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Firefighters gather in a forested area during a recovery operation after a helicopter crashed near the Vista Chinesa lookout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 8,…
A person observes flames during wildfires on a hill slope in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in Probolinggo, East Java province, Indonesia, Sunday. (Reuters) Indonesian authorities have closed access to a national park on Java Island as firefighters battle a wildfire raging there for nearly a week. The blaze has razed 176 hectares (435 acres) since it broke out last Monday in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, near the popular East Java tourist destination of Mount Bromo, a disaster official said. Authorities barred access to visitors late Saturday until further notice. No injuries or property destruction have been reported, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari. Two water-bombing helicopters have been deployed to douse the flames in areas difficult for firefighters to reach due to steep slopes and strong winds, he said in a statement Sunday. “These conditions make air operations important to reach areas that cannot be accessed optimally by land,” the official said. A blaze destroyed more than 500 hectares of land on Mount Bromo in 2023 when a couple lit a flare during a pre-wedding photo shoot. Indonesia is projected to experience a more intense and prolonged dry season this year, raising the risk of wildfires and drought, due in part to the El Nino weather phenomenon, weather agency BMKG said. More than 107,000 hectares of land burned in Indonesia in the first half of this year, over twice the area destroyed in wildfires in 2023. El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure and rainfall patterns. It usually causes drier conditions in Southeast Asia and India. Related…
View of the vehicular bridge in the community of Pozo de Gamboa, in the municipality of Panuco, Zacatecas state, Mexico. (AFP) Horrific drug violence plagued the Mexican state of Zacatecas for years, until relative calm set in. Then one morning in July this small town woke up to find five bodies dangling from a bridge — a grim calling card that showed the bloodshed never really left. These days in Pozos de Gamboa, a Zacatecas town of 5,000 that is known for growing beans, people are terrified. No one goes out after dark and no one talks about that morning when the bodies showed up. Zacatecas is key to the drug trade because it links central Mexico with the north and west of the country and features routes that are key to smuggling cocaine and drugs north to the hungry consumer market in the US. The state of 1.6mn people had become painfully used to narcotics-related violence as rival gangs fought each other, with bodies turning up almost on a daily basis and people going missing right and left. Then things calmed down, a lot. Killings in Zacatecas fell from around 1,300 in 2022 to 144 in 2025, according to government figures. The government has attributed the decline to better coordination between state and federal law enforcement officials. The calm spell ended shockingly on July 18 with the spectacle of the bodies hanging from the bridge. The victims included a former mayor, civil servants and business people from other parts of the state. Five other bodies were found elsewhere in town that same day. Mexico’s two largest drug cartels — Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa — have been fighting to control Zacatecas because of its strategic value in the US-bound drug trade. Prosecutors opened a probe into the killings and the state government promised “an immediate and forceful response,” while noting that violence like this had been on the decline. It asked for help from the army and the National Guard to boost security in Zacatecas. AFP visited Pozos de Gamboa and observed that on the road here from the state capital, also called Zacatecas, there were no roadblocks and just a few police patrol cars out and about. One Pozos de Gamboa resident who declined to be named, fearing for his safety, described it as being like a ghost town — “as if no one ever lived here.” “Here, you always used to see people,” this man said. But now, “at 9 in the evening there is no one out on the street.” Indeed, in this town most people have lost a relative or an acquaintance — dead or missing — to all the drug violence. When people go missing they are routinely killed, this man said. “They make it so the bodies do not smell.” “They killed a brother of ours,” he added. “They kill over nothing at all.” The bridge where the bodies were found last month had been used in the past as a spot for the drug cartels to leave these grim messages. A woman who runs a food stall in the street saw the bodies hanging as early 4:00am. The image recalled the worst years of Mexico’s drug wars, when the government deployed federal forces in 2006 to fight the cartels and these crime gangs fought back, hanging bodies from bridges or dumping them elsewhere in public to intimidate rivals. The Pozos de Gamboa killings drew the attention of leftist President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, which promised to arrest whoever was behind them. She has deployed soldiers in violence-plagued states such as Sinaloa and Michoacan as she endures pressure from US President Donald Trump to intervene directly in Mexico against the cartels so as to keep drugs from crossing the border into the US. Source link
Ukrainian rescuers work in the courtyard of a damaged building at the site of a Russian air attack in Odesa Sunday. (AFP) Ukraine and Russia accused each other of lethal attacks Sunday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow was targeting global food security by striking Odesa’s seaport. Three people were killed and 37 wounded in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where a multi-storey apartment block was hit, while authorities in Russia’s Belgorod said five were killed and 25 wounded by a Ukrainian drone attack. Zelensky said Odesa’s seaport had been damaged by a strike. Local authorities said dozens of drones and missiles hit the southern seaside city, wounding a dozen people. “In this way, the Russians are at war with the world’s food security,” Zelensky said. Odesa’s seaports are the artery for Ukraine’s vast agricultural exports.He said Russia also hit nine other Ukrainian regions Sunday. Russia has been bombarding Odesa in an attempt to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea. “Everyone who lives in Odesa knows that the most common target is around the port area,” said 67-year-old Ihor, a local resident whose apartment narrowly escaped destruction. As Ukraine seeks to disrupt Russia’s revenues for waging war, it has hit Russian oil tankers and other cargo vessels in the Black Sea, claiming another three such strikes Sunday. Both sides have launched a broader campaign against the other’s logistics, with e-commerce warehouses on both sides and Ukraine’s petrol stations coming under heavy attack during the summer months. Ukraine’s state oil and gas giant Naftogaz said attacks on its facilities had increased significantly over the last three days, including on oil extraction facilities overnight. Ukraine’s energy ministry said Russia had attacked power facilities in the Odesa region, causing a “significant amount” of the port city’s residents to lose electricity overnight. It said power had already been restored to 90,000 consumers. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it hit fuel storage facilities “used in the interests” of the Ukrainian military in the ports of Odesa and nearby Chornomorsk. In the Vatican, Pope Leo Sunday renewed his calls for an end to the 4-1/2-year war. Related Story Source…
Canadian officials declared a state of emergency Saturday after a fast-moving wildfire in the western province of British Columbia forced the overnight evacuation of more than 20,000 people, including some who were airlifted to safety. Winds fanned the Bald Range wildfire to grow rapidly late Friday, pushing flames into the Summerland area and affecting communities throughout the surrounding valleys. “We know there have been significant losses of homes and property. We also know that some people became trapped as conditions changed quickly,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said in a statement Saturday. “Air evacuations are underway for people who remain isolated behind the fire perimeter,” Eby said. The Bald Range fire covered an estimated area of 10,341 hectares as of early Sunday and was considered out of control, according to the BC Wildfire Service website. Kelly Greene, the province’s Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, declared a state of emergency. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it was “investigating to confirm” a possible fatality reported by a Meadow Valley resident. Officials have yet to provide figures on casualties or damage. CTV News reported more than 50 people had to be airlifted out of the community of Faulder as flames advanced. Prime Minister Mark Carney posted his gratitude to firefighters and first responders on X, thanking them for “working tirelessly to keep people safe.” “The federal government stands ready to help and support the government of British Columbia in these efforts. I’m keeping everyone forced from their homes in my thoughts and hoping they can return safely soon,” Carney said. The fire was first reported early Friday evening, and Eby warned Saturday it “remains extremely active and significant challenges remain.” The BC Wildfire Service reported a total of 102 active wildfires in the province as of early Sunday, with nearly half of them deemed out of control. “Over the last 24 hours, extreme fire behaviour was seen in southern BC due to the continuous hot and dry conditions,” the service said. Emergency response efforts were hampered by “elevated fire behaviour coupled with severely poor visibility,” it added. Human-induced climate change doubled the likelihood of the extreme fire conditions behind this year’s Canadian wildfires, researchers at the World Weather Attribution group said this week. Related Story Source link
Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic candidate for US Senate, speaks during a Democratic unity rally in Detroit, Michigan on Friday. (Reuters) Progressive Democratic proposals including “Medicare for all” and new taxes on billionaires have powered insurgent candidates including Abdul El-Sayed to primary victories this year, shaking the party establishment and leading it to worry about how Democrats will perform in the upcoming November midterm elections. But a Reuters/Ipsos poll concluded early this week found those ideas — though by no means all of the progressive agenda — are supported by independent voters who could be decisive in determining whether President Donald Trump’s Republican Party maintains its congressional majorities for the next two years. Some 64% of independent registered voters in the six-day nationwide poll said they support increasing taxes on corporations and billionaires, compared to 15% who oppose the idea. And 60% of independents said they support government-provided healthcare coverage for all Americans, which progressives including Michigan US Senate nominee El-Sayed have pitched as “Medicare for all” — expanding the government-run health insurance program to cover all Americans. The results suggest a path forward for candidates like El-Sayed, who will face Republican Mike Rogers in what is expected to be a highly competitive contest that will play a key role in deciding Senate control. Michigan, which Trump won in two of the last three presidential elections, presents a sharper challenge for El-Sayed than those faced by some other high-profile progressives who won primaries in heavily Democratic areas. Republicans, led by Trump, have pounced on the rise of the democratic socialist movement, trying to paint all Democrats as extremists and sometimes inaccurately labeling them as communists. They have also sought to tie Democrats to some adherents’ more extreme views; when Democratic Socialists of America national co-chair Megan Romer advocated for abolishing the US Senate, erasing borders and defunding the Pentagon on Fox News last month, Republican leaders rushed to share it widely. While El-Sayed is not a DSA member, he is backed by Democrats affiliated with the movement, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and US Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns helped bring to the mainstream progressive policies – Medicare for all and higher taxes on the wealthy. “The label hurts him a lot more than the issues,” John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said of El-Sayed. “Republicans will call him a socialist, and he’s endorsed by Bernie Sanders and AOC… El-Sayed is very exciting to the left, but he’s scary to the middle.” Republican operatives are divided on whether such attacks will be enough in the face of Trump’s unpopularity and voter frustration with the cost of living. “Just calling someone a name or trying to associate them with another political figure who’s not as well known as the president or a party leader doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an effective strategy when people are so deeply dissatisfied with politicians and parties on both sides,” said Rob Godfrey, a Republican strategist. Despite their support for specific progressive policies, independents have a negative view of democratic socialists, though most say they don’t understand the term very well. 43% of independents said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who identifies as a democratic socialist, compared to 22% who said they were more likely. The rest were unsure or did not answer the question. More than one-third of independents said they believe “communist ideas and policies” have an influence on the Democratic Party, a finding that Adam Frisch, a former Democratic congressional candidate in Colorado, called a “huge warning sign.” “Independents do not like extremism,” said Frisch, now the director of electoral programs for Welcome PAC, which backs centrist Democrats running in Republican-leaning House districts. But Trump’s Republicans have similar — and perhaps more severe — problems. Some 59% of independents said they were less likely to vote for a candidate who identifies with Trump’s Make America Great Again “MAGA” movement. Independents were more split on the notion of making college tuition free — another progressive idea backed by democratic socialists — with 44% saying they would like college tuition to be free for all Americans, compared to 31% who opposed the idea. Those voters skewed slightly in favour of issues some US conservatives now see as essential to their political ideology, such as reducing the level of immigration. Some 40% say they want the US to allow fewer immigrants into the country, while 30% opposed the idea. 40% back reducing government regulations on business compared to 26% who are opposed, while 47% are for cutting foreign aid and 23% are against. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted online July 29 through August 3, gathered responses from 4,505 US adults, including 1,097 independents who were registered to vote. The results had a margin of error of 3 percentage points for the views of independent voters. Related Story Source link
Two bombing attacks in different parts of Colombia on Saturday marked the first day in office for new President Abelardo de la Espriella, leaving at least one police officer dead and several wounded. The tough-talking hard-right leader campaigned on confronting “narcoterrorism without truce” and ending peace talks with armed groups following his inauguration Friday in the southwestern city of Cali. Colombia’s army said FARC guerilla dissidents used explosives to destroy a highway tollbooth near Cali in the early hours of Saturday, with two security guards suffering minor injuries. Rebels under the command of Ivan Morodisco — one of the most wanted guerilla commanders in the country — who operate in the area that surround the bombed tollbooth, which was under construction on the Pan-American highway in the Santander de Quilichao municipality. Morodisco leads dissidents who broke away from the historic 2016 peace agreement between the FARC and Colombia’s government. De la Espriella condemned the bombing on social media Saturday, saying “attacking the country’s infrastructure is attacking progress” in an X post. “To those responsible, I send a clear message: there will be no refuge, no leniency and no impunity,” he added. About 1,000 kilometers away, in the northern department of Cesar, an officer was killed in another bombing that took place early Saturday when an explosive-equipped drone struck a police station, officials there said. Authorities there have not yet identified suspects, but De la Espriella vowed whoever is responsible “will not go unpunished.” The confrontational style of the first-time political leader, who has not made any secret of his admiration for US President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, now faces tough opposition from the guerilla groups and drug traffickers operating in Colombia. De la Espriella has promised to open mega-prisons like Bukele and to intensify bombing raids against guerilla groups and drug traffickers operating in Colombia, with support from the United States and Israel. His inauguration comes during the worst wave of violence the country has experienced in the last decade. A decade after landmark peace accords, pockets of Colombia are still ruled by dissident armed groups that dominate global cocaine production. Roberto Sandoval, a firefighter who lives in the neighborhood next to the tollbooth, told AFP tensions were high following the bombing. “We are all on edge, very tense and nervous.” Elsewhere in the neighborhood, windows shattered and left glass strewn on the bed of Sonia Zapata, a 68-year-old housewife. She said she feels “very nervous, very afraid.” Source link
Abelardo De La Espriella delivers his first speech as the country’s new president at the Pichincha Military Canton in Cali on Friday. (Reuters) With a lucrative legal career and a variety of colourful business projects under his belt, Colombia’s incoming President Abelardo de la Espriella now has grand plans to crush armed insurgents, cozy up to the US and overhaul the system. The millionaire lawyer with a taste for spectacle took office on Friday after a campaign focused on anger and fears about security. Following a legal career that saw him represent drug-trafficking paramilitaries, fraudsters and football stars, he has promised to restore order with an iron hand. During the campaign, he leaned heavily into his self-proclaimed nickname “The Tiger,” sharing AI-generated images of himself as a fanged tiger and the only candidate willing to wage war on crime and insurgency. In his inauguration speech he pledged that “in the age of the Tiger,” the state “will be forceful and decisive against crime.” “They will know how hard it bites when it comes to defending the Colombian people,” he said from the military garrison in Cali, in front of hundreds of uniformed personnel, four tanks and two helicopters. He swore to “rebuild the Republic” and defend democracy “by reason or by force.” He didn’t always play the tough guy. He previously lived in Florence, Italy, where he dabbled in opera, travelled by private jet and promoted his rum, wine and fashion brand — “De la Espriella Style.” He brought that flair, tailored clothing and a taste for provocation into public life. The message resonated with almost half of voters. De la Espriella won the presidential runoff, albeit by less than a percentage point. De la Espriella promised a sharp break with the outgoing leftist government in a hardline program of “all-out war” on armed groups, the construction of “mega-prisons,” a military alliance with Washington and Israel and a drastically reduced state. “People who have created wealth during their lives should run the country,” he once told AFP unapologetically. His rhetoric has often been incendiary. He once called for the Colombian left to be “gutted,” a comment he later withdrew. His campaign was also briefly tripped up by court rulings banning his use of national symbols like Colombia’s football jersey — decisions that were later overturned. Despite railing against what he describes as the failed political establishment, De la Espriella’s incoming cabinet features a familiar cast of right-wing politicians. “The horrible night is over,” he stated days before his inauguration, in reference to four years of leftist rule. He has leaned into a more conservative cultural message. Once openly atheist, De la Espriella now says he lives by “Judeo-Christian principles” and calls for a “cultural counterrevolution” to return the country to God. Supporters see a decisive leader prepared to confront Colombia’s entrenched violence. Critics warn that his confrontational style — and admiration for figures such as US President Donald Trump, Argentina’s Javier Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele — could deepen divisions in a country where past polarisation has brought bloodshed. Even his personal stories have stirred controversy. In one interview, he recalled tying fireworks to cats as a child, later insisting he was joking. His hot temper, penchant for swearing and making sweeping statements have done nothing to dent his popularity. For his base, those rough edges are part of the appeal. From a childhood he describes as carefree, “in the style of Tom Sawyer,” to a jet-set legal career and now the presidency, De la Espriella has built a narrative of success and self-reliance — one he argues Colombia should follow. Now, the “Tiger” faces the challenge of governing a country as divided as the campaign that brought him to power. Related Story…
A defence pact signed between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is technically the same as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato)’s Article 5 mutual defence agreement, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said yesterday, adding the accord was not targeting Iran. He also said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to see the alliance expand, and that Egypt was a potential candidate to join, among others.The regional powers signed the “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement” on Friday, forging US allies alarmed at a regional conflagration that has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters. In a joint statement, they said the accord intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all.Speaking to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Fidan said the new alliance was not directed against Iran or any other country, but rather served as a general pledge to support the three allies’ security. He added that the allies would decide through consultations what degree, form, and format of support they would ask for in the event of an attack, but that no country would be considered a threat as long as a memberstate is not attacked. Turkiye, which has Nato’s second-largest army, has said the pact was open to expansion to other regional countries and did not seek to replace any existing alliances. “Nato is a giant military alliance where there are 32 countries. We have started here as three countries and we have to take very humble but concrete steps,” he said, adding efforts to finalise the pact had been underway for two years and eight months. He added that a committee of ministers similar to that within Nato would be formed as part of the alliance, as well as a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia, but that operational details would be set at the first committee meeting. “Our president’s vision is that we don’t remain limited to three countries, that we grow and bring together all (regional) countries under this roof,” he said, adding Egypt could potentially join the pact once certain technical matters are resolved. In recent months, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt formed a group to address regional issues, namely the war on Iran. Turkiye has said that the group – dubbed the R4 – aims to solidify its partnership through concrete mechanisms.Fidan also said Turkiye should be involved in an international coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks because shipping safety concerned Ankara’s interests. Source link
US House Democrats preparing for a return to power are developing a broad investigative strategy targeting companies and financial firms surrounding President Donald Trump, instead of trying to impeach him immediately, sources reveal.Senior Democrats in the US House of Representatives and committee aides have discussed using hearings, subpoenas and document requests to obtain records from entities tied to Trump’s political and business orbit. It is a bet that investigating private companies and outside financial players will prove more fruitful than directly confronting a White House they expect to resist oversight, sources said. The approach reflects both Democratic caution and a lesson many in the party say they learned during Trump’s first term: that impeachment proceedings can consume Congress while allowing Trump to cast himself as the victim of a partisan campaign. Instead, Democrats involved in the planning envision using House investigative powers after November’s midterm elections to scrutinise the administration’s decision-making and examine whether Trump used his power to benefit himself, allies or donors. “We’re not going into this to impeach,” said a senior Democratic aide, describing the thinking among party leaders and committee staff. “No one wants a failed vote on day one. The focus is on building a body of evidence through investigations that can hold Trump accountable.” Republicans with a narrow House majority have grim chances of gaining the majority in November. Winning control would give Democrats the power to issue subpoenas, compel testimony and documents, hold public hearings and pursue contempt proceedings. Democrats expect the White House to fight or ignore requests aimed at the executive branch, making companies, contractors and financial firms working with the administration an important route for obtaining information, the sources said. The White House said in a statement that Trump has worked to thwart the “radical left’s agenda” and remains committed to preserving Republican majorities in Congress. A White House official said the administration is “prepared to respond to oversight requests, no matter who is in the House or Senate.” Three sources said Apple, Alphabet, Palantir, Blackstone, BlackRock and companies owned by Elon Musk, such as Tesla, have surfaced in discussions because of their contracts, regulatory exposure or administration dealings.The sources said no final target list has been established and no formal investigations have begun. The sources provided no further details about the investigations. Democrats are expected to examine Department of Homeland Security contracts, financing for Trump’s planned White House ballroom, corporate donors and alleged pay-to-play arrangements, two sources said.They also plan a probe of Trump-linked financial vehicles including 1789 Capital — a venture capital firm where his son Donald Trump Jr is a partner — and foreign sovereign wealth funds whose investments in Trump family-linked entities could raise questions about administration influence, the sources said.Because foreign funds may be harder for congressional committees to reach, Democrats are discussing seeking records from US-based firms and funds tied to Trump’s family and other intermediaries, the two sources said.Democrats have already begun laying the groundwork for investigations, two of the sources said.Party leaders are sending letters to companies, contractors and other organisations connected to potential investigations, they said. The requests seek records and pave the way for subpoenas if Democrats win the House, the two sources said.Representatives Robert Garcia from California and Jamie Raskin from Maryland, the top Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, respectively, said existing investigations would expand if Democrats win the House. “From sketchy Pentagon contracts lining the pockets of the president’s sons, Trump’s crypto billions, and the shady backroom deals for Trump donors, we will ensure we combat corruption when Democrats take back the House in November,” Garcia said in a statement. The letters include requests for information from media company Paramount Skydance over its dealings with the Trump administration and the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal as well as video platform YouTube and parent company Alphabet over the company’s $24.5mn settlement with Trump in September. Letters have also been sent to private prison operator GEO Group and security firm Salus Worldwide Solutions for their contracts with the DHS as well as commodity traders Vitol and Trafigura over the administration’s sale of Venezuelan oil, the two sources said. But the letters put potential targets on notice and signal records Democrats could subpoena. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in June on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Democrats haven’t ruled out impeaching Trump if they win back the House but that the party’s focus would be on pocketbook issues.Democrats involved in the planning say impeachment remains an option if investigations uncover evidence of an impeachable offence, but not as a first move.The calculation reflects the party’s experience during Trump’s first term, when he became the first US president to be impeached twice by the House before being acquitted by the Senate each time.“If investigations uncover evidence that we believe meets the threshold, we will not hesitate to move forward,” said the senior Democratic aide. Source link