Fifteen elephant deaths at Kenya park may be due to cyanide poisoning

• A joint study by UNESCO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reveals that the region will have 38.3 million fewer school-age children by 2050. • The report highlights a significant demographic shift and recommends integrating data on births, migration, enrollment, and location to better manage educational resources.

• The United States has resumed exchanging military strikes with Iran, marking a sudden escalation in tensions. • This development follows a Tuesday interview with Fox News where President Trump appeared to hesitate over the humanitarian costs of targeting Iranian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges.

• Pakistan has gained international recognition for its recent diplomatic efforts, specifically for facilitating pauses in the conflict between the United States and Iran. • Simultaneously, China has transitioned from a manufacturer of low-cost imitation goods to a global leader in high-tech innovation, particularly in AI and robotics.

Officials raided homes and businesses and seized laptops, phones and paperwork in clampdown on nuisance firmsLaptops, mobile phones and documents have been seized after officials carried out search warrants in a crackdown on claims companies plaguing people with spam text messages about the car finance mis-selling scandal.On Wednesday the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) executed warrants at homes and businesses linked to five companies in London, Liverpool, Bolton, Burnley and Swansea. Continue reading...

Democrat Kaohly Her, Minnesota’s city’s first female mayor, allegedly sent inappropriate messages to employeesThe first female mayor of St Paul, Kaohly Her, is reportedly under investigation for sexual harassment following a complaint filed by the Minnesota city’s police chief.City leaders have contracted an outside law firm to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations that Her, a Democrat who was elected in November, sent inappropriate messages to employees, including several members of the police department, the New York Times and NBC News said. Continue reading...

Consumer spending remained resilient even as policymakers kept interest rates on holdThe US economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth. But consumer spending rose. And the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation grew more slowly last month, but remained above the central bank’s 2% target.The commerce department reported on Thursday that growth in US gross domestic product (GDP) – the nation’s output of goods and services – decelerated from 2.1% in the first three months of 2026 and came in below economists’ expectations. Continue reading...

Ferocious flames continue to rage in parts of France and Spain, with no sign of abating. We chart the destruction in graphics and picturesThe hellish infernos that have torn through parts of France and Spain have caused deaths, the evacuation of 330,000 people from their homes, widespread destruction and clouds of toxic smoke. Records have already been smashed and with the fourth heatwave of the European summer setting in, there are few signs of the waves of wildfires ending.France has already surpassed the worst previous year for the size of the area burned, with August, usually the hottest month, yet to come. Continue reading...

Spoilt food smelling like ‘dead body’ plagues residents after weeklong fire, yet company asks permission to rebuildOne month after a huge fire ravaged a Los Angeles warehouse and doomed neighbors to a persistent, thick stench of rotting food, the facility’s owners have filed applications to rebuild.That request to restore the warehouse – which residents called a “ticking bomb” after a similar fire at the building in 2024 – was publicly criticized by the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, in a post on social media earlier this week. Continue reading...

Maria and Czeslaw Krupa, who arrived in 1947 and 1948 as dependents of displaced Polish service members, were told they did not have post-Brexit rights to return to UKTwo Polish citizens who have lived in the UK for nearly 80 years after their parents fled the second world war have spoken of their terrifying experience after being told they did not have post-Brexit rights to return to the UK.In May, while visiting Poland, they learned that although they had been welcomed as refugees after the war, they now needed special post-Brexit paperwork to return to their home in Bury. Continue reading...

Cameroon’s president has not made statement or been seen since leaving for ‘brief private stay’ at Swiss hotel on 7 JuneA record 53-day absence of the world’s oldest head of state has renewed speculation in his native Cameroon about whether he is dead or alive, even though discussing his health is illegal in the country.On 7 June, 93-year-old Paul Biya departed for Switzerland for what officials described as a “brief private stay” alongside his wife, Chantal. Almost two months later, neither the president nor the first lady have addressed the country or been seen publicly. Continue reading...

Manufacturer self-reported the offences to HMRC in the tax authority’s largest out-of-court settlementAirbus has been fined £6.4m in the UK after the European aerospace company admitted to multiple breaches of rules designed to stop sensitive goods such as military hardware falling into the wrong hands.The company, which sits at the heart of the European defence industry, said it had paid the settlement to the UK’s tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs, after self-reporting breaches that occurred before November 2022.Failing to keep accurate records of transfers of controlled technology as per the conditions of three of their Open General Export Licences (Ogels).Multiple occasions failures to keep registers in relation to Ogels.Failing to keep accurate records contrary to the conditions of one of their Ogels.A failure of licence conditions on a standard individual export licence (SIEL). Continue reading...