock the pop star.
A video posted 3 August featuring the US president and the first lady, Melania Trump, watching fireworks was posted this month on TikTok with Swift’s song August.
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