More than seven years after the #MeToo movement first brought widespread attention to sexual misconduct allegations against disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, Manhattan prosecutors have announced they will not move forward with a fourth rape trial against the fallen media mogul. This unresolved case, which has already cycled through three court proceedings, will be closed permanently, according to a formal statement from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. released Thursday. The case related to accusations from Jessica Mann, a former hair stylist and actor who alleged Weinstein raped her more than a decade ago. Previous attempts to prosecute the claim have ended in procedural deadlock: one jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in 2020, a second mistrial was declared after another hung jury in a 2022 retrial, and a 2023 conviction was later thrown out on appeal. In his statement, Bragg emphasized that his office remained fully confident in Mann’s account of the incident and her standing as a credible witness. Following in-depth consultations with the accuser, prosecutors made the decision to drop the charge after Mann confirmed she did not want to endure the emotional and logistical strain of a fourth trial, Bragg added. It is important to note that the dismissal of this case does not impact Weinstein’s other existing sexual assault convictions. The former producer remains incarcerated for a separate sexual felony conviction out of New York, as well as additional convictions for sexual misconduct handed down by a California court in 2022. The case stands as one of the most high-profile legal outcomes of the global #MeToo movement, which broke into the mainstream in 2017 after hundreds of women came forward with abuse allegations against Weinstein, sparking a nationwide reckoning over sexual harassment and assault in workplaces across every industry.
作者： admin
-
China’s LineShine tops supercomputer ranking with all-CPU architecture
In a landmark advance for global high-performance computing, China’s domestically developed LineShine supercomputer has secured the top position on the latest edition of the industry-standard TOP500 supercomputer ranking, marking a transformative breakthrough in the long-sought convergence of supercomputing and intelligent computing. The Shenzhen National Supercomputing Center, which houses the new system, announced that LineShine delivers a sustained double-precision performance of 2.198 exaflops on the High Performance Linpack benchmark, making it the first supercomputer in history to cross the 2 exaflops threshold in real-world sustained operation.
For decades, supercomputing and intelligent computing developed along separate hardware trajectories, tailored to their distinct computational requirements. Traditional high-performance supercomputing was built to handle double-precision floating-point operations, critical for demanding scientific work such as complex physical modeling and large-scale engineering simulation. By contrast, intelligent computing — which powers modern AI model training and inference — relies primarily on lower-precision or integer operations. In recent years, however, demand for integrated systems that can handle both workloads has grown rapidly, driving researchers to explore new hardware architectures that bridge this divide.
The dominant industry approach to this integration has been heterogeneous CPU-GPU architecture, which splits workloads between central processing units that manage scheduling and control, and graphics processing units that handle accelerated computational tasks. Yet this widely adopted model carries inherent flaws: it incurs steep data transfer costs between the two hardware types, requires complex specialized programming frameworks, and often leaves a significant share of system hardware resources underutilized.
LineShine upends this conventional model with its pioneering all-CPU “Online Acceleration” architecture. Rather than relying on external GPU accelerators, the system embeds AI matrix acceleration units directly into its domestically designed processors. This native integration allows standard CPUs to run AI workloads efficiently without offloading processing to discrete GPUs, eliminating the persistent CPU-GPU data transfer bottleneck that plagues traditional heterogeneous architectures.
The innovations are not limited to processor design, according to LineShine’s chief designer Lu Yutong, who also serves as director of the Shenzhen National Supercomputing Center. The system delivers large-scale improvements across networking, storage, system architecture, and energy efficiency, resulting in dual breakthroughs: it delivers unmatched top-tier computing performance while also supporting broad deployment across real-world use cases. Lu noted that LineShine offers a fully practical, scalable solution for the long-debated goal of converging supercomputing and intelligent computing.
Lei Kai, deputy director of the Shenzhen Computer Federation, told Xinhua that LineShine is already powering cutting-edge research and applications across a wide range of scientific and industrial fields. Current use cases include atmospheric and oceanographic climate modeling, large-scale advanced engineering simulation, new materials development, targeted drug discovery, brain science research, general-purpose scientific AI, and large language model inference.
China has a long history of leadership in global supercomputing, with domestic systems claiming the TOP500 crown on multiple prior occasions. The TOP500 ranking, which benchmarks the world’s most powerful supercomputers, is updated twice annually. China first reached the number one position in 2010 with the Tianhe-1 system, followed by Tianhe-2, which held the top spot for six consecutive TOP500 editions from 2013 to 2015. From 2016 to 2017, China’s Sunway TaihuLight claimed the number one ranking four times, cementing the country’s position as a global leader in high-performance computing innovation.
-
Supreme Court allows Trump to restrict asylum seekers at border
In a closely watched decision that will reshape how asylum claims are processed along the US-Mexico border, the Supreme Court has delivered a 6-3 ruling upholding the Trump administration’s long-debated ‘metering’ policy, which restricts asylum access for migrants who have not yet physically entered US territory. The decision ends a years-long legal battle and paves the way for the policy to be reimplemented, nearly four years after it was rolled back by the preceding Biden administration.
The core of the legal fight centered on interpreting a key line of US federal asylum law, which states that only migrants who have ‘arrived in the United States’ are eligible to apply for protection from persecution on political, racial, or religious grounds. The Trump administration has long argued that this language explicitly excludes asylum seekers stopped while still on the Mexican side of the border, a position that was rejected by a lower court before the case was appealed to the nation’s highest court.
Writing the majority opinion for the court’s conservative majority, Justice Samuel Alito framed the question as a straightforward matter of common language interpretation. ‘In ordinary speech, no one would say that a person ‘arrives in’ a place . . . before the person enters that place,’ Alito wrote. The ruling reverses the lower court’s finding that the metering policy was unlawful, in the case titled Noem v. Al Otro Lado, a prominent immigrant advocacy organization.
During oral arguments held in March, justices from both sides of the ideological spectrum pushed attorneys on both sides to clarify the legal threshold for what counts as ‘arriving in the US.’ Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned what specific, dispositive marker would qualify a migrant as having arrived in the country, while fellow conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch asked whether a migrant waiting in a queue at a port of entry, or standing at the water’s edge of the Rio Grande, would meet the standard.
Vivek Suri, an assistant solicitor general arguing on behalf of the Trump administration, told the court the answer was unambiguous: ‘You can’t arrive in the United States while you’re still standing in Mexico. That should be the end of this case.’ But Kelsi Corkran, an attorney from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection representing the migrant plaintiffs, argued that migrants meet the arrival requirement once they reach the threshold of a port of entry, waiting to cross into the country.
The ‘metering’ policy gets its name from its core function: it allows US Customs and Border Protection officials to cap the number of asylum claims processed each day, citing limited staffing and overburdened processing systems as justification for turning away additional seekers. First introduced by the Trump administration in 2016, the policy was formally rescinded in 2021 when Democratic President Joe Biden took office. With Trump’s return to the White House in 2025, the administration moved to reinstate the policy, leading to the latest legal challenge that ended at the Supreme Court.
This ruling is not the final word on Trump’s broader border asylum agenda. Shortly after returning to office in 2025, Trump announced a separate, far more sweeping ban on asylum eligibility for most border arrivals, a policy that remains tied up in ongoing litigation and has yet to reach the Supreme Court.
-
Why these two teams will want a draw?
As the final round of group stage matches at the men’s FIFA World Cup approaches, a familiar and uncomfortable debate has reemerged over tournament format ethics. This time, the focus falls on Group matches pitting Paraguay against Australia, where a mutual draw would send both national sides through to the knockout round of the competition – a scenario that has immediately sparked comparisons to one of the most infamous episodes in World Cup history, the 1982 “Disgrace of Gijon”.
In that 1982 match between West Germany and Austria, both sides agreed to a narrow 1-0 win for West Germany that eliminated Algeria from the tournament, with both European nations advancing at the North African side’s expense. The match was widely panned for lacking any competitive spirit, as both teams spent 90 minutes going through the motions rather than fighting for a win, leading to widespread outcry and ultimately major reforms to how World Cup group stages are structured.
Today, decades after that scandal, the same set of circumstances has emerged again: both Paraguay and Australia enter their final group fixture knowing that a tie will guarantee their progression to the next round, while any other result would open the door for a third team in the group to knock one of them out. This controversy has also reignited long-running criticism of the World Cup’s evolving format, particularly recent plans to expand the tournament to 48 teams, which critics argue will only create more frequent scenarios where a mutually beneficial result for two sides creates a huge incentive for match-fixing or uncompetitive play.
The match, which is set to kick off in the coming days, already faces intense scrutiny from fans, pundits, and governing body FIFA, as observers wait to see whether the two sides will play open, competitive football or opt to preserve their place in the knockout round with a mutually acceptable result. The conversation around the game has once again brought to the forefront long-standing structural flaws in the World Cup’s group stage system that continue to create opportunities for controversy decades after the Disgrace of Gijon shocked the football world.
-
World leaders react with offers and solidarity after powerful quakes hit Venezuela
On a devastating Wednesday evening, Venezuela was hit by two back-to-back powerful earthquakes measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, marking one of the strongest seismic events to strike the South American nation in over a century. The tremors were felt across the entire surrounding region, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake: official casualty reports confirm at least 164 people have been killed, more than 1,000 others have sustained injuries, and dozens more remain trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings as of Thursday. By Thursday morning, Venezuelan emergency response teams were racing against the clock, leveraging every minute of daylight to accelerate search and rescue operations for survivors still buried under destroyed infrastructure. In the hours following the disaster, world leaders and senior officials from across the globe issued statements of solidarity and committed tangible support to Venezuela’s relief and recovery efforts.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared the nation’s condolences via the social platform X, saying, “The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes.” Rubio confirmed that the U.S. was launching an immediate emergency response, noting “the United States is ‘immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.’” He extended sympathies to all grieving families, injured victims, and praised the on-the-ground rescue crews working around the clock to find survivors.
French President Emmanuel Macron also issued a statement via X, affirming France’s unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people. Macron confirmed that a specialized team of 85 search and clearance rescue workers would be deployed to the disaster zone without delay, adding, “France stands ready, alongside its European partners, to provide assistance to the affected populations in response to the needs identified by the Venezuelan authorities.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reaffirmed his country’s commitment to supporting Venezuela through the recovery process. Lula announced he had directed Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to launch an immediate assessment of on-the-ground conditions to determine what forms of aid Brazil can contribute. “I reaffirm our determination to support the government of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez in the recovery of affected areas in this sister nation, whose people have demonstrated great resilience in the face of adversity,” he wrote on X.
At a Thursday press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun extended sincere condolences to the Venezuelan government and all communities impacted by the quakes. “China is willing to provide assistance to Venezuela to the best of its ability, according to Venezuela’s needs,” Guo stated, confirming China’s readiness to contribute to relief efforts upon request.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez shared his message of support via Instagram, writing, “All the support from me and Spain to the Venezuelan people after the devastating earthquakes of last night. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Colombia’s President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella also voiced his full solidarity with the Venezuelan people via X. “I stand in full solidarity with the brotherly people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquake. Colombia stands with you during this difficult time with affection, respect, and hope. My prayers are with the victims and their families. God will provide,” he wrote.
-
Apple hikes MacBook and iPad prices, blaming rising chip costs
The global consumer electronics landscape is facing a new wave of cost pressures, driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, and tech giant Apple has become the highest-profile firm to pass these increased expenses onto customers. The iPhone manufacturer announced this week it is raising prices on select MacBook and iPad models across nearly all global markets, with some devices seeing price jumps of nearly 20 percent, blaming an unprecedented surge in demand for memory and storage chips from AI data center operators that has upended component pricing across the entire industry.
In an official statement, Apple noted that the electronics sector is confronting an extraordinary challenge that has not been seen in modern memory. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” the company said, adding that it is “working tirelessly to find solutions” to stabilize costs for consumers. Until now, Apple had absorbed rising component expenses to keep product prices steady, but executives confirmed the strain has become too great to offset internally any longer. “We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac,” the statement read.
Concrete examples of the price adjustments are already visible on Apple’s regional retail stores. In the United States, the 1-terabyte storage configuration of the MacBook Pro saw a $300 increase, jumping from the original $1,699 price point to a new $1,999. In the United Kingdom, Apple’s most affordable laptop, the 13-inch MacBook Air (referenced as “Neo” in early pricing reports), has already increased by £100 just months after its launch, rising from an introductory price of £599 to £699. Notably, Apple has not extended these price hikes to its iPhone line as of this announcement.
Industry analysts say Apple’s decision confirms that the AI boom is no longer just a trend for cloud and enterprise services — it is now directly impacting everyday consumer hardware. Paolo Pescatore, a leading independent tech analyst, pointed out that even the world’s largest and most powerful technology company cannot escape the current component cost crisis. “This is a significant moment because even Apple, with its scale and buying power, is no longer immune to the rising cost of key components,” Pescatore explained in an interview with the BBC.
The root cause of the price spike traces directly to the massive expansion of AI infrastructure across the tech sector. To power large language models, generative AI tools, and other AI services, companies have built thousands of new data centers, all requiring massive volumes of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and high-capacity storage chips. This unprecedented surge in demand has created a severe supply-demand imbalance that has pushed component prices sharply higher across the board, with every device maker feeling the pressure.
Apple’s outgoing Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook first hinted at coming price adjustments earlier in June, speaking to The Wall Street Journal. Cook described the current state of memory chip pricing and supply as “unsustainable,” saying price increases were ultimately “unavoidable.” “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line,” Cook told the publication.
Apple’s move is not an isolated case. The company’s price hike follows a wave of similar adjustments across the technology sector, as other firms also grapple with elevated component costs. Just this week, gaming hardware leader Valve announced that its original target price for the Steam Machine gaming PC was no longer viable, forcing the company to launch the device at $1,049 in the U.S. and £879 in the UK — well above initial projections. The soaring chip costs have impacted everything from personal computers to video game consoles across the entire industry.
Market analysts expect Apple’s price hike to be the first of many across the PC and tablet space. David Naranjo, a senior analyst at market research firm Counterpoint Research, predicted that other leading brands will follow Apple’s lead in adjusting pricing in the coming months. “They may raise prices on select products, cut discounts on entry-level models, or adjust their product lines to focus more on premium devices,” Naranjo explained.
For Apple specifically, analysts say the company is well-positioned to absorb any consumer backlash, thanks to its extremely loyal global customer base. Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at research firm Forrester, noted that Apple’s customers have repeatedly shown a willingness to pay premium prices for Apple products. “If anyone can survive a price increase with minimal blowback, it’s Apple,” Chatterjee added.
-
Ecuador defender Piero Hincapié completes permanent Arsenal move while at World Cup
LONDON – In a transfer announcement timed just days before one of the most high-stakes matches of his international career, Premier League champions Arsenal have finalized the permanent signing of Ecuadorian center-back and left-back Piero Hincapié, the club confirmed Thursday.
The 24-year-old had joined the Gunners on a season-long loan from German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for the 2023-2024 campaign, and his performances over the course of the year triggered a clause in the loan agreement that required Arsenal to convert the temporary move into a full permanent contract. Hincapié will officially be listed as an Arsenal player starting next Wednesday.
Across his debut loan season in North London, Hincapié turned out 39 times for Arsenal in all club competitions, emerging as a key rotational option for manager Mikel Arteta. He spent the majority of his game time sharing starting responsibilities at left back with Italian newcomer Riccardo Calafiori, stepping in reliably for Europa League, domestic cup, and league fixtures when called upon.
The transfer news lands right in the middle of Hincapié’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with Ecuador, where he has played every minute of the team’s opening two group stage matches. So far, La Tri have recorded a narrow 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast and a goalless stalemate against Curaçao, leaving them needing a positive result against four-time World Cup champions Germany in their final group fixture to keep their tournament hopes alive.
Fans across Arsenal’s global supporter base are already looking ahead to Hincapié’s first full season as a permanent member of the squad, as the club prepares for another deep run in both domestic and European competitions next year.
-
Luxury consumers seen nudging sector back to growth despite global tensions
MILAN – Global personal luxury goods are poised for a return to measured expansion in 2026, as hesitant high-end consumers slowly return to buying apparel, handbags, cosmetics and other premium items despite lingering cross-border geopolitical instability, leading consultancy Bain & Company outlined in its latest semi-annual industry report released Thursday.
After two consecutive years of shrinking sales, the firm projects global revenue from personal luxury goods will climb between 2% and 4% year-over-year in 2026. That would push total sector value to between €365 billion and €373 billion ($415 billion to $424 billion), up from 2025’s total of €358 billion.
The Americas are expected to lead the ongoing recovery, with multiple U.S.-based luxury brands registering first-quarter sales growth as high as 15% this year, per the analysis. U.S. consumers are prioritizing everyday casual luxury pieces, fine jewelry and beauty products, with shoppers under 35 driving much of the current sales momentum.
Claudia D’Arpizio, a Bain partner and co-author of the study, noted that a sustained cultural shift is underpinning the sector’s rebound. “People are still alive and want to live their better lives,” she explained. “So there is this mega trend of looking for good quality of life, of improving their lives and finding the meaning and living the experiences that is stronger than the fear of the future.” D’Arpizio, whose firm is widely regarded as the leading authority on luxury sector analysis, added that consumer demand for normalcy has become a powerful counterweight to economic anxiety: “People want to live a normal life, that’s a stronger feeling.”
The report also points to stabilizing pricing as a key factor drawing consumers back to the market. After widespread consumer pushback against excessive price increases in previous years, luxury brands have adjusted their strategies, holding price steady and rolling out more entry-level product lines to reconnect with cost-conscious shoppers. D’Arpizio characterized the current market dynamic as “a healthier situation vis-a-vis two years ago,” though she cautioned that many brands still have work to do to repair customer loyalty that was damaged during the period of steep price hikes.
Bain’s baseline growth projection relies on three core assumptions: that ongoing conflicts in the Middle East will de-escalate and stabilize, that local consumer spending will offset uneven international tourism flows across key markets, and that consumer demand in China will gradually strengthen through 2026. China is expected to return to overall growth this year, boosted by rising online sales of ready-to-wear luxury goods.
The consultancy also outlined alternative scenarios for the year. In the downside case, if geopolitical tensions escalate further, growth would flatten entirely. At the opposite end, if global tensions ease and China’s recovery accelerates faster than expected, the sector could see growth as high as 6% for 2026.
Regional performance is projected to remain uneven across the globe. Europe continues to lag behind other major markets, with a sharp drop in international tourism driven by geopolitical uncertainty weighing on local luxury sales. Even in Dubai, a popular luxury shopping hub, the report notes that local shoppers have stepped in to offset soft tourist spending, with residents returning to in-store purchases this year.
-
Europe’s heatwave shifts east as France raises health alert to highest level
A punishing record-breaking heatwave that has gripped Western Europe for days, bringing fatalities, strained infrastructure and broken temperature marks, is now shifting eastward, with meteorological agencies across Germany and the Czech Republic issuing urgent extreme weather warnings this week.
After days of sweltering conditions that pushed national and regional temperature records higher across Spain, France and the United Kingdom, the heat dome is set to settle over central Europe by the end of this week. Forecasters with Germany’s national weather service DWD predict temperatures will climb as high as 40°C across western and southwestern regions of the country on Thursday, with the extreme heat spreading nationwide by Friday. Overnight temperatures in Bad Bergzabern, southwestern Germany, failed to drop below 26.2°C on Wednesday night, matching the country’s all-time record high overnight low set in 2019. DWD meteorologist Oliver Reuter noted that the current heatwave is “quite likely” to go down as one of the most extreme in German history.
Across the Czech Republic, an extreme heat warning is already active across most of the country. Temperatures climbed well into the 30s°C on Thursday, with the country’s Hydrometeorological Institute forecasting that conditions will intensify on Friday, and could hit 40°C across parts of the nation by the weekend. Neighboring Austria is also bracing for extreme heat, with weekend temperatures in the capital Vienna projected to reach 40°C.
The heatwave has already left a trail of devastation across Western Europe, particularly in France, where authorities have activated the country’s highest level of health emergency under the Orsan crisis response plan to boost hospital staffing and shield at-risk populations. Multiple heat-related fatalities have been confirmed, including not just elderly people, but younger residents as well. In the Paris region, a three-year-old child was found dead inside a locked car, just days after two other young children died of heat exposure in a parked car in the southern town of Carpentras. In northwestern France’s Rennes, the head of the city’s Accident and Emergency department Professor Louis Soulas confirmed that five to six recent home deaths have been linked to the extreme heat, affecting people as young as 60 years old. Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire confirmed that mortality rates are already rising in the capital, where persistent high heat has stretched healthcare capacity. He issued a blunt warning to residents this week, calling out members of the public who continued high-intensity exercise like jogging during the red alert, noting “We must not believe ourselves to be invulnerable.”
France has already broken multiple temperature records during the current heatwave. After recording its hottest day on record for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, Météo-France reported that the national average minimum temperature overnight hit 22°C, with the northwestern city of Nantes recording an overnight low of 27.2°C. Rennes broke its 2022 all-time high temperature record of 40.6°C on Monday with a 41°C reading the following day. Three French nuclear power plants have been taken offline due to excessive heat, which limits cooling water capacity, and intensive care units across affected regions are already at maximum capacity. Soulas warned that local intensive care units are “saturated”, adding “We are truly at a peak of activity.”
As the heat begins to ease in western France, the region is now bracing for severe thunderstorms starting Thursday afternoon, with wind gusts projected to reach 110km/h along the Atlantic coast. Organizers of the Garorock music festival in Lot-et-Garonne have cancelled the first day of the event amid the dual threats of extreme heat and incoming storms.
In Spain, which recorded the highest June temperature in the country’s history earlier this week – 45.1°C in the southern town of Andújar on Monday – forecasters say temperatures will peak between 38°C and 39°C on Thursday before a cooler mass of Atlantic air brings relief. Luxembourg also joined the list of countries breaking June temperature records this week, with a reading of 38.3°C in Wormeldingen, and extended a red alert for extreme thermal stress through Saturday night. Most of northern and southern Switzerland have been placed on maximum weather alert amid a significant developing drought.
In the United Kingdom, the Met Office has extended its red extreme heat warning for parts of London and southeast England through Friday evening. Italy is still waiting for the peak of the heatwave, with forecasters predicting temperatures will hit 40°C across multiple northern regions on Monday, with overnight temperatures failing to drop below 29°C. Florence’s iconic Uffizi Gallery has paused new ticket sales through June 28, only allowing visitors with pre-existing reservations, after the museum’s air conditioning system was overwhelmed by high visitor volumes and extreme outdoor temperatures that pushed indoor readings to 32°C on Wednesday. Italian forecaster Lorenzo Tedici noted shifting expectations amid a changing climate, saying “Gone are last century’s June days of 32°C daytime temperatures and cool 17°C nights. We have become so accustomed to excess that, paradoxically, today we welcome a forecast of 34°C as good news.”
Event organizers and transport agencies across the continent have implemented precautions: Hamburg’s half marathon scheduled for Sunday has been cancelled, Germany’s national rail operator Deutsche Bahn is offering free ticket cancellations for passengers unwilling to travel amid the heat, and Czech Railways has urged non-essential travel to be postponed.
United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell emphasized that the current deadly heatwave is directly tied to human-caused climate change, saying “Europe’s savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it.” He called for accelerated policy action to cut emissions, speed the transition to renewable energy, protect critical forest ecosystems and boost global climate resilience. Data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Service confirms Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, a trend that has led to more frequent and intense summer heatwaves, growing pressure on freshwater supplies, and more severe wildfire seasons. In 2023, more than one million hectares of land burned across Europe, the highest annual total on record.
-
Earthquake is devastating blow to Venezuela at time of uncertainty
Venezuela is reeling from a devastating pair of powerful earthquakes that struck Wednesday, adding a new layer of catastrophe to a nation already grappling with political chaos and years of systemic decline. As death tolls continue to climb in the wake of the tremors, the disaster has laid bare both the enduring challenges and subtle shifts in the South American country just five months after a dramatic US military operation removed long-ruling leader Nicolás Maduro from power. Maduro, the left-wing leader who governed Venezuela from 2013 until January 2026, was captured in a dawn raid on his Caracas presidential compound and extradited to New York to face trial on international drug trafficking charges.
In the aftermath of Maduro’s removal, his close ally and former vice-president Delcy Rodríguez stepped into the role of interim president — a move that frustrated opposition supporters, who had expected the Trump administration to install opposition leader María Corina Machado at the helm of the transitional government. Now, Rodríguez’s response to the twin earthquakes is offering a clear snapshot of what has, and what has not, changed in Venezuela, as the country confronts the severe vulnerabilities of its long-decrepit infrastructure.
More than two hours after the quakes hit, Rodríguez delivered a national address on the state-owned television network VTV. In the gap between the disaster and her public address, official updates were extremely limited. While broken communication lines in the hardest-hit regions explain part of this delay, the information vacuum also traces back to media restrictions enacted under Maduro’s tenure. The former government shut down hundreds of independent local radio stations and online news outlets that would typically serve as critical sources of on-the-ground updates for affected communities during a crisis.
Rodríguez spoke alongside two of her closest allies: her brother Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, who swore her into office days after Maduro’s capture, and Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister and a steadfast Maduro loyalist. In a notable break from his public appearances in the months leading up to the US intervention, Cabello did not wear his customary military fatigues, instead standing silently beside the interim president alongside Jorge Rodríguez. Visibly shaken by the disaster, Rodríguez opened her address with a urgent call for national unity, appealing to a population that has remained deeply polarized for more than a decade between supporters of Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chávez, and opposition factions.
She also declared a national state of emergency and appointed General Juan Ernesto Sulbarán, commander of Venezuela’s National Guard, to lead the country’s disaster response efforts. This appointment reflects a long-standing pattern of Venezuelan politics: throughout the 25 years that Chávez and Maduro held power, top government positions were almost exclusively filled by high-ranking military officers. For years, most key state ministries were led by generals, and analysts widely attribute the country’s crumbling infrastructure to the lack of specialized expertise among these military appointees.
Under pressure from the Trump administration, Rodríguez has recently made small moves to diversify her cabinet: she replaced the general leading the housing ministry with a civilian architect, and swapped the military head of the electricity ministry for a professional electrical engineer. Even with these incremental changes, decades of mismanagement, compounded by crippling US economic sanctions, have left most public infrastructure — particularly public housing — in severe disrepair. For example, the state-owned cement industry collapsed after its nationalization under Chávez, creating a nationwide shortage of building materials that has left critical structural repairs undone for years. This has left millions of buildings far more vulnerable to collapse during seismic events like this week’s quakes.
Venezuela’s emergency response services have also suffered from chronic underinvestment, a side effect of the military’s outsized influence over national spending. For decades, funding and equipment were prioritized for the armed forces, leaving civil protection and rescue agencies without modern tools, rescue vehicles, and sufficient resources to respond to large-scale disasters. Recognizing these deep shortcomings, Rodríguez publicly thanked foreign governments that have already pledged support to Venezuela’s relief effort — and in a striking break from Maduro’s policy, she explicitly highlighted aid offers from ideologically opposed leaders, including US President Donald Trump. She told the nation that the Trump administration had maintained constant communication with Venezuelan authorities to offer support and solidarity. She also thanked the right-wing presidents of the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Chile for their offers of assistance.
Maduro consistently restricted foreign aid to assistance from ideological allies, so Rodríguez’s willingness to accept help from across the political divide marks a clear shift in policy. For Venezuelans waking to widespread destruction, and for the dozens of families still waiting for news of loved ones trapped under collapsed rubble, this open approach to international aid offers a faint glimmer of hope amid overwhelming tragedy and ongoing national uncertainty. “The solidarity between our people is an invaluable source of strength in moments like these,” Rodríguez said in her address.