World News, Climate News
The ‘monster’ fires may have devastated half of a historic Canadian town
Creative Media News
France travel chaos is expected to extend all weekend
Three of ten French high-speed trains will be canceled on Saturday following a series of "coordinated" arson attacks. The national rail firm SNCF said that services that do run will be delayed by up to two hours on three major lines that run into and out of Paris. Eurostar customers will also suffer continued disruption on Saturday, with a fifth of international trains canceled during the Olympic Games opening weekend.
EuroMillions: UK winner claims £24 million lottery jackpot
This is the second time a British-based winner has won the top prize this month. A single UK ticket holder won the £24 million EuroMillions jackpot in Friday's lottery draw. The lucky winner became a multi-millionaire overnight after matching all five main numbers (04, 19, 23, 35, 37) and the two bonus numbers (04 and 08).
The opening ceremony lights up Paris in a unique flair
The 2024 Olympics began dramatically in Paris, with hundreds of participants sailing along the River Seine past colorful entertainers on bridges, banks, and rooftops in an extravagant opening ceremony. For the first time, the "greatest show on Earth" began on a waterway rather than a stadium. The nearly four-hour spectacle culminated in French judo great Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lighting a cauldron shaped like a hot air balloon that rose high into the Paris sky.
Kamala Harris makes history as hectic week disrupts US election
The phone line was a little blurry, and the voice on the other end sounded gravelly after several days of COVID-19 seclusion. However, the poignancy of the message and the moment itself could not have been clearer: "I'm watching you, kid." "I love you," the speaker stated. On Monday, Joe Biden made a pleasant call to his vice president, Kamala Harris, at the Democratic Party's campaign headquarters in Delaware, signaling a generational shift in US politics, a symbolic passing of the torch from parent to progeny.
Where are millionaires and how is wealth distributed globally?
According to the 2024 UBS Global Wealth Report (PDF), at least 58 million US-dollar billionaires worldwide account for 1.5 percent of the global adult population. The report examined 56 markets that account for 92% of global wealth. The United States has the most significant number of millionaires, with over 21.95 million people possessing wealth in seven digits or more. China is a distant second with 6.01 million millionaires, followed by the United Kingdom (3.06 million), France (2.87 million), and Japan (2.83 million).
French rail network damaged by ‘malicious acts’ before Paris Olympics
On the day of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, "Malicious acts" disrupted France's high-speed TGV rail network, causing several of the country's busiest lines to fail. State-owned train operator SNCF said on Friday that "simultaneous malicious acts" had started to damage our facilities. The "massive attack" on the rail network was described as an "outrageous criminal act" by Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete.
Phone and broadband costs will climb again as corporations consider poll tax-style pricing hikes
We expect the cost of millions of mobile phone and broadband contracts to skyrocket, with the poorest users facing the steepest price increases of up to 11%. Â This year, mobile phone and internet users faced rip-off price increases of up to 7.9% as carriers passed on the cost of inflation, typically with an additional 3.9%. Â However, the bill increases that broadband and mobile phone providers like BT, EE, and Vodafone already anticipate will dwarf those price increases for some customers.
The ‘monster’ fires may have devastated half of a historic Canadian town
Huge, fast-moving wildfires have destroyed up to half of the ancient Canadian town of Jasper, according to officials, as firefighters work to rescue as many structures as possible. The blazes have destroyed entire streets, with video footage showing smoking ruins where homes once stood and charred remains of cars. On Thursday, cooling temperatures brought some relief, but park officials cautioned that the fires remained out of control and predicted more warm weather.
Anthropologists find ‘sensational’ site where Jesus was resurrected
Near the alleged burial and resurrection site of Jesus, archaeologists discovered a long-lost altar. Construction workers discovered the graffiti-covered massive stone slab leaning against the wall of Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre when they turned around. The stone, which was eight feet long and five feet wide, was decorated with ribbon embellishments, a common Roman practice during the Middle Ages, and had particular marks that led researchers to assume it was the altar consecrated in 1149.
Doctor describes HIV preventive drug trial breakthrough
The results overwhelmed the doctor in charge of a new HIV preventive medication trial with emotion. "I literally burst into tears," Prof. Linda-Gail Bekker admitted. "I'm 62, and I've witnessed this plague... I have family members who died from HIV, as did many, many Africans and others all around the world," she explained. Bekker described the difficulty of preventing HIV infection, particularly among adolescent girls and young women, as "intractable." However, lenacapavir provided 100 percent protection to thousands of women aged 16 to 25 in South Africa and Uganda.
Reeves is likely to expose a public finance shortfall of billions
An assessment of public spending pressures will reveal accusations of a "black hole" worth tens of billions of pounds by the new administration. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she will make a presentation to Parliament on Monday that is "honest" about the nature of the problem before the new Labour government. She promised to "fix the mess we inherited," but refused to confirm reports that the "black hole" amounted to more than £20 billion per year.
Barack Obama backs Kamala Harris for 2024 US president
Barack Obama has backed Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, ensuring that the vice president has the support of all of the party's politically active high-profile figures in her White House run. Following Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the campaign, the former president pointedly withheld his endorsement, leading to initial speculation that he supported an open nomination process at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.