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The US Capitol is reflected in water in Washington, DC US. (Reuters) US House Republicans unveiled a $95 bn spending framework Wednesday, launching their final major push to pass defence, farm and voting restriction measures before midterm elections that could cost them control of Congress. The plan would provide $73 bn for the military and intelligence agencies, including funding tied to the war with Iran, along with $12 bn in aid for farmers hurt by President Donald Trump’s trade war. It would also direct $10 bn toward election-related grants, as Republicans try to revive parts of Trump’s SAVE America Act, a voting restrictions bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification at polling places. The House has passed a different version of the SAVE Act separately, but it has stalled in the Senate, where some Republicans have warned that it lacks support and may not qualify for the fast-track budget process party leaders hope to use. That process allows certain tax and spending bills to pass the 100-member Senate by a simple majority, avoiding the higher, 60-vote threshold usually needed to overcome Democratic opposition. The budget resolution released Wednesday is only a framework. If adopted by the House and Senate, it would allow Republicans to assemble a fuller bill later this summer and try to pass it without Democratic votes. House Republican leaders want to pass the framework next week before lawmakers leave Washington for a long summer break, leaving only a narrow window to complete the package before November. But the plan faces resistance from fiscal conservatives inside the party because it does not pair the new spending with cuts elsewhere. Representative Warren Davidson, a Republican fiscal hawk, has warned that the package could not advance without savings to offset the cost. After the framework was released, Davidson posted a blunt prediction on X: “DOA,” shorthand for “dead on arrival.” The fight underscores the competing pressures on Republicans as they try to show voters action on national security, agriculture and election security while also maintaining their claim to fiscal discipline. Trump had demanded far more defense spending than the House framework provides, but Republican leaders are trying to balance White House pressure with concerns from lawmakers wary of adding to the deficit. Related Story Source link
US President Donald Trump said he would discuss “free and fair” voting in an address to the nation on Thursday, apparently doubling down on his false claims to have won the 2020 election.US media reported that his speech would address newly declassified intelligence reports that the White House claims reveal plans by foreign nations to interfere in the vote won six years ago by Joe Biden. Asked whether his address would involve “election machines and integrity,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday: “It will concern that subject, and we’ll have a couple of other things to say also. But I’d rather save it.”“It’s really, really big news. Our country has to shape up,” he added.“What we’re going to be talking about Thursday is — it doesn’t get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country. We’ll be discussing other things too, but it’s going to be a very big announcement.” Republican Trump, in office for the second time after previously serving as US president from 2017 to 2021, has long pushed false allegations that he won the 2020 election.In the year 2021, Pro-Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in a bid to stop the certification of Democrat Biden’s victory. Obsessed with the defeat, Trump has in recent months stepped up unproven accusations of alleged attempts by Democrats to rig November’s crucial midterm elections. The Democrats have fired back at Trump, saying he has been taking steps to seize control of the midterms via gerrymandering election districts, as well as the past week’s sacking ofthe final two Democrats on a federal agency that oversees and ensures fair polls.Republicans fear they could lose their grip on the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate, with Trump’s approval nearing record lows in opinion polls.The president could face a third impeachment trial if Democrats do seize control of the House. He was impeached twice in his first term — once over Ukraine and a second for alleged incitement of the January 6 riots.Trump’s primetime address to the nation comes amid mounting hostilities with Iran, as a fragile ceasefire appears to have collapsed. Source link
A fire truck sprays fire retardant into the Fontainebleau Forest on the outskirts of a wildfire near Noisy-sur-Ecole in France’s Ile-de-France region, Monday. (AFP) A wildfire tore through a historic forest near Paris Monday, forcing highway closures and mobilising water-bombing aircraft, while Spain’s death toll from one of its deadliest wildfires rose to 13, as much of western Europe simmered in a string of heatwaves. The region is enduring its third heatwave of the summer, with tinder-dry vegetation and high temperatures fuelling blazes from the Iberian Peninsula to France. Many scientists say climate change is making wildfires more frequent and difficult to combat. France deployed hundreds of firefighters to tackle a fast-moving blaze that broke out alongside a motorway near Fontainebleau, home to one of France’s best-known royal palaces. The death toll from last week’s devastating wildfire in Spain’s southern province of Almeria reached 13 after a 93-year-old British woman died from burns on Sunday, with 10 people still missing as of Monday, according to authorities. Visiting Almeria Monday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called to reinforce fire prevention in the country. But the impact of the summer scorchers could be more grim. Scientists monitoring so-called excess deaths said there were thousands more fatalities recorded than normal during a heatwave that swept through Europe and Britain at the end of June. Just 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) from Paris, the Fontainebleau wildfire forced the closure of the A6 highway linking Paris with Lyon and the south, and, for the first time in the Greater Paris area, the dispatch of air assets to contain the blaze which turned the skies black. Smaller fires in the area also disrupted high-speed train services. For the first time, Canadair water-dumping aircraft skimmed over the river Seine filling their tanks. Up to 800 people were evacuated from their homes. Although the fire was largely contained by Monday afternoon, wind gusts made the task challenging, authorities said. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the circumstances of the fire were suspicious: “There were around ten points where the fire started within a 1,000-metre radius, which suggests it may have been started deliberately.” French authorities say an estimated 32,000 hectares of land – roughly the size of Orlando, Florida – have burned so far this year, more than in the whole of 2025. Some 26 million people in France were under a red heatwave warning Monday, including the greater Paris region. Forecasters say the heatwave is expected to continue until the middle of the week. A new heatwave, expected to last at least a week, is about to hit neighbouring Italy, bringing high humidity and tropical nights, meteorologists say. Thermometers in inland areas of Sardinia could reach 42-43 degrees Celsius (108-109 Fahrenheit) today. The current bout of hot weather follows scorching temperatures at the end of May and the end of June, which broke several daily records. Extreme weather gripping the region has damaged crops, affected power output from nuclear plants and increased freight transport costs along the Rhine river in Germany, where lower water levels have prevented cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded. In Italy, farmers in the Emilia-Romagna region are forced to deploy more resources to ensure proper livestock management and maintain constant production of dairy products such as Parmesan cheese. European countries reported some 10,650 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave that engulfed the west of the continent in late June, official data showed. Related…
From left: European Council President Antonio Costa, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, British PM Keir Starmer, Polish PM Donald…
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of President Donald Trump, has died unexpectedly aged 71, his office said. Graham was a staunch supporter of the Iran war, and in recent years urged both the Trump and Biden administrations to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.The South Carolina senator bitterly opposed Trump a decade ago, but ultimately backed the billionaire president as he steadily gained power over the Republican Party. Graham’s office said in a statement on his official X account that he had “passed away from a brief and sudden illness.”NBC News reported that emergency services responded to a call for cardiac arrest at Graham’s Capitol Hill home on Saturday night. “He’s a tough one to lose. He was great. He was unique in every way, actually,” Trump said by telephone.The president said they had spoken Saturday evening as Graham returned from a trip to Ukraine, and they made tentative plans to meet on Sunday. “It could have been his last call,” Trump remarked.Later, Trump ordered on his Truth Social platform that American flags across the country be lowered to half-staff in mourning. Source link
The number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to multi-week lows on Sunday, shipping data showed, as renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran and attacks on ships in the Middle East heightened safety concerns.Six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed, the lowest number in five weeks.Tankers that exited the strait included the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, laden with 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, carrying about 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products, the data showed, while three empty tankers entered the Gulf to load oil. Most of the tankers switched off their transponders when crossing the strait.There were no liquefied natural gas tankers that entered the strait over the weekend that were visible on ship-tracking data.One tanker controlled by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co exited the strait between July 10 and July 12, Kpler data showed. The vessel is heading for Dahej port in India. U.S. forces completed another wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday, hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions, the Central Command said.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial traffic, although Iran declared earlier that it closed the strait after a vessel travelled on an unapproved route and was struck. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that its navy stopped two ships in the Strait of Hormuz last night by shutting down their systems. It did not name the ships involved. Related Story Source link
A blue verification badge and the logos of Facebook and Instagram are seen in this picture illustration taken January 19, 2023. REUTERS/File picture The European Union’s plan to regulate children’s access to social media follows the implementation or proposal of similar measures around the world.This list now stretches to more than 20 countries, including five where restrictions are already in force, according to an AFP tally.In most, the measures are very recent and target children under the ages of 15 or 16.An expert committee is due to submit its recommendations to the European Commission on Monday about a potential social media ban for children in the 27-nation EU.Social media has been banned for under-16s in Australia since December 2025, while Brazil introduced a law in March requiring platforms to link the accounts of users aged under-16 to those of their parents, while also requiring platforms to verify users’ ages.In China, where the internet is tightly regulated by the state, minors’ access to social media has been restricted progressively since 2019.Initial measures imposed time limits and curfews on online gaming, before similar restrictions were extended in 2023 to social media and streaming platforms.Indonesia has banned social media for under-16s since March and Malaysia has taken a similar approach, with legislation coming into force in June excluding under-16s from major platforms.Turkiye is set to join the list after passing legislation to bar under-15s from social media in April. The law is expected to take effect in late 2026.The United Arab Emirates announced a ban on social media for under-15s last month, with implementation set for around a year’s time.Restrictions announcedWithin the EU, the Greek government announced in early April that it intends to ban social media access for under-15s from January 1, 2027.Austria and Slovenia are also preparing legislation to prohibit access for under-14s and under-15s respectively.In Germany, where Chancellor Friedrich Merz supports restricting or even banning social media for children, an expert commission has proposed two options: a ban graded by age or platform-specific restrictions.A similar debate is under way in Sweden, where a government commission has proposed banning social media for under-15s by early 2028.The Irish government has warned that it is considering legislating in the absence of an EU decision.In Denmark, the government announced in October 2025 that it would propose banning “several social media platforms” for under-15s.Outside the EU, the Norwegian government will present a bill by the end of the year to ban access for those under 16.The UK is looking to ban social media for under-16s by early 2027.Canada also wants to set the minimum age for social media use at 16.Several states in India are considering restrictions for children and the government said it is holding discussions with platforms over potential measures.A proposal to ban social media for children under 15 is currently wending its way through parliament in France.The National Assembly approved the bill at first reading in January but the Senate later amended it to target only the most harmful platforms, prompting concern in Brussels.A final version of the legislation is expected in the coming weeks, with the government hoping it can come into force in September.Portugal is considering a bill that would set the age for independent access to platforms, services, games and applications at 16.Spain has proposed raising the minimum age for registering on a social media platform from 14 to 16.In Italy, parliament is considering legislation that would ban social media use for children under the age of 15. Related Story…
US Senator Lindsey Graham addresses media during the press-conference at open air exhibition of destroyed Russian equipment in Kyiv after his talks with a top Ukrainian…
The Pakistani government has declared official mourning on Monday following the passing of His Highness the Father Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. In an official statement, the government said Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had declared a national day of mourning to express the fraternal solidarity of the government and people of Pakistan with the ruling family, the government, and the people of the State of Qatar following this loss. The statement added that flags would be lowered to half-mast across the nation throughout the day of national mourning. Related Story Source link
The Pakistani government has declared official mourning on Monday following the passing of His Highness the Father Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. In an official statement, the government said Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had declared a national day of mourning to express the fraternal solidarity of the government and people of Pakistan with the ruling family, the government, and the people of the State of Qatar following this loss. The statement added that flags would be lowered to half-mast across the nation throughout the day of national mourning. Related Story Source link