Egyptian queen’s 673-diamond necklace stolen in Vienna smash-and-grab raid

• El Niño-driven drought conditions in Djibouti have left 256,000 people—approximately 25% of the population—acutely food insecure through December. • Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $2 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to address the crisis.

However, Kevin Warsh didn’t say if interest rates would change in coming months, as inflation remains stubbornThe US Federal Reserve is not done fighting high inflation, its chair, Kevin Warsh, said in his first major speech in the role on Friday, emphasizing that it is “the Fed’s job to deliver stable prices”.Warsh did not indicate where the Fed will take interest rates in the coming months, despite US inflation remaining stubbornly above the central bank’s 2% target amid the war in Iran. But his speech was taken by markets as a signal that rates may rise in the coming months, a move that may put him at odds with Donald Trump, who has aggressively called for rates to be cut. Continue reading...

Officials said Tyrin Johnson turned toward guard members with gun while running as report shows he was shot in backTennessee national guard members assigned to a federal anti-crime taskforce in Memphis fatally shot an armed 20-year-old man in the back, according to an autopsy report obtained by the Associated Press, contradicting police accounts that said the man was facing the troops when they fired.Authorities have said that Tyrin Johnson turned toward guard members with a gun while running from them in the early morning hours after the Fourth of July holiday in Memphis when he was fatally shot in the chest. Continue reading...

President faces criticism over plan to import up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef without charging higher tariffsDonald Trump has pledged to allow cattle ranchers and farmers to process their own food amid a backlash from the US agricultural sector over his decision to pause US tariffs on foreign beef.The US president has been sharply criticized, including from members of his own party, since announcing the US will temporarily import up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef without charging higher tariffs in a bid to bring down prices. Continue reading...

State to offer up to 5,000 trappers chance to snare reptiles whose numbers have risen to 3m from fewer than 100,000The first recreational alligator hunt in Louisiana in more than half a century is about to commence in the swamps of that state, with up to 5,000 hopeful trappers facing strict rules in order to snare a reptile.The state’s fish and wildlife commission banned alligator hunting in 1962 to allow the species to recover after decades of unregulated killings for meat and hides dropped numbers there to below 100,000. Continue reading...

Weather system is forecast to approach the Leeward Islands this weekend and may produce flash floodingTropical Storm Dolly is moving quickly across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Leeward Islands and is expected to bring significant rainfall to parts of the Caribbean this weekend, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Friday morning.Dolly, which formed on Thursday, had maximum sustained winds of near 40mph (65km/h) with higher gusts as of Friday. Continue reading...

Government says Green leader’s proposed moratorium on ‘energy-guzzling’ AI projects would be disaster for economyLabour has rejected calls to pause construction of major AI infrastructure in Britain after the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said it was time to “slam the brakes on these energy-guzzling, water-guzzling datacentres”.The government hit back at the opposition party’s proposal of a “moratorium other than [for] local-scale datacentres for the local community”, saying it “would be a disaster for jobs and national security”. Continue reading...

Brazil failed to prove compliance with EU rules on use of antibiotics in cattle and poultry farmingThe UK’s leading farming organisations and animal health experts have called for an urgent ban on imports of Brazilian meat, in light of concerns over the safety of imports.The National Farmers’ Union in England and its sister organisations in the devolved administrations wrote to the government on Friday warning that public health was at risk. Continue reading...

Federation says it fears death toll of more than 540 will continue to rise as rescuers reach cut-off areasNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesVisual guide: how the deadly flooding unfoldedTell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?The Red Cross has said at least 93,000 people may have been affected by Wednesday’s flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border, which have killed more than 540 people, left another 1,500 missing, and triggered a huge rescue operation that is being hampered by fears of new flooding.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network, said it feared the death toll would continue to rise as some of the hardest-hit areas remained inaccessible after roads and bridges were destroyed by the torrents. Continue reading...

The brother of former premier questioned over what, if anything, was done in return for $2m from developer turned fugitive Jean NassifGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFinally, we are hearing from one of the central characters, Charles Perrottet, in a saga that has occupied the Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) for nearly four years.It began with the dismissal of the Hills Shire council and a late night 2022 speech in NSW parliament alleging secret payments from a developer. It pirouetted to a pressure campaign allegedly to remove the then NSW building commissioner, and ended with real world impacts: defective high-rise buildings and thousands of unhappy homebuyers, with the developer nowhere to be seen. Continue reading...

Critics say painting looks more like a zombie but artist Chris Ashmore says ‘touch-ups’ are still to happenA street artist has defended his mural of snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan in Sheffield after critics suggested the world champion looks like a zombie.Chris Ashmore was commissioned to produce the artwork featuring the seven-time world champion for the back wall of the Spot On Snooker Club, the BBC reported. Continue reading...

Exclusive: PM also warns his ministers against trying to influence vote when bill returns to Commons next monthAndy Burnham has told Labour MPs that he will not cast a vote when the assisted dying bill returns to the Commons next month to avoid influencing the debate.While the move was welcomed by supporters of the measure, No 10 officials say the prime minister has no wish to affect the process in either direction, and is just doing what he thinks is best to allow MPs to reach their own collective view. Continue reading...