Global Pulse

分类： world

  • Pakistani PM says US-Iran MoU aimed at promoting peace, stability

    Pakistani PM says US-Iran MoU aimed at promoting peace, stability

    ISLAMABAD, June 24 — During a joint press appearance with visiting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued key clarifications on the recently signed US-Iran Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, confirming the framework does not address Iran’s ballistic missile program and that the topic was never part of negotiation discussions.

    Sharif urged stakeholders and global observers to avoid misinterpreting the purpose of the MoU, emphasizing that the entire agreement is crafted exclusively to advance cross-region peace and stability, with no clauses or provisions related to ballistic missile development or proliferation. He opened the press briefing by extending a warm welcome to Pezeshkian, reaffirming Pakistan’s long-standing commitment to deepening collaborative ties between the two nations across key sectors including cross-border trade, economic growth, large-scale infrastructure projects, post-conflict reconstruction, and collective regional security initiatives.

    “Pakistan and Iran share far more than a common border—we are brotherly nations connected by hundreds of years of intertwined history, shared faith, overlapping cultural traditions, and deep civilizational bonds,” Sharif stated. “Iran’s success is our success, just as Iran’s challenges are our challenges,” he added, underscoring the close bilateral relationship between the two neighboring states.

    The prime minister went on to thank Iranian leadership for placing confidence in Pakistan’s role as an honest and impartial mediator. He noted that the signing of the Islamabad MoU has resolved a high-stakes standoff that carried the potential to spill over and destabilize the broader Middle East region, paving the way for the first round of technical-level talks held recently in Burgenstock, Switzerland.

    Sharif also offered sincere condolences to all those who lost lives during the preceding US-Iran conflict, and commended Pezeshkian’s deft leadership throughout the diplomatic process. Beyond acknowledging Iran’s cooperation, he extended gratitude to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt for their ongoing support of the regional peace process, and also recognized the critical contributions of Pakistan’s own military and diplomatic leadership to reaching the landmark agreement.

  • Killed in Israeli strike, Mona Khalil remembered as the guardian of turtles

    Killed in Israeli strike, Mona Khalil remembered as the guardian of turtles

    Just ahead of World Environment Day this year, an Israeli military strike targeted the Orange House – the coastal south Lebanon home of celebrated marine ecologist and conservation advocate Mona Khalil – leaving the 77-year-old activist critically injured. Two weeks later, on June 19, Khalil died from her wounds in a Beirut hospital.

    Born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1949, Khalil spent decades living in the Netherlands to escape Lebanon’s brutal civil war, before finally returning to her home country in 1999. It was here that a chance encounter on the shores of her coastal hometown of Mansouri, just south of the port city of Tyre, altered the course of her life forever: while walking the beach, she witnessed a nesting green sea turtle throwing sand into the air as it prepared to lay its eggs. That small, intimate moment sparked a 27-year lifelong mission to protect the endangered sea turtles that nest along Mansouri’s shoreline.

    The Orange House, the home Khalil chose to stay in despite repeated Israeli bombing campaigns across southern Lebanon, became the heart of her conservation work. For Ramy Khashab, a long-time environmental consultant, close friend, and one of Khalil’s earliest protégés, the space was inextricably tied to her legacy. “The Orange House was meant to be in every single way because that’s where she discovered the sea turtle that turned her life around,” Khashab, now 32, told Middle East Eye. Khashab first met Khalil by coincidence on Mansouri’s beach as a child, a meeting he calls “the perfect coincidence of my life.” Recognizing his deep love for reptiles, amphibians and wildlife, Khalil gave him his first job while he was still in high school, beginning a decades-long partnership.

    Over more than a quarter century, Khalil trained generations of conservation volunteers, passing on her knowledge and passion for coastal protection. She taught teams to safeguard turtle nests from predation by foxes, damage from off-road vehicles driving onto nesting beaches, and even past efforts by United Nations forces who once attempted to hire local fishermen to hunt the protected turtles. Throughout nesting season, she was always the first to arrive on the shoreline to patrol for nests. She and her volunteers also guided vulnerable newly hatched turtles – only 1 in 1,000 of which survive to adulthood – on their journey out to the Mediterranean Sea, and she founded the Orange House Children Turtle Club to pass on conservation values to young people.

    Beyond turtle protection, Khalil led a years-long campaign against harmful coastal development, private enclosure of public shoreline, and destructive dynamite fishing – efforts that environmentalists credit with allowing sea turtle populations to thrive across the Mansouri region. In the off-season, when winter storms drove away tourists and waste believed to have drifted from Israeli waters washed up on southern Lebanon’s shores, she organized community cleanups that stretched from the border town of Naqoura north along the coast. For decades, the Orange House also stood as an open, welcoming community hub for people of all backgrounds and identities.

    Many who knew Khalil told Middle East Eye they believe the strike was deliberate, targeting her role as a unifying, community-focused leader committed to protecting life and southern Lebanon’s natural heritage. “She kept resisting and taught everyone to love Lebanon as much as she did. It’s because she insisted on staying, because she was symbolising life and resistance there in the south, that’s probably why they murdered her,” Khashab said.

    The day after Khalil’s death, hundreds of mourners gathered in Beirut to pay their final respects. The crowd spanned family members, environmental activists, friends, and senior representatives from Lebanon’s culture and environment ministries. Most wore black mourning clothes, but small splashes of color cut through the somber gathering, as some displaced attendees from southern Lebanon could not reach their belongings to retrieve mourning attire.

    The most memorable presence at the wake was that of Hawi, Khalil’s Ethiopian assistant, who was with the activist moments before the strike. Despite sustaining second-degree burns in the attack, Hawi ran to a nearby Lebanese army outpost to call for a rescue, an act that prevented Khalil from dying buried under the rubble of her home.

    At the center of the wake rested a large portrait of Khalil holding a newly hatched baby turtle, flanked by glass bowls filled with dates and small green and brown turtle charms – a quiet tribute to the thousands of endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles she saved over her career. Amal Ephrem, a university professor and environmental activist who founded Lebanon’s Waste Management Coalition, wore a small green turtle charm on her bracelet to the service. She noted that she attended the wake not just to honor Khalil, but to mourn the more than 4,000 people killed in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2, a toll that includes hundreds of women and children, with more than 12,000 additional people wounded. Large swathes of southern Lebanon remain inaccessible and unsafe due to ongoing Israeli bombardment, she said, making the gathering in Beirut a rare chance to stand in solidarity with displaced communities from the south.

    In an Instagram post on her page Lebanese Composters, Ephrem paid tribute to Khalil’s enduring impact: “We will keep walking on the white sands of Mansouri, admiring its purple seashells and diving into its turquoise waters, grateful for all you did to protect this special place. We will keep walking with endless admiration.”

    Khalil launched the Orange House conservation project in 2000, 26 years before the strike that claimed her life. But while her life was cut short, her work continues. Much of the sea turtle monitoring and conservation work across Mansouri has persisted throughout the current conflict, even amid intense Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon. Her model of community-centered conservation has already been adopted by groups on other beaches across the region, and her influence continues to shape future conservation efforts.

    “Her passion, her persistence, and her stubbornness, even, are what make her so amazing,” Khashab said. “The things we learned from her we use daily, not only in relation to sea turtles and environment, but in our everyday life. Mona’s legacy is immortal. Parts of Mona are in every person, not only myself.”

  • Why immigrants are leaving South Africa and the country is on edge ahead of a June 30 ‘deadline’

    Why immigrants are leaving South Africa and the country is on edge ahead of a June 30 ‘deadline’

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa – A surging wave of anti-immigrant hostility and targeted violence has forced thousands of African migrants to flee South Africa, deepening a national crisis that has drawn international condemnation and put the country’s migration policy at the center of regional tensions.

    The unrest has unfolded alongside months of organized demonstrations led by anti-immigration groups, which have issued an ultimatum: by June 30, all undocumented migrants must leave the country, and the South African government must crack down on what the groups frame as an out-of-control illegal immigration crisis in Africa’s largest economy. If their demands are not met, the organizations have threatened to launch a national shutdown that could paralyze economic activity across the country. South Africa’s police minister confirmed that security forces are already on high alert ahead of planned major protests scheduled for the deadline date.

    Many migrants have fled their communities out of fear of attack, gathering in makeshift shelters near diplomatic missions and other secured areas. Multiple home countries have already begun repatriating their citizens, and have publicly criticized South Africa for allowing a widespread culture of xenophobia to take root.

    Anti-immigration protests have roiled major South African cities since March, pushing the migration debate to the top of the country’s political agenda. Without providing any factual evidence, protest leaders have blamed undocumented immigrants for South Africa’s crippling 32% national unemployment rate, failing public services, and rising crime rates. Earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation in a televised address aimed at defusing tensions. He argued that many anti-immigration groups are exploiting the issue to advance partisan political goals, noting that “illegal immigration is not the cause of our social and economic difficulties.” Even so, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the government has failed to effectively manage border control, a concession that has done little to cool public anger.

    As one of the most economically developed nations on the African continent, South Africa has long drawn migrants from poorer neighboring countries seeking greater economic opportunity and safety. Data from the country’s 2022 national census shows that foreign-born residents make up less than 4% of the total population: roughly 2.4 million people out of 62 million total residents. Critics of the government argue that the official census count excludes large numbers of people residing in the country without formal documentation, a claim that has bolstered anti-immigration groups’ arguments that the crisis is larger than acknowledged.

    South Africa is already one of several major global economies grappling with increasingly polarized debate over immigration policy, alongside the United States and European nations. According to the country’s home affairs ministry, over the past two years, South Africa has deported more than 100,000 people found to be residing in the country illegally, and has turned away roughly 500,000 more undocumented people attempting to cross the country’s borders. Anti-immigration groups have cited these high numbers to back up their claims that the migration problem remains unaddressed.

    Police have launched multiple investigations into fatal attacks linked to the rising anti-immigrant sentiment. Earlier this month, two Mozambican migrants were killed in anti-immigrant unrest in a small coastal town, where more than 50 homes in a migrant neighborhood were burned to the ground. Last week, a Malawian man was stoned to death during an anti-immigration protest in another region of the country, triggering a second homicide investigation. Multiple other assaults and targeted attacks have been reported across the country.

    Xenophobic violence has a long, painful history in South Africa. Migrants from low-income nations including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi often settle in the country’s most impoverished communities, where high levels of native unemployment and public frustration create fertile ground for resentment. In 2008, a nationwide wave of anti-immigrant violence that began in Johannesburg left more than 60 people dead, both South African citizens and foreign migrants. Intermittent outbursts of targeted violence against immigrants have occurred in the decades since.

    The United Nations has added its voice to international criticism of South Africa’s response to the crisis. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Guterres is “deeply concerned by reports of xenophobic attacks and acts of harassment and intimidation against migrants and foreign nationals in parts of South Africa.” Multiple African governments, including those of Nigeria, Ghana, and Mozambique, have also issued strong formal rebukes of South Africa over the targeting of their citizens.

    As the June 30 deadline approaches, thousands of migrants have already fled the country to seek safety. So far, Nigeria and Ghana have repatriated nearly 2,000 of their citizens on government-funded evacuation flights, with officials confirming more repatriation flights are planned. Zimbabwe and Mozambique have also repatriated smaller groups of their nationals.

    Last week, roughly 10,000 Malawian migrants gathered at a temporary shelter in the eastern coastal city of Durban, all waiting to arrange return travel to their home country. More than 8,000 of those migrants have since left South Africa on buses provided by the Malawian government or private sponsors, but hundreds remain stuck in the shelter waiting for departure. South African authorities confirmed they have facilitated the voluntary repatriation of Malawian citizens, though many other migrants have been formally deported for lacking legal residency documentation.

  • Chinese ambassador refutes Panama accusations

    Chinese ambassador refutes Panama accusations

    In a high-stakes address at the Organization of American States Dialogue with Permanent Observers held in Panama on Tuesday, China’s Ambassador and permanent OAS observer Xie Feng has pushed back against recent unsubstantiated accusations from Panama over increased port inspections of Panama-flagged vessels calling at Chinese ports.

    According to an official statement released by the Chinese Embassy, Xie clarified the context behind the inspection measures, noting that since the beginning of 2026, multiple collisions involving Panama-flagged commercial and fishing vessels have occurred in Chinese territorial waters, leaving several people dead or unaccounted for. Out of a commitment to upholding global maritime safety standards, Xie emphasized that China’s port state control inspections are carried out strictly in line with domestic maritime laws and binding international conventions, not arbitrary political action as Panama has claimed.

    Panama’s recent complaints centered on claims that the uptick in inspections and vessel detentions was retaliation for a bitter dispute over port operations at the Panama Canal. The decades-long smooth cooperation between the two countries on the canal hit a breaking point in January, when Panama’s Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling that deemed Chinese control of the two canal end ports unconstitutional, and invalidated the operating license held by Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison. The court immediately transferred interim management of the strategic ports to two global shipping giants, Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk and Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Co.

    CK Hutchison has publicly rejected the court’s ruling, stating it “strongly disagrees with the determination” and has already initiated international arbitration proceedings to defend its legal rights.

    Xie told the OAS dialogue that the political motivation behind the ruling is obvious to any impartial observer. “If contracts could be disregarded, market principles ignored, assets taken over and operators forced out at any time, who would have the confidence to invest and seek cooperation?” Xie asked, per the embassy statement.

    The Panama Canal stands as one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, carrying roughly 5% of total global maritime trade and 40% of all U.S. container traffic. Long-standing U.S. political pressure over Chinese involvement in the canal preceded the recent court ruling: last year, under explicit threats from the U.S. government that Washington would seize control of the canal if CK Hutchison retained its operations, the company agreed to sell its non-port assets in the region to a BlackRock-led consortium for $2.3 billion.

    Scott Kennedy, senior advisor at the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNBC the unfolding dispute is a clear power play for regional influence. “It appears to be a simple contest for dominance in Latin America, with the US trying to push against Chinese trade interests,” Kennedy explained. He added that the most probable outcome is a prolonged legal battle spanning multiple international jurisdictions, paired with sustained political and economic pressure from both Beijing and Washington.

    In closing his remarks, Xie called on Panamanian authorities to reverse their unconstitutional decision, uphold the rule of law in international commerce, and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises operating in the country.

  • Japan says that China has detained 2 of its citizens suspected of smuggling banned items

    Japan says that China has detained 2 of its citizens suspected of smuggling banned items

    TOKYO – New developments in a cross-border legal case have added another layer of tension to already frayed relations between China and Japan, after Japanese government officials confirmed Wednesday that Chinese authorities have taken two Japanese citizens into custody on suspicion of smuggling prohibited import and export goods. Multiple sources indicate the case centers on rare earths — the strategically critical industrial materials whose global supply chain is overwhelmingly dominated by Beijing.

    Japan’s top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, told reporters in Tokyo that Chinese customs officials notified Japanese consular missions in the northeastern Chinese cities of Shenyang and Dalian of the detentions. The first individual was taken into custody on May 18, with the second apprehended one week later as part of the same investigation, Kihara confirmed. While Kihara stated that both detained Japanese nationals are reported to be in good health, he declined to disclose additional personal information about the pair or further details of the ongoing probe, citing protections for personal privacy and the active status of the investigation.

    In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun has formally confirmed the detentions, confirming that the two men are held on suspicion of violating Chinese national laws. Guo offered no specific information on the nature of the prohibited items involved, but urged the Japanese government to take steps to educate and remind all Japanese citizens and companies operating within Chinese borders of the requirement to comply fully with Chinese laws and regulations in all commercial and personal activities.

    Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, has reported that the two detainees are employees of a major Japanese manufacturing firm, with one working at the company’s local Chinese subsidiary. The report added that the alleged smuggling attempt involves rare earth-related materials, whose unauthorized cross-border transport violates Chinese trade control regulations.

    This latest legal incident comes five months after Beijing implemented a formal ban on exports of certain dual-use goods — materials that can be repurposed for both civilian and military applications — to Japan. While Chinese authorities have stressed that the new export controls do not disrupt legitimate commercial trade, official trade data has already recorded a measurable drop in Chinese exports of rare earth magnets to Japan since the policy took effect.

    Bilateral relations between the two major Asia-Pacific economies have been under growing strain for months. The most significant rift opened late last year, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi broke with decades of Japanese strategic ambiguity on the Taiwan issue, suggesting that a Chinese military move against the self-governing island of Taiwan — which Beijing claims as an inalienable part of its territory — would justify a Japanese military response. This incident was not the only source of tension in recent years; last year, a Japanese national detained in China since March 2023 was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges of espionage, further eroding trust between the two governments.

    Associated Press correspondent Ken Moritsugu contributed reporting from Beijing for this article.

  • Ukraine strikes knock out power in key city in Russian-occupied Crimea

    Ukraine strikes knock out power in key city in Russian-occupied Crimea

    Escalating cross-border attacks between Russia and Ukraine have plunged the largest city in Russian-occupied Crimea into widespread power outages and fueled acute supply shortages, as Kyiv ramps up pressure on Russian-controlled infrastructure to advance its war aims.

    Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-appointed governor of Sevastopol, announced Tuesday that a Ukrainian aerial assault had disabled the city’s primary power distribution network. He cautioned that some residential and commercial districts would remain without electricity through Wednesday evening, as repair crews worked to assess and fix the damage. In a public Telegram address, Razvozhayev sought to calm residents, stating, “We will not be intimidated by the lack of light. We have gone through more than that, and we will survive now.” He condemned the strike as a “vile” attempt to erode daily life and stoke public panic, adding that energy facilities have been placed under a special emergency response regime with all first responder teams on highest alert.

    Local authorities have ordered residents to implement strict energy conservation measures: adjusting phone screen brightness to lower levels and closing unused background applications to preserve mobile battery life, amid expectations that daytime temperatures will climb to 30 degrees Celsius. Officials also urged residents to check in on elderly neighbors who may be vulnerable to the heat and power disruption.

    Ukrainian military commanders confirmed the strike, with Robert Brovdi, head of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, stating Wednesday that the operation targeted 48 active and planned Russian military sites across Crimea, including Sevastopol’s main power substation. In addition to the Sevastopol attack, explosions were reported in multiple other Crimean locations: Bakhchisarai, Kerch, and the vicinity of Mount Ai-Petri, which hosts a Russian Aerospace Forces radio engineering battalion.

    The power outage comes on the heels of worsening fuel shortages across Sevastopol, triggered by Ukraine’s ongoing campaign to cut logistical links to the Crimean Peninsula. Internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and has been connected to Russian territory via the Kerch Strait road-rail bridge and a land corridor through occupied southern Ukraine. On Sunday, Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed leader of Crimea, announced a full suspension of civilian petrol sales, restricting all fuel supplies exclusively to government and military services — a move that has sparked public frustration, as many local residents report that retail gas stations still hold stock in their storage tanks. The supply disruptions have also sparked panic buying at grocery stores, with sugar already reported to be depleted across many outlets.

    The latest Crimean strikes are part of a broader pattern of intensified Ukrainian attacks on Russian-controlled energy infrastructure, a strategy designed to cut into Moscow’s oil revenues and pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter peace negotiations. Sevastopol holds particular strategic importance for Russia, serving as a key naval and logistical hub for its military operations in southern Ukraine.

    The exchange of attacks on Tuesday underscores the escalating drone war between the two nations: Russia’s defense ministry claims it destroyed more than 300 Ukrainian drones launched overnight, while Ukraine’s air force says it intercepted and destroyed 95 of 101 Russian drones launched against Ukrainian territory overnight.

    The escalation follows a major Ukrainian strike earlier this week on an oil refinery in southeast Moscow. The Thursday attack left thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky, and multiple residents reported black oil particles raining down on city streets, leaving stains on clothing and property. Moscow officials have publicly denied the occurrence of “oil rain,” but residents have confirmed the accounts to the BBC.

    Now entering its fourth and a half year following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the conflict has seen little diplomatic movement in recent weeks. On June 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released an open letter to Putin calling for direct, face-to-face negotiations to agree a ceasefire and end the full-scale war. Putin rejected the proposal as “rude” and refused the meeting, stating that peace talks must precede any ceasefire agreement. Earlier this week, a separate power outage was also reported in Yevpatoria, another Crimean city, during what local authorities described as a prior temporary disruption.

  • European heat wave triggers health warnings from London to Milan as temperatures rise even higher

    European heat wave triggers health warnings from London to Milan as temperatures rise even higher

    An extraordinary early-season heat dome stretching across Western Europe is pushing temperatures to record-breaking levels this week, prompting life-threatening risk warnings for millions of people across the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain.

    For only the second time in the U.K.’s history, national authorities have activated the highest-tier “red heat health” alert, covering most of central and southern England and all of Wales. The first and only previous red heat warning was issued just two years ago, in July 2022, when the country hit a historic milestone with temperatures crossing the 40°C (104°F) threshold. This week’s event marks the most intense June heatwave ever recorded in Britain, with the U.K. Met Office projecting a peak temperature of 38°C in southern regions. By Tuesday, temperatures already climbed to 34.6°C at a weather station in Wisely, a site located southwest of London, and overnight temperatures are forecast to stay far above seasonal averages through the end of the alert period on Thursday.

    Mark Sidaway, the Met Office’s deputy chief forecaster, emphasized the severity of the unfolding conditions in a public statement. “Red warnings are reserved for the most severe events and we’re expecting severe and significant impacts from this heat wave, with health impacts likely for many, even beyond those who are normally more vulnerable to the heat,” Sidaway said. The extreme heat has already rippled through daily life across the U.K.: dozens of schools have shut their doors to protect students, widespread train service cancellations have upended travel plans, and officials have urged the public to avoid all non-essential travel in red alert zones.

    Britain’s national rail operator Network Rail has enacted strict speed limits across most of England and Wales to prevent dangerous heat-related infrastructure failures, including buckled steel rails and sagging overhead electric lines that power passenger trains. Cross-border rail service Europlane has also scrapped four trains scheduled between London and Paris for Wednesday and Thursday, citing expected dangerous weather conditions. Even the centuries-old traditions of the British Parliament have bent to the heat: male journalists assigned to cover the House of Commons have been granted special permission to go without suit jackets in the press gallery for the day.

    The heatwave’s impact extends far beyond British borders, with authorities across Western Europe scrambling to respond to dangerous conditions. France notched an all-time national high temperature record on Tuesday, breaking a new mark with a national average thermal indicator of 29.8°C (85.6°F) calculated from readings at 30 monitoring stations across the country. This new record marks just the latest in a string of unprecedented temperature highs that have hit Western Europe’s largest nation in recent years. In response to the heat, Paris’s most iconic tourist sites — including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum — cut visiting hours, while schools and public transit schedules were disrupted across the country.

    In Italy, the national Health Ministry issued red emergency heat alerts for 16 major cities on Wednesday, including top urban centers Rome, Milan, Florence and Turin. Unlike lower-tier warnings, the “bollino rosso” red alert signals that extreme heat poses a risk to all people, not just groups typically vulnerable to high temperatures like the elderly and people with chronic illness. Forecasts call for temperatures to hit 41°C (105°F) in Florence and 38°C (104°F) in Milan, with Rome and Naples expected to reach highs just below 36°C (96.8°F).

    Spanish and French authorities have also issued separate heat warnings for tens of millions of residents total, as the sprawling heat dome traps hot air across the region. Speaking Wednesday morning, Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill warned that the worst of the heat was still to come for the U.K., saying, “If you think it’s hot already, well, we ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  • France braces for another day of sweltering heat as Europe heatwave spreads

    France braces for another day of sweltering heat as Europe heatwave spreads

    A record-shattering heatwave continues to grip Western Europe, bringing catastrophic temperatures, widespread infrastructure disruption, and dozens of heat-related fatalities, with warnings that extreme conditions will spread further east in the coming days.

    France, one of the hardest-hit nations, entered a second consecutive day of extreme heat on Wednesday, just 24 hours after registering the hottest average June temperature in recorded national history: 29.8°C (85.54°F). Météo France, the country’s national weather service, expanded the nation’s highest-level red heat alert to 58 regions by midday Wednesday, placing more than half of the country under the most severe warning, with 31 additional regions under secondary orange alert.

    Temperature forecasts paint a grim picture for the day: the southwestern region of France could see highs climb to 43°C, while much of western France stretching from Paris to Brittany will see maximums between 39°C and 40°C through the weekend. On Tuesday, temperatures peaked at 44.3°C in parts of Landes in the country’s southwest, and by 5 a.m. local time Wednesday, La Rochelle had already hit 29°C, signaling the early onset of another day of sweltering heat. While gradual cooling is expected starting Friday, it will come paired with severe thunderstorms that carry risks of flash flooding and large hail.

    The extreme heat has already triggered widespread disruption across France. In the northwestern Finistère region of Brittany, an overloaded transformer failure cut power to roughly 68,000 homes Tuesday evening, with full restoration not expected before the end of Wednesday at the earliest. In the Maine-et-Loire region, more than 150 firefighters battled a large wildfire in the Breignon forest near Saint-Macaire-du-Bois through Tuesday, with crews finally bringing the blaze under control overnight.

    Even iconic cultural institutions have been forced to adjust operations. The Louvre Museum, the world’s most visited art museum, announced it would move its closing time from 6 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time from Wednesday through Saturday, noting that its historic, aged structure was not built to withstand the extreme heat amplified by high visitor volumes at the end of the day.

    The human cost of the heatwave has been steep. French Prime Minister confirmed that 40 people have died in heat-related drowning incidents across France since last Thursday, among them a 13-year-old non-swimmer who drowned while swimming in the River Seine over the weekend. Fatal drowning incidents have also been reported in neighboring Germany.

    The extreme weather is far from contained to France. After days of record heat in Spain, temperatures are beginning to drop across the Iberian Peninsula on Wednesday, though red alerts remain active for parts of northern Spain, where the Basque Country could see highs reach 42°C. In Italy, 16 provincial capitals are now under red heat warnings, with Latina added to the high-risk list Wednesday and Bari set to join Thursday.

    The heatwave is projected to spread north and east over the coming days. The Netherlands’ national weather service KNMI has issued an orange alert for dangerous heat across central and southern regions from Wednesday through at least Friday, with maximum temperatures forecast to hit 37°C this week and climb to 39°C by Friday. In Belgium, most of the country is under an orange heat alert with highs of 37°C expected, and the nation’s Risk Management Group has activated its national ozone and heat plan alert phase — only the second time the measure has been used, following the 2020 August heatwave. Belgium has not announced new mandatory measures, but has urged the public to take extra precautions for high-risk groups including the elderly and children. Temperatures are projected to peak in the Netherlands and Belgium on Friday, while Germany will see highs reach 40°C over the weekend. Further east, severe heat warnings have already been issued for Poland, Croatia, and Hungary for later this week.

    Climate scientists have long warned that such frequent, intense heatwaves are the direct consequence of human-caused climate change. Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirms Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the rate of the global average. This rapid warming has led to more frequent extreme summer heatwaves, increased strain on regional water supplies, and more intense, destructive wildfires. In 2023, Europe saw a record 1 million hectares of land burned by wildfires, with Spain recording the largest amount of burned area.

  • Kenya to charge students with murder over deadly school fire

    Kenya to charge students with murder over deadly school fire

    A devastating arson attack at a Kenyan girls’ boarding school that left 16 teenage pupils dead and dozens wounded is moving into the legal phase, with national prosecutors announcing they have approved murder charges for the students implicated in the blaze.

    The fatal fire broke out on 28 May at Utumishi Girls’ School, located in Gilgil roughly 120 kilometers northwest of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. The inferno swept through the upper floor of a three-story dormitory that was housing 202 students in 135 bunk beds, a layout that quickly turned a contained fire into a mass casualty event. Trapped by an emergency exit that failed to open when the blaze started, the students could only escape through a single narrow doorway, leading to the high death toll. All the victims were between 15 and 18 years old.

    Local law enforcement launched an immediate investigation into the cause of the fire. After conducting interviews with surviving students and school staff, and completing a forensic analysis of closed-circuit security camera footage from the campus, eight students were identified as persons of interest. Police allege the group planned and carried out the attack by igniting mattresses close to one of the dormitory’s exits, and all eight were taken into police custody after the incident.

    In an official statement released last week, Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) confirmed that after a thorough review of all evidence collected by investigators, the DPP has formally approved murder charges against the implicated students. “The suspects will face sixteen (16) counts of murder arising from the incident,” the statement read. While prosecutors have not confirmed the exact number of students that will be charged, nor an exact timeline for the arraignment, court documents confirm the suspects are scheduled to make their first formal appearance at a Naivasha courtroom on Wednesday. All eight remain in police custody as of Tuesday.

    Beyond the immediate case, the ODPP has sounded the alarm over a concerning nationwide uptick in arson attacks and violent incidents at Kenyan learning institutions, warning that any individual found responsible for such violence will face full legal accountability.

    Preliminary government assessments have also highlighted critical systemic safety failures at the school that contributed to the high death toll. Kenya’s Education Minister Julius Ogamba confirmed early findings show multiple serious breaches of mandatory safety protocols at Utumishi Girls’ School, including severe overcrowding in the dormitory where the fire broke out and the fatal decision to lock the emergency exit door during occupancy.

    This tragedy is not an isolated event for Kenya: the country has grappled with a decades-long pattern of fatal dormitory fires at boarding schools. Just two years ago, a similar dormitory blaze in central Kenya killed at least 21 people. Research into past incidents shows many of these fires have been linked to arson, often carried out by disgruntled students protesting harsh disciplinary rules, poor living conditions, or fee increases. Other fires have been ruled accidental. In most cases with high casualty counts, investigators have pinned the elevated death toll on systemic failures: widespread overcrowding, non-functional emergency exits, blocked escape routes, and locked windows that violate national school safety guidelines.

    As the legal process gets underway this week, Kenyan education officials are facing renewed pressure to implement mandatory safety audits across all of the country’s boarding schools to address the long-unresolved risks that have led to repeated mass casualty fires.

  • Pages of friendship: Fresh insights into China from US teens

    Pages of friendship: Fresh insights into China from US teens

    When young American travelers cross continents to explore China, their personal travel notebooks become far more than just a log of sightseeing destinations—they turn into intimate, unvarnished chronicles of cross-cultural connection that challenge preexisting narratives about the world’s most populous country. A new feature published by China Daily on June 24, 2024, invites readers to step into the shoes of a group of U.S. high school travelers, flipping through their handwritten journal entries to encounter China through the curious, open-minded lens of global youth.

    Instead of relying on secondhand media narratives or political talking points, these teen travelers build their understanding of China through first-hand encounters: walking the winding stone battlements of the Great Wall, wandering through the imperial courtyards of the Forbidden City, striking up conversations with local peers who share their love of music, sports, or art, and discovering unexpected common ground that bridges geographical and cultural divides. Organized as part of broader youth exchange efforts, the project centers young voices to reframe the U.S.-China people-to-people connection, moving beyond polarized public discourse to highlight the human bonds that form when young people get to meet each other face to face.

    China Daily reporter Xia Ji guides readers through the collection of journal pages, pairing handwritten excerpts and personal reflections with on-the-ground context from the trip. What emerges from the pages is not a polished, official portrait of the country, but a raw, authentic collection of impressions: the awe of standing at the top of the Great Wall at sunrise, the joy of swapping social media handles with a new Chinese friend who loves the same K-pop group, the surprise of finding how many shared values and daily experiences cut through long-held stereotypes. Each entry adds a new layer of fresh, youthful insight that deviates from standard media coverage, offering a reminder that grassroots, youth-led exchange remains one of the most powerful tools for building mutual understanding between nations.

    This feature is part of China Daily’s broader 2025 “A Date with China” special coverage series, which focuses on elevating personal cross-cultural stories and people-to-people ties between China and the rest of the world. The series also includes other narratives of longstanding connection, from an American educator who has spent decades working with China’s deaf community to initiatives boosting economic and cultural cooperation between China and partner nations across the globe.