Six In The Morning Wednesday 30 July 2025

 

Central and South American authorities order evacuations; volcano in Russia starts erupting after earthquake off Russian coast

Klyuchevskoy volcano starts erupting after 8.8-magnitude earthquake off coast of Russia; Japan and Hawaii downgrade tsunami warnings

Lucy Campbell (now); Jane Clinton, Joe Coughlan, Kate Lamb, Nick Visser and Helen Livingstone (earlier)

Wed 30 Jul 2025 15.58 BST

An expedition group from the Russian Geographical Society was on the Kuril island of Shumshu when the tsunami swept away their tent camp, AFP reports.

“When the wave hit, all we could do was run to higher ground. It’s very difficult to do that in boots on slippery grass and in fog,” group member Vera Kostamo told Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda.

German Olympic star Dahlmeier confirmed dead in Pakistan

Matt Ford | Stefan Nestler AFP, AP, dpa, SID

German Olympic star Laura Dahlmeier has been confirmed dead following a mountaineering accident in Pakistan. Adverse weather conditions had hampered attempts to rescue the former Olympic champion.

Former German Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier was confirmed dead on Wednesday, two days after being caught in a rockslide high in the mountains of northern Pakistan.

The 31-year-old was swept away by falling rocks on Monday at an altitude of around 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) while ascending the 6,069-meter-high Laila Peak.

Exclusive: GHF ‘complicit in war crimes’ in Gaza, says former aid contractor

Anthony Aguilar, a retired US army soldier, worked as a security subcontractor for the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) tasked with delivering aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave. In this exclusive testimony, Aguilar reveals untold and harrowing details about the GHF aid operation in Gaza. 

Retired US Army Special Forces officer Anthony Aguilar worked as a subcontractor for UG Solutions in the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid delivery operation.

He was at a distribution site in Gaza in May, he said, when a stun grenade was thrown into the crowd right next to a Palestinian woman who was putting items from the aid box she had just collected into a bag so she could leave.

'Dramatic setback'

Will Peru's new amnesty law put justice out of reach?

By Claudia Rebaza

Published On 30 Jul 202530 Jul 2025

First came the rattle of a loud explosion. Then, the patter of gunfire reached 14-year-old Francisco Ochoa's ears.

Ochoa and his father had been up since the crack of dawn on August 14, 1985, preparing to sow seeds in the corn fields outside Accomarca, a small village nestled in the rugged Andean mountains of south-central Peru.

But the unexpected sounds coming from their hometown forced them to rush back.

Seven more malnutrition deaths reported in Gaza, as Hamas-run health ministry says 104 killed in 24 hours

More malnutrition deaths reported in Gaza as world responds to UK's announcement

Last night, Keir Starmer announced that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel meets certain conditions. Since then, reaction from across the globe and the political spectrum has been pouring in.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, seven more people have died as a result of malnutrition, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

Nigel Farage under investigation by parliamentary standards commissioner

The Reform UK leader is being investigated over a possible break of rule five, which relates to registration of an interest.

Caitlin Doherty

Wednesday 30 July 2025 13:13 BST

Nigel Farage is under investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a potential breach of the MP’s code of conduct.

The Reform UK leader is being investigated over a possible break of rule five, which relates to registration of an interest.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, opened an investigation on Monday, according to the Parliament website.

Footage shows tsunami hit coastal Russian town of after Kamchatka quake

Eyewitness footage shows the moment tsunami waves reach Severo-Kurilsk after a powerful earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula

Late Night Music: Deep House, Dub Techno New Mix 2024

The west’s empty words about the starvation in Gaza

 

Six In The Morning Tuesday 29 July 2025

 

Starmer holds emergency meeting as UN-backed experts warn famine playing out in Gaza

Summary

• UK PM Keir Starmer is holding an emergency cabinet meeting on Gaza, as pressure mounts on him to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood

• It comes as Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave since Israel's offensive began, including 112 in the past 24 hours

• A UN-backed food security body says "the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in Gaza, with "mounting evidence" of widespread starvation - here's the detail

• Aid agencies warn Israel's measures to increase aid supplies to Gaza aren't enough - Israel insists there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and that there is "no starvation"

• Some people in Gaza say they have not eaten in two days, accusing armed gangs of looting incoming aid trucks and selling the contents on the black market, Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf writes

'Now or never moment': Labour MP calls on government to recognise Palestinian state

Harry Farley
Political correspondent, at Downing Street

In London, Sarah Champion, the Labour MP who organised the letter signed by more than half of the party's backbenchers calling for the government to recognise a Palestinian state, tells me she thinks this is a "now or never moment":

Here's what she says in full:

"I really hope the cabinet realises there will never be a perfect moment to recognise the state of Palestine.

Cemetery of the living dead’: Venezuelans recall 125 days in notorious El Salvador prison

Arturo Suárez and others deported in Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown describe dire conditions at Cecot

Tom Phillips and Clavel Rangel

Tue 29 Jul 2025 09.11 BST

‘Cemetery of the living dead’: Venezuelans recall 125 days in notorious El Salvador prison

Arturo Suárez and others deported in Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown describe dire conditions at Cecot

Tom Phillips and Clavel Rangel

Tue 29 Jul 2025 09.11 BST

Arturo Suárez struggles to pinpoint the worst moment of his incarceration inside a prison the warden boasted was “a cemetery of the living dead”.

Was it the day inmates became so exasperated at being beaten by guards that they threatened to hang themselves with their sheets? “The only weapon we had was our own lives,” recalled the Venezuelan former detainee.

Was it when prisoners staged a “blood strike”, cutting their arms with broken pipes and smearing their bedclothes with crimson messages of despair? “SOS!” they wrote.

Angola: Mass arrests as Luanda fuel protests turn deadly

Wesley Dockery with AP, AFP, LUSA, Angolan media and DW sources

Looting and vandalism have occurred in Angola as demonstrators are angered by the government's decision to increase fuel prices. Angola is one of the top African oil producers but faces severe economic challenges.

Angolan police said Tuesday that over 500 arrests were made and four people died amid disorder in the African country's capital, Luanda. No details were available from the police on the circumstances of the fatalities.  

Demonstrations on Monday against the Angolan government's decision to remove fuel subsidies and hike the price of diesel turned violent, with Angolan authorities reporting looting and vandalism in the capital.

'Enough was enough': Why France is now taking a stand on Palestinian statehood

After pledging to recognise a Palestinian state in September, France is co-chairing a UN conference in New York this week in a push to rally other countries behind its lead. A far cry from the “unconditional” support for Israel declared in the wake of the October 7 attacks, French diplomacy seems to be shifting gears.

France and Saudi Arabia are co-chairing a high-level summit at the United Nations this week in a bid to generate momentum for international recognition of a Palestinian state. More than 100 countries are attending the three-day meeting in New York, from July 28-30.

Israel, which opposes the two-state solution, is boycotting the summit, which has also been described by the United States as "counterproductive".

World Court climate opinion turns up the legal heat on governments

By Alison Withers and Stephanie van den Berg

July 29, 20256:38 AM PDT

A landmark opinion delivered by the United Nations' highest court last week that governments must protect the climate is already being cited in courtrooms, as lawyers say it strengthens the legal arguments in suits against countries and companies.

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, last Wednesday laid out the duty of states to limit harm from greenhouse gases and to regulate private industry.

Moscow responds to Trump’s new ceasefire deadline after deadly strikes

US president says he is ‘disappointed’ with lack of progress towards ending war

Alexander Butler

Tuesday 29 July 2025

Moscow has “noted” US president Donald Trump’s decision to cut his deadline on a Ukraine ceasefire from 50 days to “10 to 12”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would continue to pursue what it calls its special military operation despite Mr Trump’s new deadline.

It comes after at least 22 people were killed in a Russian strike on a Ukrainian prison camp and hospital in parts of Ukraine overnight.

Late Night Music: North Atlantic ‎– Lights Out (Lemon 8 "Lights On" Remix)

Six In The Morning Monday 28 July 2025

 

Trump sets new deadline of '10 or 12 days' for Putin to agree to Ukraine deal

Summary

• US President Donald Trump sets new deadline of "10 or 12 days" for Putin to agree to a Ukraine deal, and says he will make an official announcement "tonight or tomorrow"

• Trump made the comments during a meeting at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer

• Two weeks ago, Trump threatened "very severe tariffs" on Russia's trading partners "if we don't have a deal in 50 days"

• Trump now says "there's no reason to wait" and he may impose sanctions and secondary tariffs

• Later today, Trump will meet Scotland's First Minister John Swinney

1. 

2. Trump's changing tone on Russia and Putin

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC

The news that Donald Trump is "disappointed" with Vladimir Putin and will "reduce" the 50-day deadline is no surprise to those who have been watching the White House closely.

For the last several months, Trump's tone on the Russian leader has slowly - but steadily - been changing.

At the beginning of his second administration in January, Trump's detractors often accused him of being overly reluctant to criticise Russia, and at times he even seems to suggest that Ukraine and President Volodomyr Zelensky bore some responsibility for the war starting.

Israel committing genocide in Gaza, say Israel-based human rights groups

Reports detailing intentional targeting of Palestinians as a group, and systemic destruction of Palestinian society, add to pressure for action

Emma Graham-Harrison

Mon 28 Jul 2025 12.00 BST

Two leading human rights organisations based in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the country’s western allies have a legal and moral duty to stop it.

In reports published on Monday, the two groups said Israel had targeted civilians in Gaza only because of their identity as Palestinians over nearly two years of war, causing severe and in some cases irreparable damage to Palestinian society.

Thailand and Cambodia agree to 'unconditional' ceasefire

Louis Oelofse with AFP, AP, dpa

Following days of deadly border clashes the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to a ceasefire.

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Monday.

"Both Cambodia and Thailand reached a common understanding as follows: One, an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with effect from 24 hours local time, midnight on 28th July 2025, tonight," Anwar said following mediation talks in Malaysia.

At least 35 people have been killed and around 200,000 displaced in the deadliest fighting between the two countries in more than a decade

'To feed, not to poison': French chefs push back against pesticide law

A backlash is brewing in France’s culinary world over the Duplomb law, which reauthorises a banned pesticide. Michelin-starred chefs, school canteen cooks, bistro owners and farmer-restaurateur collectives have spoken out, accusing lawmakers of endangering health, biodiversity and food quality.

"We restaurateurs are in this business to feed, not to poison."  A wave of discontent is spreading through France’s culinary world as chefs publicly denounce a new law reauthorising a controversial pesticide.

The so-called "Duplomb law" has sparked an outcry among food professionals, with a petition demanding its repeal surpassing 2 million signatures on Monday.

Ishiba remains defiant, insists on staying in office

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

July 28, 2025 at 18:22 JST

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he won’t resign because he has work to do, in comments to Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers on July 28.

The beleaguered leader reiterated his intention to remain in office after coming under attack from party members during the past week.

While he apologized for the party’s disastrous showing in the July 20 Upper House election, Ishiba touched upon the recent agreement reached with the United States on tariffs.

Two friends, one war and the RSF’s reign of terror in Khartoum

The story of two friends, taken in RSF dragnets, and what they saw inside the detention centres.

By Eiad Husham

In Shambat al-Aradi, a tight-knit neighbourhood in Khartoum North once known for its vibrant community gatherings and spirited music festivals, two childhood friends have suffered through confinement and injustice at the hands of one of Sudan’s warring sides.

Khalid al-Sadiq, a 43-year-old family doctor, and one of his best friends, a 40-year-old musician who once lit up the stage of the nearby Khedr Bashir Theatre, were inseparable before the war.