RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 3 — Shirtless and drenched in sweat on his treadmill, Lula runs.

He keeps running.

At 80, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the dominant figure in Brazilian politics for four decades, wants to show he still has the energy to win a fourth term in office in October’s election.

“You can’t stop the Earth from turning or the years from passing,” Lula muses in his gravelly voice in one of the social media videos he shares showcasing his workouts.

The leftist leader has survived electoral defeats, 580 days in prison, and the disgrace of a corruption conviction which, although later annulled, still prompts taunts from the right of “Lula the thief.”

He has also survived health scares, notably a fall in his bathroom in 2024 that caused a brain bleed.

Since then, he often wears a Panama hat. His once thick black hair has greyed and thinned, much like his trademark beard.

But he insists he feels fitter than ever and he dreams of “living to 120.”

Long shadow of corruption 

Lula grew up in deep poverty, the seventh of eight children born to a family of illiterate farmers in the arid northeastern state of Pernambuco.

He worked as a shoeshine boy and peanut vendor before becoming a metalworker and trade unionist. In the 1960s, he lost a finger in a workplace accident.

After losing three presidential bids, Lula finally entered the presidential palace in Brasilia in 2003 and was re-elected in 2006.

He left office in 2010 as a blue-collar hero who presided over a commodity-fuelled economic boom that helped lift 30 million people out of poverty.

But massive corruption scandals haunted Lula and his party, fuelling a wave of disgust that propelled far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro into the presidency in 2018.

Lula was jailed later that year until the charges were thrown out on procedural grounds and the lead judge on the case was found to be biased.

However, Lula was not exonerated and the scandal contributed to an enduring polarisation in Brazil.

Bolsonaro’s presidency was equally divisive, and by the 2022 election, Lula pulled off a dramatic comeback by a razor-thin margin.

Bolsonaro was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after trying to prevent Lula from returning to power.

‘Brazilian Biden’ 

Back in office, Lula at first seemed out of step with a Brazil he appeared to be rediscovering.

He lives without a cellphone in a hyper-connected nation of 213 million people that is flooded with disinformation.

Lula is credited with restoring social programmes dismantled by his predecessor, curbing the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and putting Brazil’s democracy back on a more secure footing.

His third term, however, has had the feel of a pale remake, with few genuinely new ideas. The father of five still provokes fierce rejection among voters frustrated by inflation, crime and corruption.

In 2022, Lula said he would not seek another term in office.

So why take on presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old senator and eldest son of his greatest political rival?

Lula, who has not cultivated a potential successor, says he wants to stop the far right from returning to “destroy” the country.

“He’s in great shape,” an anonymous foreign diplomat told AFP, describing Lula as a “campaign beast.”

Flavio Bolsonaro is less complimentary: “The Brazilian Biden is grumpy, irresponsible, and has become a danger to our nation. When you look at Lula, you don’t see a future.”

Joe Biden is, for Lula, the ultimate cautionary tale. The then-octogenarian US president’s public decline during the 2024 election campaign clearly left an impression on the Brazilian leader.

His tireless travel schedule and quick wit testify to his stamina — and he also credits his third wife Rosangela da Silva, 59, with keeping him young.

If he loses in October, Lula would leave office without the triumphant finale he seeks, but with an enduring legacy.

As he reminded foreign media, including AFP, in a 2024 interview: “There is no one in this country with more experience as president than me.” — AFP

CEUTA, Aug 2 — Migrants streamed back across the border into Morocco in small groups after spending two or three days in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, wandering the streets with almost nothing to eat, and little welcome.

Yesterday morning, Spanish soldiers and Civil Guard officers directed a steady flow of people — mostly very young men — toward the exit at the border crossing.

Some were barefoot, others had Red Cross blankets draped over their shoulders. Many were visibly exhausted after days of wandering around the town.

“I’m leaving because there’s no food. I thought I’d be welcomed, but that wasn’t the case at all,” said 23-year-old Abdel Latif before crossing back over the border.

He had tried his luck to “find work” because “there are no jobs in Morocco,” lamented the young man. He survives by doing odd jobs as a mechanic.

Latif was one of as many as 60,000 migrants who crossed into Ceuta, mostly swimming around the small border post that juts into the Mediterranean Sea, in an unprecedented surge that prompted an international crisis for Spain and questions about immigration.

A few intrepid young men still attempted to reach the enclave by swimming yesterday.

Two men collapsed on the sand in plain view of the soldiers, exhausted from their sea crossing. One of them, severely weakened, had to be attended to by Red Cross rescuers, wrapping him in blankets — despite the heat — before taking him away on a stretcher.

A soldier was ushering another man toward the exit, his still-soaked clothes bore witness to his recent arrival.

Further along, another man attempting to swim across was picked up by a Spanish Civil Guard boat and then taken back toward Morocco.

‘No future in Morocco’ 

Around 60,000 migrants arrived over the course of two or three days, according to an estimate by the head of the local government, Juan Jesus Vivas.

The Spanish interior ministry, meanwhile, puts the figure at 50,000 people.

At least 67 of them died while attempting to swim to Ceuta, according to Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who lamented these “sad, dramatic events.”

“Almost all” of those who entered the enclave in recent days have returned to Morocco, according to the Spanish government.

Ceuta — a small territory of 84,000 inhabitants located at the northern tip of Morocco and bordering the Strait of Gibraltar — forms one of the two land borders between Africa and Europe, along with Melilla.

“An invasion? No, that’s a lie! People want to come because there is no future in Morocco,” declared Soufiane, 42, who arrived by swimming on Thursday.

Back home, he works as a security guard “twelve hours a day for €10 (RM47),” he explained to AFP, declining to give his surname.

Encountered by the seaside, he had a black eye and a cut on his left cheek — the result of a fight between migrants during a food distribution, he said.

At the border, two boats were installing a floating barrier in the sea yesterrday morning to block access.

Inside Ceuta, most shops have reopened, cafes are full, and traffic is heavy once again after the town all but shut down during the surge.

In front of a downtown convenience store, a small crowd of Moroccans were waiting to enter, but the staff had closed the doors, asking them to form a queue.

Two police officers then chased them off, sending them running, under the watch of soldiers stationed nearby.

A few minutes later, the crowd returned and the queue immediately formed again.

Spanish forces escort migrants to the Ceuta-Morocco border gate in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta August 1, 2026. — AFP pic

Relative normality 

The situation has “virtually” returned to normal, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced.

Irene Benitez disagrees, seeing “nothing normal” or “calm” on the streets of her city.

“We’re scared; we didn’t need this,” said the 40-year-old cook.

But Dris, 58, who did not disclose his surname, said “honestly, things are fine today... the police have arrived, and we can go out and shop”, while carrying groceries outside a supermarket. — AFP

MOSCOW, August 2 — A court in Moscow rejected a copyright claim on a neural network-generated images based on Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the Statue of Liberty, saying that their generation is not creative work, but a technical process, according to documents seen by RIA Novosti.

The plaintiff claimed that by processing a reproduction of da Vinci’s masterpiece and a photo of the Statue of Liberty in a neural network, he created the art objects Mona Lisa with Wine and Statue of Liberty with Wine, which the defendant used on T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, and thermal mugs, which he sold on his website.

The plaintiff asked the court to order compensation from the individual entrepreneur for violating the author’s exclusive rights to the design works. The defendant denied the claim, arguing that the plaintiff’s use of images with minor modifications to the original works was insufficient to qualify the resulting images as creative work and therefore not protected by copyright.

The plaintiff insisted in court that he had purchased photographs to create the works, in which he replaced the Statue of Liberty’s torch with a wine glass and added a background to the image.

He also altered the position of the Mona Lisa’s hand, the mouth, and the contours of her face, increased the volume of her hair and tousled it, added bags under her eyes and applied patches, and placed a wine glass in her hand with painted nails, according to the court filings.

The court noted that the disputed images had been created by artificial intelligence (AI), and since it lacked consciousness, it could not be said that the AI exerted creative effort. According to the court, the idea of tousled hair, a puffy face, a glass of wine in hand, and the replacement of the Statue of Liberty’s torch with a glass of wine are not new and are often used in art and media.

“The objects presented by the plaintiff cannot be independent objects of copyright protection, since giving prompts to artificial intelligence are simple mechanical actions and are purely technical in nature. In this case, giving commands to a computer programme to apply an existing idea (repeatedly implemented) to a previously existing work cannot be considered a creative contribution. His contribution is limited to clarifying the commands, which is not considered creative,” the court stated.

It dismissed the plaintiff’s copyright claim. — Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti

CEUTA (Spain), Aug 2 — In dirty t-shirts and flimsy sandals, hundreds of unaccompanied minors slept outdoors in a disused industrial park in Ceuta after swimming to the Spanish territory from Morocco, AFP saw yesterday.

Wandering in the heat between the red and yellow walls of abandoned warehouses, teenagers approached and said they had hardly eaten for four days.

They were among tens of thousands of migrants who crossed into Cueta, most swimming around the small border post that juts into the Mediterranean Sea, in an unprecedented surge that triggered an international crisis for Spain.

Most of those arrivals have been sent back to Morocco but crowds of the youngest ones lingered, saying they hoped to make it to mainland Europe.

“Morocco, no! Spain,” several of them called out, explaining why they had made the dangerous sea crossing.

One gripped the badge of his red Spanish football shirt and cried: “Viva Espana!”

One approached insistently and said he was 14 years old and had come alone with no adults or older companions to accompany him.

He pointed to a pile of litter and flattened cardboard boxes on the concrete ground where he said he was sleeping at night.

AFP does not solicit testimonies from unaccompanied minors nor identify them, under its ethical code.

Inside one warehouse reeking of unwashed bodies, minors milled around on a floor covered in water and mud, some showering with water from a single hosepipe.

Others dozed on the pavements outside. One, who said he was aged 17, pointed out an improvised structure of bars and pallets where he and his friends had been sleeping.

Child protection 

No police or other authorities were visible at the site, but private security guards blocked access to one warehouse, thought to house other young migrants.

A sign on that building indicated it was operated by the SAMU Foundation, a humanitarian charity, and the Ceuta regional government.

Workers in charge of that site declined to comment to AFP.

Elsewhere in the fenced-off city, Spanish soldiers ushered hundreds of other migrants, mostly young men and youths, through Ceuta’s palm-lined streets to the border to return to Morocco.

Article 35 of Spain’s 2000 law on foreigners’ rights states that when police identify an undocumented and unaccompanied migrant suspected of being a minor the latter is to receive “immediate attention” from child protection services.

The courts then decide whether a child can be returned to the country of origin depending on family circumstances.

One of the few adults encountered among the crowds sheltering in the shade of the warehouses, Aziz Dabch, 41, told AFP in broken French that “all the children here want to go to (mainland) Spain.”

He came from the Moroccan town of Kenitra with his wife and two daughters.

“No one” is looking after the unaccompanied minors at the site, said his 17-year-old daughter, sitting next to him.

“There is no food. We have not eaten today.”

Migrants remain outside the CETI short-stay migrant centre in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta August 1, 2026. — AFP pic

Clothes and food 

Another of the rare adults among the migrants camped out in the complex, a woman of 45, sheltered nearby, her face burned red by the sun.

“There are lots of minors. I don’t see anyone looking after them,” she told AFP.

She declined to identify herself as she was in an irregular situation, having swum to Ceuta by sea with her husband and daughter.

“There is a catastrophic lack of hygiene — smells, rubbish,” she told AFP.

Around 60,000 migrants arrived in Ceuta over the course of two or three days this week, according to an estimate by the head of the local government, Juan Jesus Vivas.

The Spanish interior ministry put the figure at 50,000.

At least 67 of them died while attempting the swim to Ceuta, according to Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.

Vivas called it a “total humanitarian and social emergency”, in comments broadcast on Thursday.

“We want to get to Spain and work there, because of the poverty” in Morocco, said the 45-year-old woman, who came from Tangiers.

“Someone should take care of the minors, let them wash, give them clothes and food and somewhere to sleep.”

Spokespeople for the Ceuta government and the central government delegation in the territory did not respond to calls yesterday to comment on the issue. — AFP

CEUTA (Spain), Aug 2 — At least 72 people died during the mass influx in recent days of migrants into Spain’s Ceuta enclave, when tens of thousands of people mostly swam around the border post from Morocco, local officials said today.

Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain’s north African territory have returned to Morocco since the territory’s largest mass migrant crossing.

“The latest figure that we have is 72,” the government’s delegate to Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez Triano, told reporters, when asked about the number of fatalities.

The previous toll was 67 deaths.

Spanish police and troops patrolled the streets of Ceuta today as the enclave largely returned to normal after the sudden mass influx of migrants from Morocco that had occurred between Wednesday and Friday.

Only small groups of migrants were still walking around after most who crossed the small border barrier returned voluntarily to Morocco in 48 hours.

AFP yesterday saw migrant minors milling around in a disused industrial park in Ceuta. Others were seen dozing on the pavements outside.

“All the children here want to go to (mainland) Spain,” said one of the few adults at the site, Moroccan man Aziz Dabch, 41.

The largest migrant rush into the enclave has caused an international crisis for Spain with European partners criticising Madrid for its immigration policies.

Outside a housing project near Ceuta port, Spanish soldiers detained a group of nine tired-looking migrants who were sitting on the pavement, guarded by troops with an armoured car, an AFP reporter said.

People aboard inflatable boats navigate on the Moroccan side of the new floating barrier deployed by Spain to reinforce security near the border post of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on August 2, 2026. — AFP pic

Small inflatable boats from a rescue unit scoured the waters around the border barrier that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, where a new 500-metre floating boom reinforced security.

Civil Guard were also taking migrants off a bus to escort them back to the border post to return to Morocco.

The border crossing was calm, with groups of workers picking up trash, clothes and rubbish left behind during the mass crossing.

Rumours 

Spain has blamed criminal gangs for spreading rumours that a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling on immigration would allow migrants easier passage.

Some analysts suggested Morocco could allow migrants to cross the border to put diplomatic pressure on Spain, which has recently improved ties with Rabat’s arch-enemy neighbouring Algeria.

In 2021, around 10,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta, taking advantage of Morocco easing border controls as a way to pressure Spain.

Moroccan officials have so far not offered any statement on the crisis.

But some of those who crossed the border said they had heard the border was open — a rumour quickly amplified on social media.

Some migrants arrive at the border post with the intention of crossing back into Morocco as members of the Spanish armed forces keep watch over the area in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta August 2, 2026. — AFP pic

The EU said it would hold a video call on Tuesday after 22 bloc members issued a joint open letter calling for an urgent meeting to agree a speedy coordinated response, and to prevent further uncontrolled crossings.

Italy on Saturday implemented a one-month suspension of its Schengen agreement with Spain allowing for visa-free movement between borders.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in a letter to EU leaders, blasted the “selfish” reaction by some EU countries.

Pope Leo XIV today spoke to the situation in Ceuta in his daily prayers, saying he was following it “with concern” and hoping for a solution of “peace, stability and justice”. — AFP

SURABAYA, Aug 2 — An Indonesian ferry caught fire at sea today, killing five people and leaving another 41 missing after some jumped overboard, search and rescue officials said.

A total of 225 people on the vessel were rescued, said the regional Surabaya Search and Rescue Agency, which provided the latest figures in an afternoon update.

Some passengers jumped into the sea and were picked up by a nearby ship, according to Basarnas, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency.

Four other vessels were on standby near the ferry but could not approach because of the risk posed by flammable material on the ferry, it said.

The captain had called the ferry company to report the fire as the vessel sailed from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi, Basarnas said.

The captain had not been in contact since then, it said.

A larger rescue operation was heading to the site from Surabaya, a six-hour journey from the site of the disaster, Basarnas said.

“Based on preliminary reports from the field, passengers are waiting to be evacuated by the vessels in the vicinity of the incident site,” said Muhammad Masyhud, a senior official at the Ministry of Transportation.

“The safety of passengers and crew is our top priority. We are continuously coordinating with all relevant parties to ensure that the evacuation process can proceed quickly, safely, and effectively,” he said in a statement.

Marine accidents are a regular occurrence in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, partly due to lax safety standards and unpredictable weather.

A ferry transporting more than 70 people sank last month while sailing near Selayar, a small tropical island south of the much larger Sulawesi.

At least four people were found dead, and 14 others remained missing until the end of the search operation. — AFP

SKARDU (Pakistan), Aug 2 — Rescuers have recovered the body of renowned climber Nirmal Purja, who was killed along with nine team members in a powerful avalanche in northern Pakistan this week, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said today.

“The ground rescue team has reached Nims Dai (Purja) at approximately 5,700m on Broad Peak — a mountain he loved, and a mountain that has now taken him from us,” the club posted on social media.

The club’s general secretary Ayaz Shigri later confirmed to AFP that Purja’s body and those of three others had been recovered in the high-altitude rescue operation that has been made more difficult by bad weather.

The avalanche struck on Thursday, cutting off contact with the 10-member international expedition led by Purja, a 43-year-old British-Nepali climber, on Broad Peak.

His expedition company confirmed yesterday that no team members had survived.

Regional authorities said the remains of three climbers — an Omani woman, a Nepali man and an American woman — had been recovered and flown to the city of Skardu on Friday.

A Chinese national and several other Nepali citizens had also been on the expedition, according to the Alpine Club.

The avalanche has sparked an outpouring of shock and grief in the mountaineering community, especially in Nepal, and leaders including Britain’s Prince William have expressed condolences to the families of the climbers. — AFP

TEHRAN, Aug 2 — Iran’s Mehr news agency today denied President Donald Trump’s claim that the Islamic republic asked the United States to refrain from conducting new strikes.

Citing military officials, the agency said the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality”.

Yesterday, Trump said the US was “ready to go against the Islamic republic” but that Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on fresh strikes.

He said he had made the decision, subject to reaching a deal with Iran.

“This would include the Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” wrote Trump in a Truth Social post.

Today, Iran’s Fars news agency citing a source close to Iranian negotiators said “as long as the United States maintains its hostile actions, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed”.

Iran has blockaded Hormuz since the start of the war, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway. — AFP

BEIJING, Aug 2 — An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 jolted off east coast of North Island, New Zealand at 0835 GMT (4.35pm Malaysian time) today, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said, reported Xinhua.

The epicentre, with a depth of 10.0 kilometres, was initially determined to be at a latitude of 37.82 degrees south and a longitude of 178.59 degrees east. — Bernama-Xinhua

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 — President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on new strikes on Iran — provided that a deal to end the months-long conflict is reached rapidly.

Fears had been mounting that the fighting could escalate once again after Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard” and was reportedly considering renewed heavy attacks, including against energy infrastructure.

But the US leader appeared to have changed course after speaking with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and after Tehran also spoke with Riyadh, and to mediators Pakistan and Turkey.

Trump insisted the US was still “locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” but added that Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on fresh strikes.

“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Iran’s state news agency said the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers held a call and the state-run broadcaster said Tehran also spoke with Pakistan and Turkey, which have acted as mediators in the talks, about “the risk of escalating tensions and insecurity in the region”.

Saudi Arabia’s official SPA press agency said Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had a call with Trump where he “emphasised the necessity of prioritising dialogue to reduce tensions and the importance of exerting all possible efforts to achieve a truce that paves the way for diplomatic solutions”.

The US president said the deal would have to include the “Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”.

“The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment.”

After more than five months of war, which began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Tehran, there is seemingly no end to the conflict in sight.

A previous ceasefire deal with similar terms, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, fell through, and Iran has since tightened its control over the vital waterway as the two countries resumed attacks against each other in recent weeks.

The resumption of hostilities has caused global oil prices, which had dipped during the initial ceasefire, to rise once more.

The back-and-forth comes just three months before midterm elections in the United States that could pose a challenge for Trump’s Republican Party.

‘Eager to do a deal’

US embassies in capitals across the Middle East had warned their citizens on Saturday to beware of “unforeseen escalation” in the regional conflict and urged them to be ready to leave.

Iran and the US resumed exchanges of fire last month after a days-long lull in fighting, although there were no reported strikes between Friday and Sunday.

On Wednesday, a drone struck a US-owned gas vessel moored in an Egyptian port, causing a fire. Egypt is investigating but has not yet accused any group of launching the attack.

Meanwhile, an “unknown projectile” struck a tanker off the coast of Oman, a British maritime agency said on Saturday.

Iran has effectively maintained control over navigation through Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler said on Friday that traffic through the Hormuz Strait has dropped “sharply”.

On the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another waterway that has gained increasing importance as a transit route for Saudi Arabian oil, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday denied seeking to charge ships for passage through it.

The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and, via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean. — AFP

MANILA, Aug 2 — Five people, including an 11-month-old infant, were killed in a boarding house fire in Caloocan City, Metro Manila, on Sunday, reported Xinhua, quoting local media reports.

The fire protection bureau said the victims were trapped inside the rented house as the fire spread, preventing them from escaping.

The blaze also affected 15 people from six families living in the apartment.

Authorities said the cause of the fire remains under investigation, while the extent of the damage is still being assessed. — Bernama-Xinhua

COLOMBO, Aug 2 — Sri Lanka deployed hundreds of troops and elite commandos on Sunday to contain riots at an overcrowded prison in which an inmate was killed and six others wounded, police said.

Deputy police inspector-general Sanjeewa Medawatte said the situation was under control after inmates destroyed multiple buildings on Saturday inside Mahara Prison, just outside the capital Colombo.

“We got reinforcements from the armed forces and the Special Task Force commandos to restore order and send the inmates back to their cells,” Medawatte told reporters outside the prison.

In November 2020, a riot erupted at the facility in which 11 inmates were shot and killed, and nearly 120 others wounded.

The latest unrest came almost a month after another prison riot in the same region, in which 10 guards and 21 inmates were killed.

Medawatte said inmates at Mahara Prison had completely destroyed the kitchen, the hospital, a newly built rehabilitation building and vocational training facilities.

The prison housed 4,100 inmates, about four times its capacity, an issue common across the country’s jails.

Last month, the authorities announced plans to convert disused state buildings into prisons.

More than three-quarters of the inmates in Sri Lanka are remand prisoners awaiting trial, and most are held in connection with drug offences. — AFP

BUDAPEST, Aug 2 — Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced Sunday the shutdown of the country’s sole nuclear power plant after record-low water levels in the Danube River forced its first halt in 44 years.

The move marks the latest stage in an energy crisis triggered by prolonged drought and extreme heat across Europe.

The nuclear plant in Paks, south of Budapest – normally providing around a third of the central European country’s electricity needs – is cooled by water pumped from the Danube River, which has dropped to record-low levels due to a lack of rain and successive heatwaves since May.

“Due to the further drop in the Danube’s water level, one of the last two generating units at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant will be shut down at 1:30 a.m.,” Magyar posted on X.

“As a result, the plant’s output will fall to just 240 megawatts, and tomorrow it will be completely shut down for the first time in 44 years,” he added.

On Friday, the plant’s operator said declining water levels could force Paks to be taken completely offline around the middle of next week.

National weather service HungaroMet forecast highs of over 40°C over the coming days.

A peak of 42°C predicted for Thursday would match the national temperature record set earlier this summer. — AFP

SEOUL, Aug 2 — South Korea registered on Sunday its highest temperature since records began more than a century ago, according to the state weather agency.

The southeastern city of Yangsan saw the temperature reach 42.5°C at 1:26 pm (0426 GMT), the Korea Meteorological Administration said on its website.

Yangsan has been the epicentre of the ongoing heatwave, where temperatures exceeded 40°C for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday.

Much of South Korea has been placed under heat warnings, with many cities seeing temperatures climb into the high 30°C.

More than 20 localities were on Sunday under emergency heatwave alerts, a new warning category introduced this year to better address rising temperatures.

An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38°C or an actual temperature of 39°C for one day.

KMA data show the average annual number of heatwave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 over the past five years, from eight in the 1970s.

A heatwave day is defined as one with a maximum temperature of at least 33°C, while a tropical night is one when the overnight low remains 25°C or above.

Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-induced climate change. — AFP

BEIJING, Aug 2 — The toll from a flash flood in north-west China has risen to 25 dead, with 23 injured, state media reported today a week after the disaster.

The flood ripped through the Shuangshimen Scenic Area, a tourist spot popular with day campers, on July 26, with state media initially reporting 10 deaths and 23 injured.

The updated toll came as the country’s national commission for disaster prevention said it would oversee an investigation into the event, Xinhua said.

Shuangshimen — in mountainous southern Gansu — is known for its natural stone arches, alpine meadows and mountain streams.

Videos of the flooding showed torrents of water surging through a valley where several tents and cars were parked.

China has been hit hard by extreme weather this summer, with large swathes of the country experiencing flooding.

In July, storms in Hubei province killed at least 11 people, while six died and 130,000 people were evacuated in the southern Guangxi region after several dams were breached following torrential rainfall.

The same month, a landslide in Gansu’s Dangchang County, also in the province’s south, killed 21. — AFP

LOS ANGELES, Aug 2 — A gunman opened fire yesterday at an In‑N‑Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho, killing at least three people and wounding two others, according to a Bernama-Xinhua report.

AFP reported that Twin Falls city spokesman Joshua Palmer told CBS News that the shooting began inside the restaurant before 2.30pm local time, while details of the incident remained unclear.

Video footage aired by local media showed what appeared to be a young man carrying a long gun outside the restaurant, while other clips posted on social media showed more than a dozen people fleeing the building.

“It was a very chaotic scene,” Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said, noting that authorities were still working to confirm the number of victims.

Twin Falls, a city of about 56,000 residents in southern Idaho, is located roughly 290 kilometres north-west of Salt Lake City.

DUBAI, Aug 2 — US embassies in capitals across the Middle East yesterday warned their citizens to beware of “unforeseen escalation” in the regional conflict and urged them to be ready to leave.

The warning, posted online by US embassies in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, came a day after US President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard”.

Iran and the United States have been at war since February 28. A period of calm followed a ceasefire, though that collapsed with a return of strikes.

With no end in sight, the war has for months upended the lives of people across the Middle East and rattled global energy markets.

“Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation,” said the security alert.

The messages urged citizens to check flight details and to follow safety advice from local authorities.

“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” it said.

US citizens in Jordan were told not to visit military bases in the country, which have recently come under Iranian missile attack, and in Israel they were urged to seek the location of the nearest bomb shelter.

“The Iranian regime is unpredictable, as seen by its recent decisions to attack areas in the region without warning or provocations as well as to expand attacks to areas not previously targeted (such as Egypt),” said a post on the US Embassy Jerusalem site.

The US embassy in Beirut said the mission remained on “ordered departure status”, meaning that family members andnon-essential US government personnel were still relocated outside of Lebanon.

‘Defensive shield’ 

Iran’s military yesterday accused Washington of “escalating tensions” in the region.

“Any country serving as defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war,” Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s military central command, said in a statement read on state television.

Mohammad Mokhber, adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, also warned against any attacks on Iranian infrastructure.

“You calculate through military equations, but we respond with the logic of history,” he wrote on X.

“Attacking Iran’s infrastructure directly awakens the fault lines on which 250 years of your hegemonic architecture have been built.”

Iran and the US resumed overnight exchanges of fire last month after a days-long lull in fighting, although there were no reported strikes overnight Friday to Saturday.

‘Unknown projectile’ 

On Wednesday a drone struck a US-owned gas vessel moored in an Egyptian port, causing a fire. Egypt is investigating but has not yet accused any group of launching the attack.

Meanwhile an “unknown projectile” struck a tanker off the coast of Oman, a British maritime agency said on Saturday, as the United States and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has effectively maintained control over navigation through Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler said on Friday that traffic through the Hormuz strait has dropped “sharply”.

“With US and Iranian public positions still at odds, operators are closely monitoring traffic volumes, routing behaviour and any diplomatic developments that could reshape risk across regional shipping lanes in the days ahead,” the firm said on X.

On the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another waterway that has gained increasing importance as a transit route for Saudi Arabian oil, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday denied seeking to charge ships for passage through it.

The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and, via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean.

The Middle East war broke out when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, which has retaliated with missile and drone strikes across the region.

On the Lebanon front, Israel’s military yesterday said it killed three Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, while one of its soldiers was moderately injured during a “close-quarters encounter” with Hezbollah militants. — AFP

WASHINGTON, United States, Aug 2 — President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on any new strikes on Iran, provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached.

Fears had mounted that the fighting could escalate once again after Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard” and was reportedly considering renewed heavy attacks, including against energy infrastructure targets.

CBS News reported that the United States and Israel were planning joint strikes, possibly throughout the weekend, with oil refineries and power plants among possible targets.

“The USA is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” Trump said late Saturday in a post on his Truth Social platform.

But the Republican billionaire said he would hold fire for now.

“Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack,” he said.

“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” he said.

The US president said the deal would have to include the “Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”

“The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE.”

After more than five months of war, which began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, there is seemingly no end to the conflict, with a resumption of tit-for-tat attacks in recent weeks.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns about his strike plans, Axios reported, citing unnamed US officials.

One source with knowledge of the call told Axios that the Saudi crown prince had “urged Trump to de-escalate and refrain from launching the strikes.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report. — AFP

SAO PAULO, Aug 2 — At 80, President Lula on Sunday launches his bid for re-election, casting himself as a defender of Brazil’s “sovereignty” as pressure from Donald Trump’s administration casts a shadow over the campaign.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist titan of Latin American politics who is loved and despised in near-equal measure in Brazil, will launch his seventh bid for the presidency at a convention of his Worker’s Party (PT) in Sao Paulo.

The former metalworker and unionist made a dramatic comeback when he returned to power three years ago after a stint in jail on corruption charges that were later dismissed, and two previous terms from 2003–2010.

He is seeking a fourth term in office in a race that carries a strong sense of deja vu in the polarized nation where the past two elections pitted a PT candidate against far-right firebrand Jair Bolsonaro.

This time Lula’s main rival is the former president’s eldest son Flavio Bolsonaro.

The 45-year-old senator stepped into the role after his father was convicted of plotting a coup to prevent Lula from taking power in 2023.

The Bolsonaro family is allied with US President Donald Trump, who has backed several victorious right-wing candidates in Latin America and whose shadow looms large over the Brazilian campaign.

“In Brazil, we do not accept anyone sticking their nose where it does not belong,” said Lula.

In July, the United States imposed two rounds of tariffs on Brazilian goods, alleging unfair trade practices which Brasilia denies.

Last year, encouraged by another of Jair Bolsonaro’s sons, Eduardo, Washington hiked tariffs in retaliation for the trial against the former leader.

These were largely lifted after diplomatic efforts.

Staring down a renewed trade war, Lula has built his strategy around defending Brazilian sovereignty and reminding voters of his four decades as the country’s most consequential political figure.

He has derided Flavio Bolsonaro as a “traitor to the nation.”

“The sovereignty message comes at the perfect time for Lula. At a moment when he was experiencing a drop in popularity it allows him to identify an external enemy to blame for some of the problems we are facing,” Leonardo Paz, a political science professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told AFP.

Crime and corruption 

A recent survey by the Datafolha institute showed that 48 per cent of those polled would vote for Lula in a second round.

Flavio scored 43 per cent despite being battered by a series of scandals.

In 2022, Lula beat Jair Bolsonaro by a razor-thin margin.

The veteran leftist’s administration boasts solid economic growth and record employment levels.

But families complain about the cost of living and the fiscal deficit is worsening.

The incumbent is also on the back foot when it comes to Brazilians’ top concern: security.

Tens of millions of people live in poor neighborhoods controlled by organized crime.

Corruption allegations have touched both campaigns.

Flavio Bolsonaro is under scrutiny for seeking money from a banker accused of major financial fraud to fund a film about his father.

This week, a probe was opened into one of Lula’s sons, nicknamed “Lulinha,” who is suspected of corruption and influence peddling. — AFP

MOSCOW, Aug 2 — An explosion Saturday at a Moscow restaurant that killed three people and wounded 21 others was a bombing, Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said, the Tass state news agency reported.

“A homemade explosive device blew up at a restaurant in Kudrinskaya Square in Moscow, killing three people,” said the committee, quoted by the Tass state news agency.

The three people killed were a woman carrying the device into the restaurant, a security agent who stopped her and a customer, the committee added.

The 21 wounded suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity, said the anti-terrorism committee.

An earlier statement by Moscow police to the Ria Novosti news agency said investigators and police forensic specialists were at the site.

Images posted on Russian Telegram channels showed fire engines and ambulances outside the building.

Russia has been the target of several terrorist attacks in the past.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine’s secret service has claimed or been accused of several attacks on Russian military officers and public figures backing the conflict.

Russia blamed Ukraine for the killing of a senior general, Yaroslav Moskalik, in a car bomb in April 2025.

In August 2022 the nationalist Darya Dugina, daughter of hardline Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin, was killed outside Moscow when a bomb attached to her car detonated.

Many believe her father was the intended target.

In April 2023, pro-Kremlin military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky – real name Maxim Fomin – was killed when a statuette he was handed exploded at a cafe in Saint Petersburg.

A bomb attached to a scooter outside a Moscow apartment block killed General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian army’s chemical weapons division, and his assistant in December 2024.

And the pro-Kremlin writer and nationalist Zakhar Prilepin was seriously wounded in a May 2023 car explosion that killed another person near the city of Nizhny Novgorod. — AFP

LIMA, Aug 2 — A small plane carrying foreign tourists to view Peru’s famed Nazca Lines archaeological site crashed Saturday, killing all 13 people on board, police said.

The incident occurred shortly after 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) after the plane took off from the airport in Pisco, located about 240 kilometres (150 miles) south of the capital Lima.

“We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died,” Police Major Jorge Andrade told reporters at the crash site.

“Given the severity of the accident, there are no survivors. We have recovered four bodies so far,” Andrade said, without identifying the victims.

He also did not give any immediate indication of what may have caused the crash.

Peru’s civil aviation authority will investigate and agents were already on the scene collecting evidence.

Firefighters and police were working amid the twisted, smouldering wreckage of the aircraft, according to images posted on Facebook by local news outlets.

The foreign trade ministry issued a statement saying the 11 passengers were “foreign tourists,” adding that it would offer assistance to the embassies involved.

RPP radio reported that seven Italians, two Germans and two Spaniards were killed.

‘In-flight emergency’

The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs etched into the desert sands that date back to between 500 BC and 500 AD.

The meaning of the geometric shapes and animal outlines remains a mystery, with some believing they had ritual astronomical functions, according to Unesco, which declared the area a World Heritage site in 1994.

The doomed plane was operated by AeroDiana, which offers sightseeing trips lasting 30 minutes to an hour over the site, which is best seen from the air.

AeroDiana told AFP that it would soon release more information about the crash.

Municipal officials in Vista Alegre, where the plane crashed, said in a statement that preliminary information indicated an “in-flight emergency” was to blame, without offering more details.

One resident of Vista Alegre said the plane exploded on impact.

Dozens of small planes operate from the airport in Pisco, handling a large volume of primarily foreign tourists hoping to visit the Nazca Lines.

Such accidents have occurred before.

In 2022, seven people were killed in a plane crash, including two Chileans and three Dutch nationals.

In October 2010, four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members died when an AirNasca plane crashed after taking the tourists to view the site. — AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Aug 2 — A Brazilian man stabbed three people to death Saturday at the factory where he worked in the greater Sao Paulo area and died by suicide after his arrest, police said.

The 33-year-old man entered his workplace in the industrial city of Sao Bernardo do Campo “and stabbed the three victims, who died,” police said in a statement.

He was arrested and taken to a police station where he “committed suicide,” police said, without giving further details.

The victims were aged 39, 44 and 54.

Local media said the perpetrator was a forklift operator who had gone to the factory on his day off with the intention of killing two people.

The third victim was reportedly killed trying to stop the attack.

Bombril, one of Brazil’s best-known household cleaning brands, said on Instagram that the stabbing had taken place at its factory, and that the attacker and victims were contractors. — AFP

MADRID, Aug 2 — The sudden arrival of 60,000 migrants into Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco has triggered a political crisis in Madrid and other European capitals.

How many arrived?

Some 60,000 migrants entered into the territory of 84,000 in less than three days, Ceuta’s top official Juan Jesus Vivas said.

The Spanish interior ministry said more than 48,000 of those who had arrived illegally in Ceuta had returned to Morocco.

The ministry said 34 people had died trying to reach Ceuta.

The scale is far bigger than the last similar event in May 2021 when around 12,000 crossed the border from Morocco into Ceuta in just a few days, Vivas said at the time.

What is Morocco doing?

Ignacio Cembrero, a Spanish journalist specialised in migration in North Africa, said it appeared Moroccan security forces had been “sitting on their hands” since Wednesday.

“To reach the breakwater that marks the border between Ceuta and Morocco, there are cordons of police and auxiliary forces, and it’s obvious they’ve been allowed through,” he said.

People gather on a hilltop as smoke billows from the site of clashes near Fnideq on the Morocco-Spain border on July 31, 2026. — AFP pic

Why now?

One possible reason for the time could be Spain’s Supreme Court ruling on July 8 that migrants arriving by sea should not be returned as quickly as others.

“Without a doubt, the July 8 ruling... has played a role,” Cembrero said.

“But that doesn’t explain the level of mobilisation.”

Others have suggested the Spanish government’s relatively open migration policy could have played a part.

Leverage for Morocco?

Some analysts say Morocco is using the migration issue as a tool of diplomatic pressure.

Morocco has claimed sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla since its independence in 1956 – Spain has flatly rejected any talk.

Cembrero said Morocco had “seen an opportunity” to force Spain to negotiate.

Moroccan security forces confront migrants attempting to cross into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta during clashes near the town of Fnideq on the Morocco-Spain border on July 31, 2026. — AFP pic

What’s the reaction?

Italy announced on Friday that it was temporarily suspending Schengen rules allowing border-free travel with Spain.

The rules apply to 29 countries, most of them EU members, and can only be suspended for a limited number of reasons.

The decision has been slammed by Madrid, and its scope remains unclear.

Legal experts consulted by AFP insisted it was impossible to implement under the current legal framework.

France and Britain expressed “solidarity” with Spain.

However, France announced later it would increase the number of police at its Spain border five-fold on Saturday.

Portugal also said it would beef up controls at its southern land and maritime borders. — AFP

WASHINGTON, Aug 2 — Since returning to power, President Donald Trump’s administration has approved five pesticides considered by many to be PFAS “forever chemicals,” a class of toxic substances facing bans and increasing restrictions around the world.

But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an alternative definition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that excludes the new herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, and says they pose no threat to human health.

The last three such approvals were made without press statements, surfacing only when nonprofits publicised them this month.

Many scientists and nonprofit groups say the chemicals may pose hidden risks, and many of them break down into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), now abundant in global drinking water and potentially linked to serious harms, including fetal and reproductive damage.

“If we want to do something about this class of chemicals, then you need to draw boundaries,” Cindy Hu, an environmental scientist at George Washington University told AFP.

Damning history 

PFAS are defined by the carbon-fluorine bond, the most stable in organic chemistry, whose strength and liquid-repelling properties made the chemicals prized for firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and more.

But evidence linking them to cancers, immune conditions and reproductive harms has triggered billion-dollar settlements, new laws and corporate phase-outs.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) adopted a broad definition in 2021 encompassing any molecule with a single fully-fluorinated carbon atom.

Roughly half of US states, Congress and the Pentagon have upheld it, as did 150 scientists in a 2024 consensus statement.

In 2023, the EPA under then-president Joe Biden went its own way, narrowing the definition to only include chemicals with two or more adjacent fully-fluorinated carbon atoms, which it deemed less likely to persist.

One such pesticide was greenlit under Biden.

Trump’s second term has added five more.

Trump’s EPA says pesticides are essential for food abundance, that all are reviewed, and that single-fluorinated ones can be less toxic than alternatives.

It notes they are also registered or proposed in the European Union, Canada and Australia.

‘Getting worse’

That is not good enough for many scientists and activists, who fear a growing threat to the food supply and to farm workers.

Trifludimoxazin, one of the new herbicides, has “suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential,” the EPA’s own review found.

And the new approvals are just the tip of the iceberg: a 2024 retrospective analysis revisited hundreds of pesticide ingredients approved in the past and found 66 would have met the OECD definition of PFAS.

“It’s an issue that most administrations have kind of conveniently swept under the rug,” Nathan Donley of the Center for Biological Diversity, who led the study, told AFP.

“But it’s definitely getting worse.”

“If you were to buy 10 peaches or plums at random in the US, chances are nine of them are going to have at least residues of highly toxic PFAS pesticides,” Varun Subramaniam, an Environmental Working Group scientist who conducted an analysis of produce samples, told AFP.

Many such pesticides break down into TFA, which is now found extensively in water, and the EU’s food safety agency last week sharply cut the acceptable daily intake.

In June, the European Chemicals Agency classified TFAs as toxic to reproduction, in a non-binding opinion based on animal studies.

Ex-lobbyists

Criticism has focused on former lobbyists in senior EPA posts.

A Freedom of Information Act request led by Donley found those officials, alongside EPA chief Lee Zeldin, coordinated edits last November to the agency’s webpage on PFAS and pesticides, stripping out any acknowledgment of the more widely-accepted definition.

The edit came the same day CropLife America, the pesticide industry’s trade association, submitted a paper arguing against further regulation that cited the revised page.

CropLife America told AFP it did not coordinate with the EPA over the timing of its submission, but rather re-submitted its manuscript to reference the revised page.

For researcher Hu, the debate echoes an earlier chapter in the PFAS story.

When first-generation PFAS were phased out in the 2000s, industries replaced them with shorter-chain molecules marketed as safer — one of which, GenX, caused a drinking water contamination crisis in North Carolina.

“It’s a continuation of the same storyline,” she said, advocating the “precautionary principle” that would presume such chemicals as harmful until proven otherwise. — AFP

KATHMANDU, Aug 1 — Acclaimed British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, a trailblazer who summited the world’s tallest mountains, has been confirmed dead in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, his climbing company said on Saturday.

Purja, 43, served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas and then the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines before becoming a full-time mountaineer and guide.

He famously completed the summit of the 14 highest peaks in the world in just over six months in 2019, shattering the previous record of seven years.

“It is with profound sadness and immense heartbreak that we confirm that Nirmal Purja tragically lost his life following the avalanche on Broad Peak,” Purja’s company Elite Expeditions said in a social media post.

“We have also received confirmation that other members of the expedition sadly did not survive.”

The determined climber had the 14 mountains tattooed across his back, complete with swirling clouds and Tibetan prayer flags.

His efforts were chronicled in a 2021 Netflix documentary, inspiring a new wave of climbers.

However, Purja had also faced criticism for his use of guides, oxygen and fixed ropes, as well as helicopters to go from one base camp to another.

Purja made history in 2021 with the first winter ascent of the treacherous K2, the world’s second-highest peak, along with a team of nine other Nepali climbers.

He wrote on X this week that he was close to becoming the first person to climb all 14 “super peaks” twice without oxygen.

“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote.

“My purpose has never been about me. It’s about what I represent. It’s about showing YOU that your own mountains – whatever they are – are climbable.”

Broad Peak, part of the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, is the world’s 12th-highest mountain and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000-metre-plus ascents.

‘Everyone asks you about Everest’ 

Born in a village in western Nepal, Purja joined the Gurkhas – a brigade of Nepalis in the British army famous for their fearlessness – in his teens.

He later served in the elite special forces as an extreme cold weather warfare specialist.

The adventurer told AFP in a 2019 interview that even a pair of flip-flops was a luxury for him when he was a child.

Known by the nickname “Nimsdai”, his love of mountaineering began on a trek to an Everest base camp in 2012 when he summited the 6,119-metre (20,075-foot) Lobuche.

He climbed his first “8,000er” in 2014. Two years later, when a period of leave following a deployment to Afghanistan coincided with climbing season, he made his first ascent of Everest.

“If you are from Nepal, everyone asks you about Everest. So I then used my breaks for mountaineering,” he said.

Next year he was back on the mountain, leading a successful Gurkha climbing expedition and was made a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his work in high-altitude mountaineering.

Later, he swapped his army boots for crampons, quitting the military after 16 years of service.

Inspiration 

He then re-mortgaged his house to raise funds for his high-altitude, high-speed quest of the 14 highest peaks.

Purja opened a mountain expedition company after his record-breaking feat, taking climbers up the highest peaks across the world every season.

He became a much sought-after guide after the Netflix documentary gave him global recognition.

Two women mountaineers accused Purja of sexual harassment and assault in 2024, which he denied.

In the 2019 interview with AFP, Purja said he hoped his feats would inspire the next generation of Nepali climbers to break his records.

“As a Nepali, I hope my climbs put a spotlight on the talented climbers here,” he said.

Nepali guides, usually ethnic Sherpas from the valleys around Everest, are the backbone of the country’s lucrative climbing industry, but often do not get as much recognition or accolades as international climbers.

Long relegated to supporting roles, Nepali climbers began gaining recognition in their own right as Purja’s global profile shone a spotlight on their achievements.

Through his foundation, Purja funded education and mountain clean-ups. He also built a porter’s house on the Everest route to provide safe housing for them.

Despite several records under his belt, Purja constantly sought new adventures.

“There are always (new) boundaries,” he told AFP.

“(That’s) human, that’s what we do.” — AFP

CÚCUTA, Colombia, Aug 1 — At least 11 people were injured when a truck packed with explosives detonated on Saturday next to a police station in the Colombian city of Cucuta, near the border with Venezuela, six days before the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella.

Reporters saw the vehicle in flames, damaged building facades and police, soldiers and residents gathering around the scene of the attack before local security officials confirmed the number of injured.

“At this time, we have eight police officers and three civilians who have been injured... This was an atrocious, violent act... and what happened is regrettable,” George Quintero, security secretary for the department of Norte de Santander, where the attack occurred, told reporters.

The right-wing De la Espriella will take office on August 7 in the city of Cali, succeeding Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president in the country’s history.

With the support of US President Donald Trump’s government, the millionaire lawyer has promised to intensify the fight against guerrillas and other drug trafficking organizations fueling the country’s worst wave of violence in a decade.

Colombia is the world’s largest producer of cocaine.

To achieve his objectives, De la Espriella plans to forge a military alliance with the United States and Israel.

Presidential inaugurations are traditionally held at the Congress building in Bogota, but the president-elect requested that the ceremony be moved to Cali, in the country’s southwest, a region plagued by clashes between drug trafficking gangs and guerrillas.

De la Espriella’s inauguration will involve one of the largest security deployments planned for the ceremony, with around 11,000 soldiers and police officers carrying out operations on land, at sea and in the air.

The president-elect had initially sought to be sworn in at a military garrison in the conflict-hit department of Cauca, but Petro did not authorize the plan.

Guerrilla groups have issued warnings to the president-elect, who plans to end the peace negotiations Petro had been conducting with various armed organizations.

The election campaign was marked by political violence and an escalation of the armed conflict involving bombs, explosive-laden drones and numerous attacks against the security forces.

In 2025, right-wing presidential hopeful and senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot at an event in Bogota and later died.

De la Espriella has repeatedly alleged the existence of a plot to assassinate him. — AFP

JAKARTA, Aug 1 — Indonesia’s Customs and Excise authorities have tightened baggage screening for all flight crew members at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport following the arrest of a Malaysian pilot over an alleged attempt to smuggle ecstasy into the country.

Soekarno-Hatta Main Customs and Excise Office Head Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang said the stricter measures include more frequent random inspections of pilots and cabin crew from both international and domestic airlines, while the dedicated crew lane at the airport would remain in place.

“Providing a dedicated crew lane is indeed our obligation. But following this incident, we will carry out random checks, for example by conducting stricter inspections on pilots and flight crew,” he said on Saturday, according to Antara news agency.

Hengky said the case had prompted a review of aviation security procedures at Indonesia’s busiest airport, but stressed that the enhanced measures would focus on baggage screening rather than drug testing.

Indonesian authorities announced at a press conference here on Friday that the 39-year-old pilot was arrested on July 29 after allegedly attempting to smuggle about 25 kilogrammes of ecstasy, valued at around Rp60 billion (approximately RM13.51 million), into the country.

Authorities also alleged that the suspect tested positive for MDMA, methamphetamine and cocaine, and had previously smuggled narcotics into Indonesia.

The suspect allegedly exploited the dedicated crew baggage handling system by concealing the drugs beneath clothing in a suitcase bearing a crew claim tag.

Preliminary investigations found that the suspect had been promised RM50,000 (about Rp220 million) for the smuggling operation, while authorities continue to pursue the alleged mastermind behind the syndicate. — Bernama

ATHENS, Aug 1 — Hundreds of firefighters in Greece today were battling to save a popular coastal resort north-west of Athens as violent winds continued to lash the country, hampering operations.

The fire department said over 300 firefighters were operating in the area of Porto Germeno, some 70 kilometres north-west of Athens in the region of Viotia.

“The fire has reached the sea... homes have certainly been damaged,” a fire department spokesman told AFP.

“The winds are very strong. Aircraft are trying to operate as best they can, but some are unable to and have been transferred to another fire (in the Peloponnese) where conditions are milder,” he added.

According to meteo.gr, the weather service of the National Observatory of Athens, winds up to 130 kilometres per hour were recorded today.

The fire broke out yesterday near the neighbouring coastal village of Agios Vasileios. Residents initially ignored a civil protection call to evacuate, and some 300 people had to be rescued by sea.

“The environmental damage is huge,” the mayor of Thebes Giorgos Anastasiou told Open TV.

Theodore Giannaros, a wildfire meteorologist and senior researcher at the National Observatory of Athens today said the damage to the Porto Germeno area was “inconceivable”.

“The area that has been affected appears to exceed 4-5,000 hectares,” he said in a Facebook post.

Wildfires have flared in several parts of the country this week, including on the popular island of Crete, and three firefighters have so far lost their lives.

The fires in Crete have affected nearly 5,000 hectares on the island, according to meteo.gr. Another fire on the tourist island of Paros earlier this week burned nearly 1,000 hectares, it said.

On Friday, another fire threatened the suburb of Haidari west of Athens that had to be partly evacuated.

A maximum fire risk alert has been issued for today in the greater Athens area, parts of the Peloponnese and Crete, central Greece and the border region with Turkiye.

Greece’s geography, with its hundreds of islands, complicates the rapid deployment of emergency responders.

Hit hard by the climate crisis like the rest of the Mediterranean region, the country is plagued by wildfires every summer due to high temperatures, frequent heat waves and drought.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Thursday that Greece — which had been relatively spared from heat waves and major fires earlier this summer, unlike France and Spain — was headed for “difficult days”. — AFP

SKARDU (Pakistan), Aug 1 — Pakistan rescue teams resumed a high-altitude search today for seven climbers missing after a powerful avalanche on one of the world’s highest peaks, with the remains of three mountaineers recovered.

The avalanche struck Thursday, cutting off contact with the ten-member international expedition led by renowned British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja — who is not among the remains recovered so far.

Those recovered — flown by helicopter to hospital for formal identification — included an American woman, an Omani woman, and a Nepali man, the regional government said in a statement released last night.

Police in the mountainous northern Gilgit-Baltistan region said in a statement that high-altitude porters and rescue teams had begun a second day of the operation today after the search was paused due to difficult weather conditions yesterday.

Rescuers and military helicopters had been scouring the area, and teams had stayed at the base camp overnight, according to the regional government.

“The rescue team has reported that they have spotted a few (more) dead bodies of the climbers through drone footage,” the statement said.

“The rescue operation is being conducted under extremely challenging terrain and high-altitude weather conditions by the Pakistani army in coordination with local high-altitude climbers and rescuers,” it added.

Powerful avalanche 

The avalanche struck while the mountaineers were on a mission to summit Broad Peak (8,047 metres, 26,400 feet) on Thursday while the team were ascending at an altitude of around 6,600 metres, according to regional authorities.

The expedition comprised 10 people — including Purja, five Nepalis, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American, and a climber from China.

The team were last in contact on Thursday morning, the official statement said, with reports emerging that evening of the powerful avalanche.

“Data from their tracking devices indicates that they were thrown hundreds of metres down the mountainside,” Naila Kiani, from Pakistan’s Alpine Club, told Le Monde newspaper.

Super peaks 

Purja, 43, had written on X this week that he was close to becoming the first person to climb all 14 “super peaks” twice without oxygen.

“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote.

Purja, who served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas before joining the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines, has broken multiple climbing records since becoming a full-time mountaineer and tour guide.

He climbed all 14 “eight-thousanders” (peaks above 8,000 metres) in six months and six days between April and October 2019 — then a record.

Broad Peak is the world’s 12th highest mountain, located in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000-metre-plus ascents.

It was first summited in 1957 by an Austrian team. — AFP

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 — The US Justice Department on Friday dropped its case against a former Olympian accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying the hurried renovations ordered by President Donald Trump had been botched.

David Hearn, 67, had been charged with felony vandalism in federal court, which carried a potential sentence of 10 years in jail.

Federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro had announced the charges in a high-profile press briefing earlier this month, saying witnesses had viewed Hearn “forcefully and violently” pulling up the pool’s new liner on June 19.

But in a court filing on Friday, Pirro said new revelations “undermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment,” and moved for dismissal.

She said that new documents indicate that the damage to the landmark “was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented” by the Interior Department.

Trump had personally overseen the renovation of the Reflecting Pool, including the addition of an “American flag blue” liner.

It was one of several “beautification” projects around the US capital that Trump had ordered ahead of the July 4 celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

The painting and sealing project was estimated to cost at least US$14 million (RM57 million).

But problems soon arose, with the coating peeling off and algae turning the pool’s water a mucky green – setbacks Trump repeatedly blamed on vandals, without providing evidence.

Hearn, who competed in three Olympic Summer Games in canoeing, told US media he visited the refurbished pool after a long bike ride and noticed a piece of partially detached liner.

He reached into the water to see what it felt like, and as he prepared to leave, US Park Police arrested him.

“I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn told The Washington Post last month. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realised what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”

His legal team had sought to have the case dismissed, arguing it represented a politicized justice system under Trump.

Lawyers Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin said in a statement Friday that the case “should never have been brought.”

“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong,” they said.

“The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology.”

Trump earlier threatened jail time for anyone seeking to damage one of his signature renovation projects.

“Please remember that there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” the president said in June.

Law enforcement for the National Park Service told AFP in June that five people were arrested for vandalism and five others were issued federal citations. — AFP

NEW DELHI, Aug 1 — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wanted to “forgive” protesters who abused him during recent youth-led demonstrations that dealt a rare political setback to his government.

The remarks came after the online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) mobilised large protests in New Delhi and other cities over examination paper leaks, posing the biggest challenge to Modi’s government in recent years.

Some protesters featured in widely circulated videos shouting insults at the prime minister have since faced online abuse from Modi supporters as well as police complaints, according to local media reports.

Police have also asked social media platforms, including Meta and X, to take down what they described as abusive and manipulated content targeting the premier.

“The country and the world witnessed what happened at Jantar Mantar. Some mischievous youngsters hurled vile abuses,” Modi, 75, said in a video posted on Instagram late yesterday.

“Words were used that do not belong to civilised society — directed not just at me, but even at my late mother... I want to forgive them.”

Modi also said “mistakes made in youth” should be corrected through guidance rather than legal action, referring to the police cases.

The protests that began last month were initially sparked by anger over examination paper leaks.

But they broadened into a wider expression of frustration over unemployment and governance, culminating in the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Since the protests began, Modi has increasingly used Instagram — the platform on which the CJP built much of its support — to communicate directly with youngsters.

Modi’s ruling party has 9.6 million Instagram followers, while the CJP, launched only in May, has more than 26 million. — AFP

NEW YORK, Aug 1 — Donald Trump’s early legal wins against broadcasters ABC and CBS have given way to defeats and retreats as courts and newsrooms act to protect press freedom.

“News organisations recognise that the only positive outcome to this is prevailing against the president and standing up for the reporters and their newsrooms,” said Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.

At the end of July, the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas issued to New York Times journalists who had written articles about the security of Trump’s presidential aircraft.

It was forced to act after a federal judge slammed the administration’s sloppy legal work and found it violated protections granted to journalists and their sources.

The president has also filed defamation suits targeting The New York Times over articles and a book about the origins of his fortune, and the Wall Street Journal over an article about a salacious letter he sent to Jeffrey Epstein. Both are floundering.

“If you’re willing to stand up to Trump, you’re going to do fairly well in court, given the lack of merit behind the cases that he has filed,” observes Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor at Northeastern University in Massachusetts.

The cases involving ABC and CBS ended in December 2024 and July 2025 with the broadcasters promising to pay US$15 million (RM61.2 million) and US$16 million, respectively.

Trump sued ABC for defamation over statements about a civil judgment against Trump in a sexual assault case. He took CBS to court for allegedly misleading viewers by airing different clips of the same answer from an interview with 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

But most legal experts agree that the courts could have thrown out Trump’s claims.

Both reached the settlements “for business reasons,” said Kennedy.

CBS’s parent company Paramount Global, for instance, was seeking regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance.

Media strategy 

After ABC kept talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, a nightly critic of Trump, on the air, and elected not to air a live Trump speech about supposed electoral fraud, the network now faces threats to some of its local station licenses from federal authorities.

In another case, the BBC, which the US president is suing for US$10 billion over an allegedly misleading edit of one of his speeches, has adopted a strategy that experts expect to become more widespread.

The British broadcaster is demanding that Trump’s legal team produce financial documents in order to quantify the damages suffered.

“That is the biggest deterrent of all for a man who has constantly resisted efforts to to look inside his empire and financial circumstances,” said Paulson.

Trump’s real objective, however, is not to win the lawsuits, experts say.

“You go right back to the beginning of his political career, 11-12 years ago, and it’s been a central part of his strategy to discredit the news media,” said Kennedy.

“He does that by insulting them, calling them fake news, calling them enemies of the people, and he does it by filing lawsuits.”

Paulson said that “Trump and his lawyers have no realistic expectation that they will prevail in a court of law somewhere down the road.”

“But that can take years and millions of dollars, and Trump knows from his business experience that if he can apply enough pressure, someone will cough up a check.” — AFP

LONDON, Aug 1 — Britain’s ruling Labour Party comfortably retained the mayoralty of northern Greater Manchester yesterday, following an election triggered by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s return to parliament.

Bev Craig, currently the leader of Manchester City Council, was elected after winning 47.15 per cent of the votes in the first round.

The anti-immigration Reform UK party, which has been riding high in national polls, came in second place with a 21 per cent share.

Without the 50 per cent of votes needed to win outright, the counting proceeded to a second round.

Labour then gained over 58,000 more votes when second preferences of eliminated candidates were taken into account, with Reform picking up 45,250 more votes, according to results published on the mayoral website.

Craig ended up with 309,525 first or second preference votes compared to 157,178 for Reform’s Sian Astley.

More than two million people were eligible to vote in Thursday’s poll. Turnout was just under 25 per cent, according to the published results.

Burnham first won the post in 2017 and was re-elected twice, most recently in 2024 with 63 per cent of the vote.

His staunch defence of the region earned him the nickname “King of the North”.

Burnham announced in May that he would fight a by-election in the Makerfield constituency in order to try to return to parliament.

He won the seat in June, paving the way for him to return to Westminster and successfully challenge former prime minister Keir Starmer for the leadership of the party and country.

His two-week-old government announced earlier Friday plans to allow mayors to keep a share of taxes collected in their area to empower their regions.

The initiative is part of Burnham’s drive to shift power out of the highly centralised country’s London seat of government. — AFP

TOKYO, Aug 1 — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck off Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan today, the country’s weather agency said, reported Xinhua.

The temblor occurred at 11.48am local time off Aomori’s Pacific coast at a depth of 80 kilometres, measuring 4 on Japan’s seismic scale of 7, said the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The quake’s epicentre was located at a latitude of 41.3 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east. No tsunami advisory was issued. — Bernama-Xinhua

DUBAI, Aug 1 — An “unknown projectile” struck a tanker off the coast of Oman, a British maritime agency said today, as the United States and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The vessel reported it was “struck by an unknown projectile which has caused damage to the engine room”, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred 12.5 miles (20.12 kilometres) off the coast of Lima, Oman, according to the agency.

Iran has effectively maintained control over navigation through Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have attacked and stopped a number of vessels attempting to transit Hormuz, insisting in recent days Iran has “full control” of the waterway.

Maritime trade tracking firm Kpler said yesterday that traffic through Hormuz has dropped “sharply”.

“With US and Iranian public positions still at odds, operators are closely monitoring traffic volumes, routing behaviour and any diplomatic developments that could reshape risk across regional shipping lanes in the days ahead,” the firm said on X. — AFP

LOS ANGELES, Aug 1 — A US F-35 fighter jet crashed yesterday near a military base in San Diego, but the pilot was able to eject before impact, officials said.

“There was an aviation mishap involving a Marine Corps F-35B in the vicinity” of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar at about 10am (1700 GMT/1am Malaysian time), a spokesman for the base told AFP.

“The pilot was ejected and has been recovered.”

A later statement from the military base said the pilot had been transported to a medical facility “in stable condition for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.”

Footage circulated on social media showing a plume of smoke rising from the aircraft, as firefighters were deployed to douse the flames.

MCAS Miramar is known around the world as the one-time home of the US Navy’s “Top Gun” school for elite pilots, immortalised in the 1986 film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise.

Each F-35B, the variant of the stealth fighter jet with vertical takeoff and landing capability, costs about US$109 million (RM445 million), according to maker Lockheed Martin. — AFP

ROME, Aug 1 — Italy said yesterday it had suspended its Schengen agreement with Spain, following the influx of migrants into Madrid’s Ceuta enclave in north Africa, bordering Morocco.

Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the one-month suspension an “extraordinary measure” intended to “safeguard national security and prevent possible repercussions for our nation”.

Italy’s interior ministry confirmed to AFP that Italy had closed to Spain its maritime and air entry points but cautioned it would not impact travel for Spanish and European citizens to Italy.

A spokesman also said that following discussions with France, the two countries would the reinforce land border controls already in place.

On Thursday, Meloni called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen area, describing the images from Ceuta showing thousands of arriving migrants as “shocking”.

Italy’s coalition government has sought to stop the tens of thousands of migrants who land in small boats on the country’s shores each year.

Measures include government deals with North African countries to limit departures, and restrictions on charity rescue boats trying to save migrants in the Central Mediterranean.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said yesterday that the suspension of Schengen — a border-free travel area in which checks are abolished for travellers — was “provided for by the treaties and, today, rendered unavoidable”.

He called the migrant crisis in Ceuta a “shared responsibility” within the bloc and said EU countries must “work together to prevent uncontrolled flows of migrants from entering EU territory”.

Meloni said that Italy would support any European initiative to assist Spain to “restore full control of the Union’s external borders”. — AFP

LÈGE-CAP-FERRET (France), Aug 1 — People in France’s fire-hit south-west were “coming up for air”, officials said yesterday, after firefighters managed to stabilise a massive blaze that had burned for nine days.

Most of the 220,000 people who had been evacuated from the flames, which at one stage seemed to be heading for the city of Bordeaux, have now been allowed home.

“The crisis isn’t over, the fire isn’t under control yet, but we’re making progress,” said Sophie Brocas, prefect of the southwestern Gironde region. “We’re coming up for air.”

But another blaze in the southeastern Var region flared up and was threatening villages roughly 80 kilometres north-east of Marseille, forcing the evacuation of 2,500 people.

Strong winds were fanning the flames the Var fire, which spread rapidly and burnt 1,000 hectares in just a few hours, officials said.

“The fire is spreading, fuelled by the mistral wind,” senior provincial official Simon Babre told AFP.

Human-caused climate change has made the extreme conditions that are fuelling infernos in western Europe twice as likely than in a pre-industrial climate in France, scientists said this week.

People in Var were jolted into the reality that their countrymen hundreds of miles to the west have been living through for the past week.

Emma Leray, who lives in the fire-hit village of Correns, said she saw her “garden in flames”.

“It was panic. We didn’t get any warning. We just had time to grab our two cats and flee by car... picking up a neighbour along the way,” she recalled.

“Our neighbours, who have vineyards, were trying to put out the flames with branches and a fire extinguisher we gave them.”

Hundreds of firefighters have been drafted in, along with planes and helicopters.

Temperatures have reached 38C in Var, which is under an orange heat wave alert until Saturday midday.

Fuel transport and gas cooker lighters are banned throughout the region until Monday morning.

Across the country in the Gironde region, locals and officials were coming to terms with a fire that had ravaged 42,000 hectares.

The authorities said the blaze had been stabilised thanks to “favourable” overnight conditions.

Firefighters would now need to clear woodland undergrowth and tackle the fire’s edges towards the dunes.

At least 200 homes were destroyed and two firemen killed in the fires. — AFP

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 — President Donald Trump joked yesterday that he is not yet a target of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as his government wages a campaign against the institution, urging member nations to withdraw.

“By the way, there’s no information that they’re after me,” but “it could happen,” Trump said to laughs from cabinet members gathered at the Camp David presidential retreat, interrupting top diplomat Marco Rubio as he reiterated American opposition to the court.

“He’s not trying to defend me. He is trying to defend Bibi and various other people,” the president said, using a nickname for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the subject of a 2024 ICC arrest warrant.

In mid-July, the United Sates launched a major diplomatic offensive against the court — a long-standing bete noir accused of threatening Americans — promising new sanctions and calling for partners to quit.

Relations between the Trump administration and the court, which is based in The Hague, are extremely poor, with some judges already subject to US sanctions.

Established in 2002, the ICC is responsible for prosecuting perpetrators of the world’s most serious crimes when nations lack the will or capacity to do so themselves.

But Rubio said yesterday that the court is “an illegitimate international organisation.”

Neither Israel nor the United States are party to the international treaty that established the ICC.

“We tried to get them to reform and listen to us. They wouldn’t do it. They’re very arrogant. We’ve now begun an effort to really try to bring that court to heel,” said Rubio, noting that five countries had withdrawn or planned to do so and that others should follow.

Chad and Venezuela have both recently announced their withdrawal from the ICC. — AFP

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 — President Donald Trump threatened yesterday to hit Iran “very hard,” as US media reported he was considering renewed heavy attacks as soon as this weekend, including against energy infrastructure targets.

After more than five months of war, which began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, there is seemingly no end to the conflict, with resumed tit-for-tat attacks.

“We’ll be hitting him very hard and, you know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore’,” Trump said yesterday as he hosted a cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

The Wall Street Journal later reported that Trump had ordered a fresh attack aimed at convincing Tehran to surrender, which could begin as soon as this weekend, citing unnamed US officials.

CBS News meanwhile reported that the United States and Israel were planning joint strikes on energy-related targets, possibly throughout the weekend. Such targets would likely be oil refineries and power plants.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran’s vital infrastructure throughout the war, vowing last week to destroy a bridge or power plant plant every time ships in the vital Strait of Hormuz are attacked.

The president had not yet given the green light for the campaign, but Israel and the US were coordinating, CBS said, citing multiple unnamed sources.

The report comes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington and met with Trump and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Some White House aides voiced strong objections to the plan at the cabinet meeting, the CBS report said.

If the plan went forward, it would mark the first time that Israel has joined in attacks on Iran since the initial phase of the war. — AFP

BERLIN, July 31 — One recent day in Berlin, a few hundred Pride demonstrators with rainbow flags rallied in eastern Marzahn district, a sweep of communist-era residential blocs that is a hotspot of far-right AfD support.

Far from the city’s bohemian neighbourhoods with their hip clubs and trendy cafes — areas which reliably vote for leftist and green parties — this working-class district is Berlin’s ground zero for a shift to the hard right.

In last year’s national election, the anti-immigration, anti-Islam and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) topped the polls with 31 per cent in Marzahn, which is home to many Russian speakers.

Ahead of September polls in the city-state of Berlin, many progressive-leaning voters fear the AfD may again win big — perhaps boosted by public anger over a deadly jihadist attack that targeted the city’s main annual LGBTQ Pride event last weekend.

“If we demonstrate in an area where the AfD polls very strongly, we’re sending a powerful signal,” said one of the recent demonstrators at the smaller march in Marzahn, Andreas, who was joined by his husband Sumudu.

Sumudu, from Sri Lanka, said he came to Berlin to live in a place that celebrates “democracy, human rights and openness”.

The 24-year-old said he views the AfD’s rise with “disgust” and insisted the party has “no place in this city”.

Islamist attack

Berlin has long prided itself on being a somewhat chaotic but fun-loving bastion of diversity and openness.

So many were stunned when the AfD last week topped the polls for the first time there, scoring 19 per cent in an Insa survey.

The other occasional front-runner has been the far-left Linke party, which emerged from the communist party that ruled East Germany until the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

The Linke’s antifascist battle cry of “onto the barricades” and vows for dramatic reforms to ease a housing crisis have endeared it to many young voters.

Many also support its pro-Palestinian stance in a country where the national government is a steadfast supporter of Israel.

The Linke’s top candidate, Elif Eralp, a lawyer with Turkish heritage, said she also fears the AfD could exploit the attack in which a man ploughed a vehicle through a crowd, then attacked people with a machete.

The presumed attacker, a German man with Lebanese roots who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was later shot dead by police after running towards them with a bladed weapon.

Eralp told AFP about the attack that “I strongly fear this could benefit the AfD, because the AfD always exploits such events for racist narratives”.

It’s a concern shared by Mario Paul, 46, a mourner at a memorial for the victims — a Polish woman who was killed and some 30 people who were injured.

The attack “will make the situation worse”, he said. “I am shocked that people are shifting further to the right.”

Housing crisis

The outcome of the September 20 vote remains wide open as a crowded field of parties vie to govern the city now ruled by the centre-right CDU of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Social Democrats.

Berlin’s unpopular CDU mayor Kai Wegner recently stepped down, replaced as top candidate by the little-known Stefan Evers.

Under one scenario, the city could next be ruled by a leftist coalition of the Linke, Greens and SPD.

The AfD for now has been shut out of power across Germany as all other big parties maintain a “firewall” of non-cooperation with it.

In highly polarised times, the election is also seen as a battle for the heart and soul of Berlin, famously described by a former mayor as “poor but sexy”.

Some fear the worst in a city which a century ago was partying through the “Roaring Twenties”, an era of flamboyant variety shows, jazz bars and queer culture under the Weimar Republic.

Those hedonistic and turbulent days gave way to the rise of the Nazi regime, World War II and the Holocaust.

During the Cold War, when Germany and Berlin were divided, the city’s western half became a haven for alternative counterculture, which blossomed further after the Wall collapsed.

Recent decades have seen a spike in housing prices and the arrival of migrants from Syria, Iraq and Ukraine to what has long been a hub for Germany’s Turkish community.

The AfD is also campaigning on Berlin’s housing crisis, heaping some of the blame on foreigners.

Its top candidate in Berlin, Kristin Brinker, told AFP she wants to reserve social housing for “locals”, which she defined as people with jobs “who have lived here for a long time”. — AFP

BANGKOK, July 31 — Thailand has approved tougher security measures for its southern border provinces, including stricter law enforcement, tighter border controls and a review of its peace dialogue, following a recent surge in violence.

National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Chatchai Bangchuad said the measures, approved at the council’s fifth meeting of 2026 chaired by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, include enhanced surveillance, intensified efforts to bring perpetrators to justice and a reassessment of the existing peace dialogue framework.

Authorities have also been instructed to step up security operations by expanding surveillance to prevent attacks from spreading beyond the southern border provinces while closely monitoring the evolving security situation, he said.

“The military and police have also been directed to tighten border controls and strengthen checks on the movement of people entering and leaving the country, as authorities believe some suspects may attempt to flee to neighbouring countries,” he said in a statement.

He said the law enforcement agencies had been ordered to take firm action against those responsible for recent attacks, armed groups operating in the area and individuals suspected of planning future violence, while ensuring all actions were carried out in accordance with the law.

On the peace process, Chatchai said the NSC had agreed to review the existing dialogue framework with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) following the temporary suspension of peace talks during the transition to a new facilitator.

He said any future talks would follow a clearer agenda, with issues addressed in a defined sequence in line with the approach of Thailand’s chief peace dialogue negotiator, while ensuring the framework reflected the current security situation on the ground.

On July 28, Thailand announced the temporary suspension of peace talks with the BRN, originally scheduled to be held in Malaysia in September, following a deadly attack in Narathiwat the previous week that killed five rangers.

Despite the temporary suspension of peace talks, Chatchai stressed that the government’s policy remained unchanged.

“The government’s policy on the administration and development of the southern border provinces remains unchanged, and the government remains committed to continuing the peace dialogue.

“However, the timing will depend on appropriate circumstances and a conducive atmosphere to ensure the talks can ultimately lead to lasting peace and achieve their intended objectives,” he said. — Bernama

LONDON, July 31 — A top British court today threw out a challenge against planning permission for a Chinese “mega” embassy in central London, but residents seeking to block the contentious project vowed to fight on.

A campaign group of local residents and businesses had taken their case to the High Court. They argued the vast new embassy next to the Tower of London would increase the risk of a terror attack and of espionage and harassment of dissidents and protesters.

After a hearing this month, two judges today ruled remotely that the residents “claims are ... dismissed”, saying the housing minister and London district of Tower Hamlets had acted lawfully by granting planning permission in January.

The Royal Mint Court Residents Association today said it would apply for permission to appeal, hoping its case will reach the UK Supreme Court. It said it had relaunched crowdfunding efforts to fund legal costs.

“Beijing thinks this judgment is the final word. It isn’t. The appeal is already in the works,” Luke Pollard, head of the residents’ association, said in a statement.

“If they expect us to roll over and allow our own capital to become a CCP power centre, they have completely misjudged the strength of opposition to this mega embassy.”

Beijing bought the site of the historic former Royal Mint, next to the Tower of London, in 2018 for a reported US$327 million.

It plans to relocate its embassy there, and then-foreign minister Boris Johnson granted diplomatic consent.

The 20,000-square-metre site is set to become the largest embassy complex in the UK by area.

But the plan has been delayed by fierce opposition from nearby residents, rights groups and critics of China’s ruling Communist Party, to the frustration of the Chinese government.

In January, the plan was finally granted planning permission under Keir Starmer’s government, shortly before he made a visit to Beijing, despite criticism from opposition politicians, human rights groups and US President Donald Trump.

‘Concealed chamber’

The UK published planning documents showing the embassy’s projected floor space would exceed 50,000 square metres.

This would make it London’s largest embassy, ahead of the new 12-storey US home around 5.1 kilometres to the southwest.

It would also make it the largest Chinese embassy in Western Europe, and likely the largest embassy of any country in the region, by floor space.

The Daily Telegraph said it had obtained unredacted plans that showed Beijing reportedly plans to construct a “concealed chamber” among “secret rooms” underneath the embassy which would be close to sensitive underground communications cables.

Then-security minister Dan Jarvis told MPs “any risks are being appropriately managed”.

He quoted heads of intelligence agencies as saying they had helped to develop a “range of measures” to manage any risks.

Beijing would also consolidate its seven current London sites into one, “bringing clear security advantages,” he said. — AFP

GAZA CITY, July 31 — Hamas said today it agreed to a deal to end the war with Israel that included provisions addressing its weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

The text of the deal has not been released publicly, and there was no immediate statement from Israel.

Here are some of the challenges the deal would face on the ground in Gaza.

Israeli silence

US President Donald Trump announced the “complete disarmament” of Hamas, calling it a critical step towards a new Palestinian government in Gaza.

He said Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza “as disarmament is completed”.

Hamas officials told AFP a committee established by Trump’s Board of Peace to govern Gaza would oversee the process of storing the Islamist movement’s weapons.

“Hamas has now accepted a text that fully complies with Trump’s plan for Gaza, one that the Board of Peace endorsed, that Trump himself publicly welcomed, and that (Benjamin) Netanyahu rejected outright,” said Muhammad Shehada, a researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

“As long as Israel maintains that position, there can be absolutely no progress,” he added.

Israel has so far not commented on Hamas’s decision.

But hours before Hamas announced the agreement, an Israeli political source told reporters that Gaza was not even discussed during Trump and Netanyahu’s meeting this week in Washington.

“Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of weapons from Gaza and full demilitarisation of the Strip as a precondition for any process,” the source said.

“There will be no Israeli withdrawal from the yellow line in the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed and the Strip is demilitarised,” they added, referring to a demarcation between the area under Hamas control and that held by the Israeli army.

Hamas said it expected mediators and the Board of Peace to ensure Israel complied with the deal’s terms, which included Israel’s “gradual withdrawal” from Gaza.

“The agreement contains a clear provision stating that Israel must commit to and implement its obligations. If Israel does not implement the agreement, neither will we,” Ghazi Hamad, a member of the group’s negotiating team told AFP.

Shehada, however, said Netanyahu was highly unlikely to accept such terms with elections looming.

“It would amount to political suicide,” he said, noting that Defence Minister Israel Katz had “even pledged to rebuild Jewish settlements there”.

Implementation and timetable 

“Our focus now turns to implementation,” the Board of Peace said, adding that the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), established by the board, will “soon begin a phased transition toward full authority”.

According to Hamas, Israel’s withdrawal, the deployment of an international force, the installation of NCAG and the handling of the movement’s weapons must all proceed in parallel.

“What we are seeing instead is a continued expansion of the (Israeli) occupation,” said Paris-based Hamas specialist Leila Seurat.

Israeli military officials say that the army controlled more than 60 per cent of Gaza, more than what it did when the ceasefire was announced in October.

Hamas officials say the next two weeks will be devoted to agreeing on the mechanisms for implementing the deal.

“We must agree on every detail: how the agreement will be implemented, when it will be implemented and the mechanisms for carrying it out. This is what will take place in the coming days,” said Hamad.

Seurat says Hamas’s public announcements are also part of a communications strategy.

“Its main objective is to say: we are fulfilling our part of what was agreed, while Israel is doing nothing,” she said.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, said the implementation stage of the plan “matters even more” than the initial deal.

“Implementation and verification have to be real,” Mladenov wrote on X. “Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning.”

Obstacles on the ground 

Progress will therefore depend largely on whether the mediators — Egypt, the United States, Qatar and Turkey — can secure agreement on both a timetable and implementation mechanisms.

They are expected to meet in Cairo shortly for that purpose.

But even if a timetable is agreed, significant practical hurdles remain.

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) has yet to be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip.

The International Stabilisation Force (ISF), which is expected to support the transition and oversee the disarmament process alongside a new Palestinian police force, is also still in the process of being established. — AFP

TEHRAN, July 31 — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said today that they had struck two tankers attempting to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz under the “air escort” of the US military.

The IRGC said the “non-compliant oil tankers... were struck and brought to a halt, while four other oil tankers quickly changed course and returned to their previous positions”.

The Guards said the tankers had attempted to pass the strait via “an undeclared route”, the US-backed alternative to Tehran’s designated waterway closer to its own shores.

Iran has effectively maintained control over navigation through Hormuz since the outbreak of the war on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

Yesterday, the Guards said two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait had turned back after one caught fire. — AFP

CEUTA, July 31 — Thousands of migrants crossed overnight from Morocco into Spain’s north African Ceuta enclave, a police source said today, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was set to arrive to manage the latest migrant crisis on the border.

In recent days, a total of around 40,000 migrants have crossed into the territory — population 80,000 — the source added.

The sudden massive influx has sparked a crisis for Spain’s government and prompted France to announce tighter checks on its border with Spain.

Madrid has sent troops to boost security in Ceuta.  Sanchez and his interior minister were due to visit the enclave’s Tarajal border today, the government said.

AFP reporters have seen hundreds of people — men, women and children — entering Ceuta by swimming around a border barrier with Morocco to enter the Spanish exclave, discarding flotation rings and clothes used in the risky passage.

So far, 18 people have died attempting to reach the Spanish enclave, the police source said.

“There was a steady stream of people all night long,” the source said, adding that migrants “continued to arrive overnight and are still arriving” early today.

It was not immediately clear what has prompted the recent surge of migrants from Morocco.

In 2021, thousands crossed to take advantage of Rabat loosening border controls during a diplomatic dispute with Spain.

Already the Cueta scenes of the surge in migrants were causing diplomatic fallout.

Italy yesterday called for Spain to be suspended from Europe’s open-borders Schengen zone, prompting Spain to summon Italy’s ambassador and accuse Rome of using the crisis for political gain.

Two top officials within US President Donald Trump’s White House yesterday also reiterated their anti-immigration politics using video of Ceuta.

‘Bye Morocco’

Ceuta, a territory of 18.5 square kilometres, and similar enclave Melilla have Europe’s only two land borders with Africa.

Ebullient migrants yesterday were walking through the streets of Ceuta, thanking the Spanish police and calling out: “Bye bye Morocco, hello Spain.”

Police and Civil Guards in Ceuta appeared to do little to intervene, although some officers attempted to direct the arrivals to the local migrant reception centre.

Morocco’s authorities had not yet issued an official statement on the flow of migrants, but a Moroccan official source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the two countries had spoken about the matter.

In 2021, more than 10,000 migrants reached Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco over the course of two days, taking advantage of a loosening of border controls by Rabat during a crisis between the two countries.

That dispute erupted after Spain decided to host the leader of the Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front, for medical treatment.

Polisario guerillas fought a long war with Morocco over independence of the Western Sahara region. Morocco’s neighbour Algeria had supported the Polisario group.

That diplomatic crisis ended in 2022 when Madrid reversed its long-standing policy of neutrality and backed Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara— a move that had caused a diplomatic rift between Madrid and Algiers.

Sanchez visited Algiers on July 20 — the first such visit by a Spanish head of government in four years — marking a thaw in relations with Algeria. — AFP

SKARDU, July 31 — Search teams found four bodies near the site of an avalanche in northern Pakistan that left 10 people missing from a climbing expedition led by renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja, police said today.

A spokesman for police in the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan region said search-and-rescue teams had reached the location the avalanche had struck yesterday, cutting off contact with the international expedition that had been in the area.

“Preliminary reports indicate that four (04) bodies have so far been recovered,” Gilgit-Baltistan region’s police spokesman said in a statement on Facebook, adding that the condition of the remaining climbers was still being verified.

The Alpine Club of Pakistan said the expedition comprised 10 people — including five Nepalese, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American, and a climber from China. Police did not mention an American citizen and said two British nationals — a man and a woman — were in the missing team.

“The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) has received deeply concerning reports of an avalanche that struck a team of climbers on Broad Peak (8,047m) in the Karakoram mountain range,” the club said late yesterday.

“The entire team has reportedly been out of communication since the avalanche,” it said.

Purja, 43, who served with Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas before joining the Special Boat Squadron of the Royal Marines, has broken multiple climbing records since becoming a full-time mountaineer and tour guide.

He climbed all 14 “eight-thousanders” (peaks above 8,000 metres, or 26,000 feet) in six months and six days between April and October 2019 — then a record.

In 2021, Purja completed the first winter ascent of K2 along with a team of nine other Nepali climbers.

‘Ask for nothing’

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said they were “urgently working to verify and understand the situation” and said Beijing was willing to provide assistance to Pakistan.

Rescuers equipped with geolocation devices have been sent to search for the missing climbers, the Alpine Club said.

“Through Global Positioning System (GPS), we have already traced the locations of four climbers,” Ayaz Shigri, general secretary of the Alpine Club, told AFP in the mountainous northern city of Skardu.

“For now, we can’t say anything about what exactly has happened,” he said.

Military helicopters were reinforcing efforts on the ground to find the climbers and boost the operation in the challenging high-altitude environment, according to the club.

Purja had written on X this week that he was close to becoming the first person to climb all 14 “super peaks” twice without oxygen.

“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down,” he wrote.

“I take zero mountains for granted. Not one. The moment my foot leaves basecamp, it’s 100%. Always has been. Always will be.

“My purpose has never been about me. It’s about what I represent. It’s about showing YOU that your own mountains — whatever they are — are climbable.”

Broad Peak is the world’s 12th highest mountain, located in the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan, and is regarded as one of the toughest and most technical climbs of all the 8,000 metre-plus ascents.

It was first summited in 1957 by an Austrian team. — AFP

ISTANBUL, July 31 — Nauru has officially changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, the small Pacific island nation’s government announced earlier this week, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

The country’s abbreviated name will be Naoero, while its country code will change to NRO. Its people will be referred to as dei-Naoero, according to a government statement posted on Wednesday on Facebook.

The decision to restore the country’s traditional name was proposed in January through a bill to amend the constitution. It was followed by a 90-day waiting period and unanimous approval by members of parliament.

Speaker Marcus Stephen certified the amendment on May 13, formally enacting the change.

Although the government had been expected to hold a referendum, it decided against doing so after “thoughtful deliberation.”

It said the move was not about adopting a new name but restoring a traditional one that “has never been lost, but rather has been waiting to be fully embraced.”

President David Adeang said the change was not about politics but about identity and heritage, as well as “preserving the legacy of our ancestors and strengthening the future of our children.”

“Naoero is the beginning of renewed national pride, and a new chapter founded on unity, responsibility, patriotism, better health, education, and sustainable development,” he said.

The government said international organisations and other countries had been formally notified of the change and had begun making the transition. — Bernama-Anadolu

BEIRUT, July 31 — Israeli forces carried out a series of detonations overnight near the Unesco-listed Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported Friday, with Israel saying it had destroyed tunnels used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

“Israeli forces triggered very powerful explosions around midnight,” specifically “in the area of the Beaufort fortress,” the official National News Agency (NNA) said.

The Crusader-era castle, located in the southern area occupied by Israel, was added last week to Unesco’s List of World Heritage in Danger.

An AFP correspondent in a nearby village reported hearing large explosions.

In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the army had destroyed “terror tunnels in the Beaufort area” using approximately 700 tonnes of explosives.

They said the explosions came after a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” by Hezbollah on Wednesday.

The Israeli army accused Hezbollah of violating their fragile ceasefire by launching an explosive drone at an Israeli military vehicle in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has not claimed any attack on Israel since June 20.

While violence has declined since the US-Iran agreement signed last month and a Lebanon-Israel framework deal, Lebanon continues to report Israeli strikes and artillery shelling on the south, as well as detonations of buildings in southern villages.

The Iran-backed movement drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war on March 2 with attacks on Israel.

Israel retaliated with a massive bombing campaign and a ground offensive, and its army continues to occupy areas of southern Lebanon extending about ten kilometres (six miles) into its territory. — AFP

WASHINGTON, July 31 — A US father whose teenage son killed four people in a high school shooting was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday in a rare case involving a parent held criminally responsible for a child’s attack.

Colin Gray, 55, was convicted in March of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other offences over the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.

Gray’s son, Colt, then 14, used an AR-15-style rifle his father had given him as a Christmas present in 2023 despite warnings that the teenager had threatened to carry out a school shooting.

Colt, now 16, pleaded guilty to killing two 14-year-old students and two teachers, and injuring nine others, and was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without parole.

Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm told Gray that he had failed to act despite warning signs.

“It is clear you failed as a parent,” Primm said during Gray’s sentencing hearing.

“You were convicted because the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter and you didn’t get him help and you didn’t remove his access to the guns,” the judge added.

School shootings remain a recurring crisis in the United States, where firearms outnumber people and access to powerful weapons remains a major debate.

Parental responsibility in such cases has come under greater scrutiny in recent years.

In 2024, Jennifer and James Crumbley became the first parents of a school shooter convicted of involuntary manslaughter over their child’s actions after their son killed four people at a Michigan high school in 2021.

They were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.

Colin Gray is believed to be the first parent charged and convicted of murder over a shooting carried out by their child. — AFP