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Police officers pose with Carman Simon Peter, an Australian man arrested in the suspected murder of a 17-year-old Thai girl in Pattaya, at Suvarnabhumi International Airport,…
Authorities in the US state of Kentucky declared a state of emergency after four people were killed as a result of flash floods triggered by severe thunderstorms.Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said three of the victims died in Madison County, while the fourth died in Jackson County as a result of the floodingHe added that rescue teams carried out multiple operations to evacuate people from vehicles and homes in different parts of the state, as the risk of flooding continued.The National Weather Service warned of flash flooding in parts of Kentucky and Indiana, noting that some areas had already received between 4 and 10 inches of rain, with more rainfall expected.Local authorities predicted additional rainfall of up to 7 inches in some parts of the state through the evening, urging residents to be cautious and avoid driving because of poor nighttime visibility. Related Story Source link
US President Donald Trump announced that US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites “for violating the Cease Fire Agreement.”In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump explained that the new US airstrikes came after Iran violated the ceasefire agreement, vowing further escalation if the situation continues.The US president warned that there might come a point where the US may no longer be able to be reasonable “and will be forced to militarily complete the job.””If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump posted.The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced yesterday that it had carried out additional strikes targeting sites inside Iran, following a recent attack on a commercial vessel. Related Story Source link
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan on Saturday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).Preliminary data issued by the PMD’s National Seismic Monitoring Center showed that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 19 km, with its epicenter located about 58 km northeast of Barkhan, in Balochistan.The tremor was felt across several areas, including Kohlu, Barkhan and Rakhni, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or property damage.Earlier this month, on June 3, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Pakistan. Source link
His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi speaking at Dubrovnik Forum Friday. His Excellency the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi has said maritime security can no longer be the responsibility of any single country, warning that growing geopolitical rivalry, cyberattacks and threats to critical infrastructure require greater international cooperation. Speaking at the Dubrovnik Forum in Croatia Friday, HE Dr al-Khulaifi said recent developments in the Middle East had demonstrated how disruption to a narrow maritime passage could have far-reaching consequences for the global economy, energy markets and international supply chains. He said freedom of navigation was not only a commercial interest but a cornerstone of international law, adding that open sea lanes were a strategic necessity for Qatar and the Gulf states, whose economies depend on a rules-based international trading system. It is not believed the world is moving towards a system based on exclusive or politically controlled corridors, he said, warning that such an approach would lead to greater fragmentation and instability. HE Dr al-Khulaifi said sustainable maritime security rests on three pillars: adherence to international law, freedom of navigation without discrimination, and diplomacy and the peaceful settlement of disputes. While military capabilities could deter threats, he said, they could not replace trust between states. Drawing on Qatar’s mediation experience, he argued that deterrence alone rarely delivers lasting security, and that durable stability requires dialogue, political solutions and diplomacy. On the role of the United States, HE Dr al-Khulaifi said Washington remained an indispensable player in maritime security because of its naval capabilities and strategic presence. However, he added that recent regional events had shown military superiority does not necessarily translate into political stability. He also highlighted the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass each day, stressing that it must remain open, secure and governed by international law. Dr al-Khulaifi concluded by renewing Qatar’s call for respect for international law, protection of critical maritime infrastructure, freedom of navigation and the peaceful resolution of disputes, saying diplomacy and dialogue remain the best guarantee of lasting maritime security. Related Story Source link
International rescue and relief teams have continued to arrive in Venezuela, two days after twin earthquakes devastated the capital, Caracas, and surrounding areas, killing at least 589 people and injuring 2,980, according to local authorities.Officials said hundreds of people remain missing or trapped beneath the rubble. A website set up to receive reports of missing persons had registered around 50,000 reports by Friday morning.The US Geological Survey has estimated that the death toll could eventually exceed 10,000, which would make the twin earthquakes among the deadliest to hit Latin America in the past century.Interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s government has pledged a large-scale relief effort, deploying firefighters, police, civil defense teams and the military to affected areas.The neighboring coastal city of La Guaira was among the worst-hit areas, with at least 100 buildings, including high-rise residential blocks, collapsing. Homes also collapsed in the coastal state of Carabobo, where residents faced widespread power and water outages as families tried to salvage their belongings.The two earthquakes, measuring magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, struck about 160km (100 miles) west of Caracas on Wednesday, which was a public holiday. Related Story Source link
Two tropical storms approaching Japan have prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and the cancellation of more than 100 flights, amid warnings of flooding and landslides in parts of the country's south and west.Typhoon Mikhala is approaching Japan with winds of up to 144 km/h, while heavy rainfall continues to affect southern and western regions.Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways announced the cancellation of 70 and 50 flights, respectively, to and from Okinawa and Kagoshima.Authorities in Kyoto, on the southern island of Honshu, also urged thousands of residents to evacuate, warning of possible landslides and rising water levels in major rivers.The storm is expected to move across the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku over the weekend, with the possibility of merging with Typhoon Higos over the Pacific Ocean.Meanwhile, the Japanese military canceled the first scheduled flight of an MV-22 Osprey aircraft to Miyako Island, which was due to take place as part of joint military exercises with the United States. Source link
Venezuelan Health Minister Carlos Alvarado announced that the death toll from the two devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela has risen to 235, as search and rescue operations continue for those missing and trapped under the rubble.For his part, Venezuelan parliament president Jorge Rodriguez confirmed that the country is racing against time to rescue the injured and those trapped, amidst continuing aftershocks, which numbered more than 138 by Thursday afternoon. This prompted the government to declare several regions, including La Guaira state, disaster areas.He indicated that at least 346 buildings were damaged, including eight hospitals, some of which were evacuated, as international rescue teams arrived to participate in relief efforts. Related Story Source link
Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Mike Burgess prepares to speak at the ASIO headquarters in Canberra. (AFP) Australia faces multi-faceted threats from autocratic regimes, hackers and antisemitic extremists that present a systemic challenge to national security and are degrading the security environment, the country’s spy chief said. While Australia’s terrorism threat level remains at “probable”, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess said the designation does not accurately capture the “concurrent, cascading and compounding threats.” ASIO’s annual assessment followed a year in which Australia confronted threats on multiple fronts, from online radicalisation, state-sponsored cyberattacks to arson against Jewish businesses and a mass shooting in Sydney. “’Probable’ does not tell the full story. The next level on the scale is ‘expected’, which applies when we have intelligence about a specific attack. We do not,” Burgess said in the annual threat assessment speech on Wednesday night. “But we do know the environment is degrading and acts of politically motivated violence are becoming more likely than ‘probable’ suggests.” Despite the challenges, Australia is well-placed to meet security threats, Burgess said. ASIO has foiled 31 major terror plots since 2014 and resolved more than a dozen major terror-related cases since the Bondi Beach mass shooting in December at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people. Police said the two alleged gunmen appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State militant group. Burgess defended ASIO’s resource allocation leading up to the Bondi attack, saying the agency was countering multiple threats simultaneously and it was extremely difficult to “simplistically pivot” from one threat to another. “We cannot stop every terrorist, just as we cannot catch every spy. But we continue to work around the clock to keep Australians safe,” Burgess said. Encrypted chat platforms are radicalising people, including minors, within weeks, while social media is amplifying grievance narratives, eroding trust in institutions, promoting discord and inflammatory rhetoric, and exacerbating polarisation, he said. Foreign spies are targeting classified information on Australia’s AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership with the United States and Britain. An official with security clearance was contacted by someone pretending to be from a consulting firm, Burgess said. Related Story Source link
The US Supreme Court Thursday backed a Trump administration move to strip deportation protections from some 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians living in the US.The conservative-dominated court, in a 6-3 ruling, said the Department of Homeland Security's decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian immigrants was not subject to judicial review.TPS protects its holders from deportation and is granted to people deemed to be in danger if they return home because of war, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances.Lawyers for Haitian and Syrian TPS holders contended during oral arguments before the court in April that conditions in their home countries remained unsafe and the administration's move was motivated at least in part by racial hostility.Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the majority opinion in which he was joined by the five other conservative justices on the top court, rejected claims that race was a ‘motivating factor’ in President Donald Trump's decision to strip Haitians of TPS status.’None of the cited statements by either the President or the (Homeland Security) Secretary was overtly racial, and in substance all expressed policy views that could rest on race-neutral justifications,’ Alito wrote.Trump campaigned for the White House on a pledge to expel millions of migrants and has pushed to dismantle the TPS programme as part of his broader immigration crackdown. At the height of the 2024 election campaign, Trump stoked fears about Haitian immigrants by falsely claiming they were eating Americans' pets.The Supreme Court ruling in the TPS case could have implications for more than one mn beneficiaries of TPS status from more than a dozen countries.TPS status has been revoked for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Honduras, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Venezuela, Yemen, and others in addition to Haitians and Syrians since Trump took office.Haitians became eligible for TPS in 2010 following a devastating earthquake, and the country continues to suffer from severe poverty, rampant violence from heavily armed gangs and chronic political instability.The State Department advises Americans not to travel to the Caribbean nation ‘due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited health care.’TPS was extended to war-torn Syria in 2012.Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal, questioned during oral arguments whether a ‘discriminatory purpose may have played a part’ in the Trump administration's decision to strip TPS status from Haitians and referred to statements by the Republican president.’We have a president saying at one point that Haiti is a quote filthy, dirty and disgusting s-hole country — I'm quoting him — and where he complained that the US takes people from such countries instead of people from Norway, Sweden or Denmark,’ Sotomayor said.Solicitor General John Sauer replied that the president's comments were being taken out of context and he was referring to ‘problems of crime, poverty and welfare dependency.’Sauer said court review of TPS decisions was barred to prevent ‘judicial micromanagement’ of foreign policy determinations. Source link