continues

A march has begun from the southern Mexican state of Chiapas northward to the central part of the country, in protest of policies that make legal immigration status difficult to achieve.

Wednesday’s march set out from the border city of Tapachula, near Guatemala, and nearly 300 migrants, asylum seekers and supporters took part.

But the demonstration was overshadowed by the arrest one day earlier of one of its leaders, prominent immigration activist Luis Garcia Villagran.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the arrest in her morning news conference on Wednesday. She alleged that Garcia Villagran had been detained for taking part in human trafficking.

“That is the crime,” she said, adding that Garcia Villagran was “not an activist”.

She added that an arrest warrant had been pending for the activist for years. But it was unclear why his arrest was carried out now.

The nonprofit Pueblo Sin Fronteras, however, disputed Sheinbaum’s characterisation of Garcia Villagran.

“The detention of Luis Villagran, director and human rights defender, is an unacceptable assault,” the nonprofit’s head, Irineo Mujica, wrote in a post to social media.

“Luis Villagrán’s only ‘crime’ is to defend those who have no money or voice, and to tell the truth, which bothers the powerful. Stop criminalising human rights defenders!”

Mujica – who was detained himself in 2019 on similar charges, only to be released – argued that Garcia Villagran’s arrest was a political distraction.

“This is a smokescreen: dirty and corrupt politics to cover up the true networks of corruption,” he said.

Mujica and Garcia Villagran have both been prominent voices in a movement to make legal immigration pathways more accessible.

They have also been among the organisers associated with the trend of the migrant “caravans” that travel from southern Mexico to the United States border in recent years.

Some of those past caravans have involved thousands of people, many of whom banded together for protection against criminal networks, corrupt officials and other threats they may face as they migrate.

Migration northwards, however, has slowed, particularly since US President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January.

Trump quickly attempted to bar asylum claims at the border, a move that has spurred a legal backlash.

Last month, a court blocked his asylum ban on the basis that it created an “alternative immigration system” without deference to Congress’s laws.

But Trump’s policies have nevertheless had a dampening effect on immigration at the border. In June, US Customs and Border Protection recorded only 9,306 “encounters” with migrants and asylum seekers at the country’s southern border – a nearly 93 percent drop compared with the same period last year.

Wednesday’s march had a different objective than those past caravans, though, particularly as migrants and asylum seekers turn away from the US and seek other destinations.

Organisers of the march sought to draw attention to the slow processing time for asylum applications in Mexico and other hurdles to achieving legal immigration status.

It also served as a demonstration against Mexican policies that have sought to keep undocumented migrants and asylum seekers in the south of the country, away from the US border.

The Trump administration has pressured Mexico to crack down on immigration into the US, including through the threat of tariffs.

Garcia Villagran’s arrest in the hours leading up to the march, however, left some migrants and asylum seekers fearful of taking part in the march.

The news agency AFP obtained one message that was circulating among participants that read, “Hide, don’t let yourselves get caught.”

A Catholic priest who took part in Wednesday’s march, Heyman Vazquez, told The Associated Press news agency that Garcia Villagran’s arrest was “unjust”.

He added that the arrest revealed a sense of insecurity in the government over the question of migration. The solution, he explained, would be to make it easier for migrants and asylum seekers to obtain legal status, thereby removing the need for such protests.

In the men’s event, taking place in Toronto, Alexander Zverev battled back from a set down to beat defending champion Alexei Popyrin 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-3.

The 28-year-old German is into his 75th semi-final on the ATP Tour, becoming the only active men’s player to have reached that milestone alongside Novak Djokovic.

He will face Russian Karen Khachanov, who moved past Alex Michelsen of the United States 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

The Cincinnati Open confirmed Djokovic had withdrawn for “non-medical” reasons from the tournament, which begins on Thursday.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who is not competing in Toronto because of a groin injury, has not played since losing to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

The 38-year-old is unlikely to play before the US Open, which starts on 24 August.

Sweden striker Alexander Isak heavily linked to Liverpool move after reportedly telling Newcastle he wants to leave.

Newcastle have rejected Liverpool’s opening bid to sign unsettled Sweden striker Alexander Isak, according to reports.

Isak has been training at his old club Real Sociedad this week after reportedly telling Newcastle he wants to leave St James’ Park.

The 25-year-old has been linked with Liverpool since the end of last season, and the Premier League champions are now believed to have formalised their interest with an offer of about 110 million pounds ($146m) plus potential add-ons.

But Newcastle, who reportedly value Isak at 150 million pounds ($199m), remain eager to hold on to their prize asset and have rebuffed Liverpool’s initial bid.

Isak, who joined Newcastle in a 60-million-pound ($80m) move from Real Sociedad in 2022, scored 23 Premier League goals last season to help Newcastle qualify for the Champions League.

He has three years left on his Newcastle contract, but did not travel to Asia for the Magpies’ ongoing preseason tour, with the club saying he had a minor thigh injury.

On Thursday, Real Sociedad confirmed he was at their Zubieta facility with his own trainers.

It was reported on Friday that Newcastle had told Isak he could agree a new deal containing a get-out clause for next year, but he responded by insisting he wants to move now.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has already bolstered his attacking options by signing Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike and Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz during the current transfer window.

But the Reds are eager to make their forward line even more formidable by adding Isak, as they look to win back-to-back English titles for the first time since the 1980s.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe struck a defiant note earlier this week when he said: “He is still our player. He’s contracted to us.

“We, to a degree, control what is next for him. I would love to believe all possibilities are still available to us.

“My wish is that he stays, but that’s not in my full control.”

Liverpool have spent more than 250 million pounds ($332m) so far in the summer window, with Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili joining Wirtz and Ekitike at Anfield.

Beijing is expected to see its heaviest rainfall on Tuesday, with up to 300mm (11.8 inches) forecast for some areas.

At least 30 people have been killed by severe rainfall and flooding in Beijing as heavy rains drench the Chinese capital, state media report.

The deaths occurred in Beijing’s mountainous northern districts, with 28 killed in Miyun and two in Yanqing, the official Xinhua state news agency reported on Tuesday.

“The latest round of heavy rainstorms has left 30 people dead in Beijing as of midnight Monday,” Xinhua said, citing the city’s municipal flood control headquarters.

Torrential rain started over the weekend and intensified around the Chinese capital and surrounding provinces on Monday, with Beijing recording rainfall of up to 543mm (21.3 inches) in its northern districts, Xinhua said.

Authorities in Beijing have relocated more than 80,000 residents from areas worst hit by flooding, which has damaged dozens of roads and cut power to at least 136 villages, the country’s national broadcaster CCTV reported.

The heaviest rain in Beijing is expected early on Tuesday, with rainfall of up to 300mm (11.8 inches) forecast for some areas.

Authorities ordered the release of water from a reservoir in Beijing’s rural Miyun district, which was at its highest level since it was built in 1959, according to reports, with locals being warned to stay away from rivers downstream as their levels rose and as more heavy rain is forecast.

Chinese President Xi Jinping late on Monday night ordered “all-out” search and rescue efforts to minimise casualties, as authorities ordered people to stay indoors, closed schools, suspended construction work and stopped outdoor tourism and other activities until the emergency warning is lifted.

In the town of Taishitun, about 100km (60 miles) northeast of central Beijing, streets were covered in mud and water on Monday, and uprooted trees lay in piles with their bare roots exposed, the Associated Press news agency reports.

“The flood came rushing in, just like that, so fast and suddenly. In no time at all, the place was filling up,” said local resident Zhuang Zhelin, who was clearing mud with his family from their building materials shop.

Earlier reports on Monday said the torrential rains and flooding had killed four people, with eight others missing, following a landslide in the country’s Hebei province, located south of Beijing.

Hours after declaring “humanitarian pauses,” Israeli forces killed 43 Palestinians 9 of them were waiting for aid. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher says access has slightly improved but warns famine is worsening, with just 73 aid trucks entering Gaza, far below what’s needed.

At least 15 people, including a six-week-old baby, have starved to death in the last 24 hours in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to health officials, who say a wave of hunger that has loomed over the bombarded enclave for months is now finally crashing down.

Six-week-old Yousef’s family could not find baby formula to feed him, said his uncle, Adham al-Safadi.

“You can’t get milk anywhere, and if you do find any, it’s $100 for a tub,” he told the Reuters news agency.

Three other children were among the 15 people who died from starvation on Tuesday, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 101 people, including 80 children, have died from hunger and malnutrition since Israel launched its assault on Gaza in October 2023. Most of the deaths have come in the last few weeks.

Gaza has seen its food stocks run out since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March. Israel then partially lifted the blockade in May, allowing a trickle of aid supplies to enter the territory and be distributed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), largely bypassing the United Nations.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since May while trying to get aid, mostly near the GHF distribution sites, according to the UN rights office.

The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, Phillipe Lazzarini, said the aid distribution scheme was a “sadistic death trap”.

“The so called ‘GHF’ distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap. Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill,” Lazzarini said on Tuesday on X.

Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, without providing evidence of widespread diversion, and blames UN agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in.

The GHF has rejected what it said were “false and exaggerated statistics” from the UN.

‘Horror show’

Lazzarini also warned that the UN agency’s staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza facing bombardment, malnutrition and starvation a “horror show”, with “a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times.

“We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles,” Guterres told the UN Security Council. “That system is being denied the conditions to function.”

Speaking to reporters, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, said malnourished Palestinians were arriving at Gaza’s remaining functioning hospitals “every moment”, and warned that there could be “alarming numbers” of deaths due to starvation.

“Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can’t provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages,” said Khalil al-Daqran, the spokesperson for Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Deqran said some 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said.

While Gaza has widespread shortages of goods due to the Israeli restrictions, baby formula, in particular, is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.

In a statement, Hamas said it was time to “break the restrictions” and allow for more aid to enter Gaza, adding that it was surprised by the “silence” of Arab and Islamic countries in light of the “systematic genocide and criminal starvation” in the enclave.

Deadly attacks continue

Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 81 other Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Tuesday, including 31 people who were seeking aid.

Mahmoud Bassal, the spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defence, said Israeli strikes on the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 50.

In Gaza City, an Israeli attack on a building housing displaced Palestinians killed 15 people, including six children, according to a source at al-Shifa Hospital.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said Israeli air strikes hit residential clusters in the eastern part of the city, particularly the Zeitoun neighbourhood. A “group of people” was hit, he said.

The attacks come a day after Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern parts of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza for the first time since the deadly assault began.

According to Mahmoud, “many Palestinians are unable to go back to their homes as they are in the firing line of heavy artillery”, despite claims by the Israeli army that it has concluded its assault in Deir el-Balah.

“Quadcopters and surveillance drones also hover over the area, creating an atmosphere of intimidation and fear,” Mahmoud said.

The Civil Defence agency’s Bassal said two people were killed in Deir el-Balah on Tuesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were living in the area, which, until the Israeli offensive this week, had been considered the only relatively safe area in the tiny Strip.

Some 30,000 were living in displacement camps.

OCHA said that nearly 88 percent of the entire Gaza Strip was now either under evacuation threats or within Israeli militarised zones, forcing the population into an ever-shrinking space.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, meanwhile, accused Israeli troops of entering its staff residence and forcing women and children to evacuate, as they handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health officials.

July 19 (UPI) — One day after reaching a ceasefire with Israel, Syrian military forces began moving into the country’s Suwayda Governorate, where dozens of people have been killed in recent days amid fighting between warring tribes.

“Internal Security Forces have begun deploying in Suwayda province as part of a national mission with the primary goal of protecting civilians and restoring order,” Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Dean Baba told CNN in a statement, adding the move came “following the bloody events caused by outlaw groups.”

This past week has seen continued fighting in southern Syria between several of the country’s minority groups, including the Arab Druze and Bedouins.

At least 30 people were killed and over 100 injured during clashes between armed groups on Monday in the Suwayda Governorate capital city of As-Suwayda.

That fighting continued Saturday, with further violence between Bedouin and Druze factions. Witnesses reported sporadic gunfire and columns of smoke in the city, which has a population of around 138,000 people in its metropolitan area.

“Syria is not a playground for separatism or sectarian incitement. Now more than ever, it is essential to return to the path of reason and come together on a unified national foundation,” Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a speech Saturday on state TV, translated to English by CNN.

He added the continued fighting was a “dangerous turning point in Syria’s security and political landscape.”

On Friday, al-Sharaa said his country had reached a ceasefire with Israel, after the Israel Defense Forces intervened in Syria.

Israeli warplanes bombed parts of Syria, including the capital of Damascus. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was meant to protect the Druze minorities, which are also prevalent in Israel.

At the time, al-Sharaa accused Israel of “trying to drag us into war.”

It took just one game coming out of the All-Star break for Dave Roberts to know Mookie Betts still wasn’t right.

A week ago, Roberts was hopeful that Betts — coming off his first missed All-Star Game in a decade — would return from the break refocused and rejuvenated; ready to snap out of a career-worst start to his season and rediscover a swing that has eluded him for much of the campaign.

Instead, in the Dodgers’ second-half opener Friday night, Betts went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. His batting average dipped to .241 (more than 20 points worse than he has ever posted in a full season) while his OPS fell to .688 (the worst it has been all year). And, as has been the case for most of the summer, his signs of frustration were abundantly clear, with the 32-year-old looking lost at the plate.

Thus, when Roberts set his team’s lineup for Saturday, the manager made a surprise decision to leave Betts out of it, giving his superstar shortstop an unplanned day off after calling Betts on Saturday morning to discuss the state of his game.

“Talking to him, seeing where his head is at, seeing where he’s at mechanically, I just thought tonight was a night where I felt he needed to be down,” Roberts said hours later, ahead of the Dodgers’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“He was more than willing and wanted to be out there. But for me, I wanted to take it out of his hands [so he could] have a day. I’ve talked about this before, just having players watch a baseball game. And I understand we just had four days off at the break. But still showing up at the ballpark, and not participating, watching, that’s a different mindset, psyche than being at home. So for him to come here, show up, not play, know he’s not going to play, I feel good about the work he’s going to put in today. Also, I think, for the mind it will be beneficial.”

Betts did not talk to reporters Saturday, but did go through his normal set of pregame infield drills at shortstop — further confirming that, indeed, his absence from the lineup had nothing to do with any sort of injury-related issue.

While Roberts said his “expectation” is that Betts will be back in action Sunday, he left the door open to giving Betts another day off for the series finale.

“It’s going to be a day-to-day thing,” Roberts said. “It’s going to be my decision on how I feel he is mentally to take on that night’s starter.”

There was no specific moment from Friday’s game that convinced Roberts such a break was warranted. Instead, it was the fact that so little had seemingly changed from where Betts was before the All-Star break, when he reached the midway mark in a three-for-24 slump and batting just .185 over his previous 31 games.

“He’s not used to struggling like this,” Roberts said of Betts, who also has only 11 home runs and a .377 slugging percentage. “There’s a part of it where you feel like you’re letting people down, letting the team down. That weight that is just natural for him to carry is there. That’s a little bit from last night, just seeing him.”

Betts has struggled to identify the cause of his decline — one so stark, he has a below-league-average mark of 95 in the all-encompassing OPS+ metric (effectively meaning he has been 5% less productive than a league average hitter).

In an interview before Friday’s game, he said he has cycled through various “feels” with his swing in hopes of getting his mechanics realigned. Hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc pointed to inefficiencies in the way Betts “loads” his arms and hands, which he believes have impacted the slugger’s bat path and swing sequence.

“There’s no exact [fix], where you can do this, this and this,” Van Scoyoc said, “because he has to find something for him that works organically that gets him lined up.”

To that end, Roberts’ hope is that Saturday’s day off will help.

That it comes just two days into the second half signals how urgent Betts’ struggles have become.

“He understood,” Roberts said. “He’s a guy that wants to be out there every single day. But I think he understood that it was my decision and I think it’s best for him, I think it’s best for our ball club. He’ll be ready when called upon.”

Former president has been indicted on additional charges as a special prosecutor continues investigations.

Disgraced former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been indicted over his declaration of martial law last year as investigators widened an insurrection probe.

The prosecution indicted Yoon on charges including abuse of power and obstruction of special official duties, prosecutor Park Ji-young told reporters on Saturday.

Park said Yoon also did not follow the required procedure to declare martial law, including holding a meeting with all government cabinet members.

He was also charged with “drafting and discarding a false document” that stated the prime minister and defence minister endorsed martial law.

Yoon has denied all wrongdoing.

He plunged South Korea into a political crisis when he sought to subvert civilian rule in December, sending troops to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers from voting down his declaration of martial law.

Yoon became the first sitting president in the country to be taken into custody when he was detained in January after resisting arrest for weeks, using his presidential security detail to thwart investigators.

He was released on procedural grounds in March even as his trial on insurrection charges continued.

Last week, he was detained again after an arrest warrant was issued over concerns he might destroy evidence in the case.

Yoon appeared in court on Friday at a hearing to argue for his arrest warrant to be cancelled.

The ex-president’s legal team told reporters Yoon defended himself for more than 30 minutes and noted his “limited physical mobility and the challenges he was facing”.

The court denied the request.

State prosecutors have already indicted Yoon on other criminal charges, including masterminding a rebellion, a charge with conviction carrying only two sentences — capital punishment or life imprisonment.

Meanwhile, a demonstration with thousands attending took place in the South Korean capital, Seoul, as well as other parts of the country against the policies of current President Lee Jae-myung.

Lee won a snap election in June after Yoon was removed from office.

Many South Koreans are angry because they believe the new government has not addressed their concerns in its reform plans.

July 17 (UPI) — Tomorrowland music festival is still on after a fire destroyed the main stage, organizers announced on Thursday.

Tomorrowland said in an update on its website that the doors to its DreamVille campsite had opened to campers at 10 a.m. local in Belgium on Thursday ahead of the start of the music festival on Friday.

“This wasn’t just a stage. It was a living, breathing world. From the very first sketch on a blank page, to countless hours of conceptual design, artistic collaboration, engineering, crafting, and building, every single piece of Orbyz carried part of our soul,” Tomorrowland posted on its website.

The fire took place on Wednesday, no one was injured and experts are working on finding the cause. By Thursday morning, the fire had been extinguished and firefighters had left the site.

Organizers worked with the local government and safety experts throughout Wednesday night to figure out a solution for the festival.

“Cancelling the festival completely is the last thing we want to do,” Jurgen Callaerts, Mayor of Rumst said.

The campsite Dreamville has been declared safe by the local fire service as it opened for the event.

Attendees expressed disappointment in the stage not being included in this year’s festival.

“The main stage is what gives the festival its atmosphere and is what makes it so special,” said Jules Adam, a ticket holder.

“The main event is the main stage,” Stjepan Grgic said. “It’s a massive loss.”

Tomorrowland started in 2005 and it became the biggest electronic dance festival in the world.

The UK jobs market has weakened further as the number of job vacancies continues to fall and wage growth slows, according to official statistics.

The annual rate of pay growth in the three months between March and May was 5%, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

Meanwhile, the number of vacancies has fallen again to 727,000, marking three continuous years of falling job openings.

The ONS said survey data suggested that some firms may not be recruiting new workers or replacing ones who have left.

The number of job vacancies is now at its lowest in 10 years, excluding the plunge seen during the pandemic when lockdowns stopped firms from hiring.

Alongside falling job openings, the unemployment rate has risen to 4.7%, the highest for four years, although the ONS has said this data needs to be treated with caution due to problems with how it is collected.

The labour market data is one of things the Bank of England will look at next month when it decides whether or not to cut interest rates.

It may choose to cut rates to boost the labour market or raise them to reduce inflation by encouraging less spending. Most economists are predicting a cut.

Earlier this week, in an interview with the Times, the Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey indicated there could be larger cuts to interest rates if the jobs market showed signs of slowing down.

Israeli forces have continued to pound the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least 72 Palestinians, including several aid seekers, as ceasefire talks stall amid a deepening fuel and hunger crisis.

An Israeli attack near an aid distribution point in Rafah in southern Gaza killed at least five people who were seeking aid on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The killings raised the death toll of Palestinians killed near aid sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to 838, according to Wafa.

In Khan Younis, also in southern Gaza, an Israeli strike on a displacement camp killed nine people and wounded many others. In central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp, four people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a commercial centre, Wafa said.

Israeli forces also resumed stepping up attacks in northern Gaza and Gaza City. Israeli media reported an ambush in Gaza City, with a tank hit by rocket fire and later, with small arms. A helicopter was seen evacuating casualties. The Israeli military later confirmed that three soldiers were killed in the incident.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said Israeli forces responded with “massive air strikes in the vicinity of [the] Tuffah and Shujayea neighbourhoods, levelling residential buildings”.

The Wafa news agency said at least 24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City and dozens more were wounded.

The attacks come as UN agencies continue to plead for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, where famine looms and a severe fuel shortage has brought the already battered healthcare sector to its knees.

Gaza’s water crisis has also intensified since Israel blocked nearly all fuel shipments into the enclave on March 2. With no fuel, desalination plants, wastewater treatment facilities and pumping stations have largely shut down.

Egypt’s foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.

“Nothing has changed [on the ground],” Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels.

‘A real catastrophe’

The EU’s top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza’s humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.

When asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on the implementation.

Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains “catastrophic”.

“There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege,” he said.

Meanwhile, stuttering ceasefire talks entered a second week on Monday, with mediators seeking to close the gap between Israel and Hamas.

The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear to still remain deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of captives and a 60-day ceasefire.

An official with knowledge of the talks said they were “ongoing” in Doha on Monday, the AFP news agency reported.

“Discussions are currently focused on the proposed maps for the deployment of Israeli forces within Gaza,” the source reportedly said.

“Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he wants to see the Palestinian group destroyed, of being the main obstacle.

“Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement,” the group wrote on Telegram.

Netanyahu is under growing pressure to end the war, with military casualties rising and public frustration mounting.

He also faces backlash over the feasibility and ethics of a plan to build a so-called “humanitarian city” from scratch on the ruins of southern Gaza’s Rafah to house 600,000 Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold.

Israel’s security establishment is reported to be unhappy with the plan, which the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said amounts to plans for a “concentration camp”.

For much of the first 30-plus years of its existence, hardcore music was, for the most part, predictable. While there were outliers such as Bad Brains and Orange 9mm, many acts never veeredfar from the sound set in place by bands like Minor Threat in the early 1980s. Subgenres like metalcore (and other styles of music with “core” added) blossomed into their own scenes and sounds, but the central tenets of hardcore remained fairly constant — often with hordes of angry fans deriding anything that stepped too far in one way or another.

But over the last five to 10 years, the latest generation of musicians from punk rock’s slightly more aggressive cousin has expanded into new sonic territory. Bands like Baltimore’s Turnstile, Kentucky’s Knocked Loose and Santa Cruz’s Scowl have pushed the genre in new directions — gaining acclaim and popularity outside the hardcore scene, sometimes at the expense of its die-hard fans.

“It’s very awesome to be a part of that wave,” Knocked Loose vocalist Bryan Garris says. “I think there are a lot of bands that are bringing in new things and opening a lot of doors for everybody else. It’s like the generic saying, ‘A rising tide raises all ships.’ I truly believe there’s room for everybody to win, so it feels really good that all these brand-new opportunities are opening for everyone. You see younger hardcore bands really going for it right off the bat, and we’re very fortunate to be a part of the era that’s taking it to new heights.”

That’s why it’s only fitting for Knocked Loose to be headlining this weekend’s Sound and Fury Festival, bringing two full days of the best modern hardcore to Exposition Park. Since its inception in 2006, Sound and Fury quickly established itself as the event for hardcore and hardcore-adjacent music (from the heavier side of emo bands like Anxious to more extreme, metal-leaning acts) first in Los Angeles and then across the country. Just as the festival’s lineup and footprint has expanded both in size and musical variety over the years, Knocked Loose has seen its own popularity skyrocket as the band has continued to push the boundaries of what hardcore could be.

“From a sonic perspective, all these bands bringing in new influences to hardcore was pretty polarizing at first,” Garris says. “You had all these bands that toured and participated in the hardcore world but didn’t sound like a traditional hardcore band — and people really made that extremely controversial for an annoying amount of time. Once that barrier was broken, it allowed for so many unique artists and bands to bring new things to the table. Bills and touring packages became more diverse, and I think the coolest thing is when you put a tour package together that makes sense on paper but sonically makes no sense at all. It keeps things interesting and doesn’t create such a monotonous atmosphere at a show.”

Kentucky hardcore band Knocked Loose headlines this year’s Sound and Fury Festival

(Brock Fetch)

For Knocked Loose, one of the biggest steps outside of “traditional hardcore” it could possibly take was collaborating with pop-turned-metal artist Poppy on last year’s “Suffocate” — a gamble that paid off handsomely, introducing the band to a whole new audience and earning the group its highest-charting single and a Grammy nomination for metal performance. It’s a track that Garris still considers “definitely one of [his] favorite songs” while also allowing the band to get “weirder” and experiment in ways it might not normally consider.

While the band is already considering how it can continue to push the envelope even further without losing what makes Knocked Loose work at its core, the group is mindful of its history in the hardcore scene both as fans and artists. No scene is quicker to disown an act for its commercial success, and Garris (along with guitarists Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon, bassist Kevin Otten and drummer Kevin Kaine) is fully aware of the line the band walks.

“We’ve never been writing a song and felt like we had to check in with how [hardcore fans] would feel about it, but when it comes to how we present the band, that’s where we keep hardcore in mind,” Garris says. “That’s where we come from and what we’re used to. Even though we know the band is obviously not going to be playing crazy small DIY, no-barricade hardcore shows anymore, it allowed us to create an experience on a much bigger stage. Then we do things like play Sound and Fury or put hardcore bands that we like on our bills because we still feel very passionately about these things. We’re very fortunate to be able to play these massive shows and have conversations about [pyrotechnics] and lights, but we’re still hardcore fans and that’s never changed.”

With acts like Knocked Loose, Scowl and England’s Basement on the bill this year, Sound and Fury continues to show why it’s arguably America’s preeminent hardcore festival, bringing together dozens of rising bands with just enough nostalgia acts (such as this year’s Forced Order reunion and Poison the Well) to remind the younger generations of those who came before. It’s a lineup you won’t see anywhere else, with a DIY hardcore vibe that fit just as well when hardcore fans and artists Sean Riley, Robert Shedd and Todd Jones held their initial event at the Alpine in Ventura 19 years ago.

“There are a lot of festivals in the mainstream rock atmosphere where the lineups are essentially the same,” Garris says. “For example, two years ago or so, every major rock fest in America was headlined by Metallica. That’s no diss at all, but Sound and Fury is such a different thing and the lineups feel so organic and exciting. They’re very good about scratching an itch that you didn’t know you had.”

“I think [hardcore fans] are seeking more context than what they’re getting from the mainstream — and since most of the people here arrive through that filter, it makes for a very open and welcoming space,” Riley adds. “So whether it’s being straightedge and eschewing drugs and alcohol, or whether you are someone who likes wearing corpse paint in public, or you’re a person who likes to dance at shows, this is a place you can come and be yourself without judgment. Combine that with hardcore shows being, in my opinion, the rawest form of live-music experiences you can find, it’s a freeing experience.”

Although Riley is the only one of the three original founders still working on Sound and Fury — currently teamed with Martin Stewart and Madison Woodward — he’s made sure to keep it as true to the hardcore ethos as possible year after year. Despite numerous venue changes and growth that many corporate festivals could only wish to have, Sound and Fury today is as instrumental to and beloved by the hardcore scene in Los Angeles and beyond as it’s ever been. It’s found a way to speak to multiple generations of hardcore kids (and adults), and now some of its biggest fans are the ones onstage.

“[Sound and Fury] has never been our ‘day job,’ but more of something we do in our off time that can hopefully inspire people — knowing how empowering and meaningful this DIY world has been for us and our lives outside of this music scene,” Riley says. “We’ve seen attendees start bands that play the fest, put out zines that they sell at the fest, start businesses or become food vendors that operate at the fest, and even people who now help us run the fest and have actual ownership stakes in the festival. Seeing it grow year after year in a very organic way really validates our approach and hopefully means it’s serving its purpose.”

“When we were preparing our year, [Sound and Fury] was one of my most anticipated shows of the year because I am such a fan of the festival,” Garris adds. “I’ve gotten to watch the festival grow from a fan’s perspective, and I remember going to the fest when it was like 1,000 people total. To see what it is now is amazing. It’s setting the bar for hardcore every single year and taking it to new places, because it was never supposed to be that big. The people that put it together care so much to protect the festival and to scale it to these unimaginable places — all while keeping it feeling DIY and like a hardcore festival. We’re just so excited to be a part of it.”

Or, as Scowl vocalist Kat Moss put it, “I would argue Sound and Fury is the best hardcore festival ever.”

Texans gather in Kerrville to mourn 120 flood victims and pray for more than 160 still missing.

Several hundred people have gathered in Tivy Antler Stadium in Texas to mourn the many lives lost and pray for those still missing from the catastrophic flash floods that battered the state over the United States July Fourth holiday.

The vigil, held on Wednesday in Kerrville – one of the worst-affected areas – brought together grieving families, local clergy, and volunteers. “Our communities were struck with tragedy literally in the darkness,” youth minister Wyatt Wentrcek told the crowd. “Middle of the night.”

At least 120 people have been confirmed dead, with more than 160 still unaccounted for, making it the deadliest inland flooding in the US since 1976. No survivors have been found since Friday.

Blue shirts bearing the school’s slogan, Tivy Fight Never Die, and green ribbons for Camp Mystic – a century-old all-girls Christian camp where at least 27 campers and counsellors died – were worn by many attendees. Officials said five campers and one counsellor from the camp remain unaccounted for.

Ricky Pruitt of the Kerrville Church of Christ addressed the crowd, noting the emotional weight of holding the vigil at a stadium more often used to celebrate sporting triumphs. “Tonight is very different than all of those nights,” he said, as reported by The Associated Press.

As mourners held each other and wiped their tears, search crews continued scouring the Guadalupe River – on foot, horseback, and by air – for those still missing. Search dogs were deployed to sniff through trees and piles of debris. Officials admitted hope of finding survivors had all but faded, with efforts now focused on giving families closure.

Worst flood in 50 years

Meteorologist Bob Henson said the disaster ranks as the most lethal inland flood in nearly five decades, surpassing the 1976 Big Thompson Canyon flood in Colorado, which killed 144.

Governor Greg Abbott said many of those who were in the Hill Country during the holiday were never formally registered at a camp or hotel, making it harder to account for everyone.

He has faced growing criticism over the state’s flood preparedness, with many asking why warnings were delayed and evacuation measures insufficient.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha assured residents that accountability would come but said the immediate priority remains to recover the missing.

Abbott has urged state legislators to approve a new flood warning system and boost emergency communication networks. He is pushing for the issue to be addressed during a special legislative session already scheduled to begin on July 21. He also called for financial aid to support recovery efforts.

For years, local officials have debated installing a flood siren system, but concerns over cost and noise meant the idea was shelved – a decision now under intense scrutiny.

US President Donald Trump has pledged full federal support and is expected to visit the affected areas on Friday.

July 4 (UPI) — Deadly flooding continues in Kerr County, Texas, as local and state officials rally first responders to save lives and urge residents to shelter in place.

Flooding along the Guadalupe River and its tributaries has caused at least six deaths in Kerr County, and a flash flood emergency is in effect until 2 p.m. CDT from Hunt through Kerrville and Center Point and into parts of Kendall County, WOAI reported.

“The state of Texas is urging all available resources to respond to the devastating flooding around the Kerr County area,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Friday in a post on X.

“That includes water rescue teams, sheltering centers, the National Guard [and] the Texas Department of Public Safety,” Abbott said. “The immediate priority is saving lives.”

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office confirmed fatalities but won’t release additional information until the next of kin are notified.

“The entire county is an extremely active scene,” the sheriff’s office posted Friday morning on social media.

“Residents are encouraged to shelter in place and not attempt travel,” the KCSO post says. “Those near creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground.”

First responders have done dozens of swift-water rescues and continue to do so at the flooding continues, county chief executive Rob Kelly told media.

Kerrville Police and Fire crews are evacuating residents as the flooding continues during what the National Weather Service has called a “very dangerous and life-threatening flood event,” WOAI reported.

The river is predicted to rise to nearly 32 feet in Kerrville and nearly 31 feet in Comfort and cause significant damage by 2 p.m., and more than 2,600 properties are without power.

Heavy rainfall and storms started on Thursday and continued through the overnight hours and well into Friday morning.

Local rainfall is expected to mostly end during the afternoon hours in Kerr County, which is located about 90 miles northwest of San Antonio and 125 miles west of Austin.

It has been more than a year since Cameron Brink suited up for the Sparks, and excitement is building around the return of one of the team’s biggest stars.

Sidelined by a torn ACL and meniscus, Brink has steadily progressed through drills and contact work since training camp.

Head coach Lynne Roberts, who spoke with her last week, said Brink is making significant progress and is champing at the bit to get back on the court.

There’s no set timeline, as the team remains cautious about pushing her too hard during recovery. At this point, her return depends on when team doctors and Brink agree she’s ready.

“I want to know as much as you do about when she’ll be back — and I don’t,” Roberts said. “It’ll be sooner rather than later, but soon could be a couple of weeks or it could be a month. I don’t know.”

Dearica Hamby, who is close with Brink, said she has seen “the commitment it takes not to give up and show up and pour into herself and her teammates — and being optimistic about getting back.”

Mounting frustrations

Through 17 games, the Sparks are 5-12 — just one win better than their start last season — but there’s confidence they can eventually turn the tide with a healthier roster.

Still, the process has been frustrating, not just because of the losses, but because of how many of them unfolded.

“If we don’t show up and play collectively, with a spirit, we’ll get beat,” Roberts said. “We’ve learned the hard way, too many times this year. Chicago was a good example — we had that game and just fell apart. Really frustrating.”

The return of Odyssey Sims, who missed time for personal reasons, and Julie Allemand, fresh off a EuroBasket championship, has brought renewed optimism.

“Part of the team I signed up to coach is getting close to being back,” Roberts said.

Hamby said the frustration is felt “individually and collectively, at each level — upper staff, lower staff.”

“We’re going to take those frustrations and build off them so we can learn from them to be better,” she added.

The road ahead doesn’t get easier. The Sparks now face a tough three-game trip against the defending champion New York Liberty, the Indiana Fever with a potentially returning Caitlin Clark and the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx.

With making the playoffs still a goal, the team currently sits 11th in the standings, as the gap continues to widen between contenders and those on the outside looking in.

Burrell practices

Rae Burrell is off crutches for the first time in six weeks after suffering a knee injury in the season opener.

Initially given a six- to eight-week timeline for recovery, Burrell returned to practice right on schedule and has begun working toward game action. The team is easing her back now that the broken bone in her knee is fully healed.

“We don’t want to throw her into the fire right off the bat,” Roberts said. “Today was her first day out there, but no contact was allowed.”

Roberts said Burrell’s reintroduction probably will move quickly based on updates from the training staff. She will travel with the team and is expected to absorb more contact starting with tomorrow’s practice.
Depending on her progress, her return to the rotation could come as early as Saturday against the Fever.

“She’s amped up,” Roberts said. “She doesn’t look tired like the rest of them — got bounce in her legs. She’s ready to roll. So it’d be good to get her back there, bringing athleticism and length to our perimeter.”

Temperatures are predicted to hit 30C for the second day in London today as a heatwave continues. The east of England and the Midlands are both forecast to see highs of 28C, according to the Met Office.

An amber heat health alert was issued for some areas on Friday by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) until 18:00 BST Tuesday, with temperatures set to peak on Monday.

This is the second amber alert in two weeks and means weather impacts are “likely to be felt across the whole health service”.

The head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA has urged people to check on those who are more vulnerable and take “sensible precautions while enjoying the sun”.

The alert stretches across London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England.

A yellow heat alert, less serious than amber, has also been issued for Yorkshire and Humber as well as the West Midlands. It denotes “significant impacts” for the health and social care services.

On Monday, the UKHSA has warned, “Much of the country will see temperatures in the early to mid-30s” (C) at the height of the heatwave.

The country’s current record high for June rests at 35.6C, set in Southampton’s Mayflower Park in 1957 and met again at Camden Square in North London in 1976.

Darren Farmer, Director of Operations at London Ambulance Service has warned: “It’s really, really important to keep hydrated” and to “keep away from alcohol” in the heat.

Keeping out of direct sunlight in the middle of the day and taking your medication in a timely manner are also key, Farmer added.

Carrie Johnson, wife of former prime minister Boris Johnson, has urged breast-feeding mothers in particular to stay hydrated after she was hospitalised for two nights for severe dehydration.

Temperatures at Glastonbury festival, which is now in the last of its five days, are expected to reach 27C on Sunday. The hottest year for the festival was 2017, when highs of 30C saw dozens of people being treated by paramedics.

It seems like just yesterday that United States President Donald Trump was pushing a “diplomatic resolution” to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Now, the US has joined Israel’s illegal assault on Iran, striking three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday in what Trump has boasted was a “very successful attack”.

As CNN dramatically put it, “a midsummer night in June 2025 could come to be remembered as the moment the Middle East changed forever; when the fear of nuclear annihilation was lifted from Israel; when Iran’s power was neutered and America’s soared”.

Of course, a “fear of nuclear annihilation” has nothing to do with Israel’s current strikes on Iran, which have been dutifully portrayed in the US media as targeting military and nuclear facilities but have somehow managed to slaughter hundreds of civilians. The victims include 23-year-old poet Parnia Abbasi, killed along with her family as they slept in their Tehran apartment building.

As is clear as day to anyone not in the business of defending Israeli depredations, the attacks on Iran are simply a war of convenience for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is killing all sorts of birds with one stone in his campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities.

In addition to distracting the world from Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, where starving Palestinians continue to be massacred on a daily basis as they seek food and other aid, Netanyahu has also managed to divert attention from his own embroilment in numerous corruption charges at home.

Plus, the war on Iran is wildly popular among Israelis, which translates into big points for a prime minister who has faced significant domestic opposition.

Trump’s initial insistence on diplomacy with Iran naturally got Netanyahu’s panties into a giant bunch – but the situation has now been rectified by the midsummer night’s bombing, which, according to the president, has “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites.

To be sure, Iran has long occupied US crosshairs, with many an establishment figure salivating at the prospect of bombing the country to smithereens. Some have salivated more openly than others, as in the case of John Bolton – a former US ambassador to the United Nations and briefly the national security adviser in the first Trump administration – who in 2015 took to the opinion pages of The New York Times with the following advice: “To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran.”

That the editors of the US newspaper of record did not bat an eye in publishing such a blatant call for the violation of international law is indicative of the extent to which Iran has been thoroughly demonised in US society and media. Recall that in 2002, then-US President George W Bush appointed the nation to his infamous “axis of evil” along with Iraq and North Korea.

And yet, aside from being a persistent thorn in the side of US imperialism, Iran’s behaviour has been rather less apparently, um, “evil” than certain other international actors – like the US itself. For instance, Iran is not the one currently funding a straight-up genocide to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.

Nor is Iran the one that has spent the past several decades bombing and otherwise antagonising folks in every corner of the world – from backing right-wing state terror in Latin America to conducting mass slaughter in Vietnam.

Furthermore, the sole clandestine nuclear weapons power in the Middle East is not Iran but Israel, which has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has never allowed UN safeguards on its facilities.

Those who applaud the strikes on Iran citing the “oppressive” nature of the Iranian government would, meanwhile, do well to revisit the US track record of fuelling oppression in the country. In 1953, the CIA orchestrated a coup d’etat against Iran’s democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mossadegh, which paved the way for the extended reign of the torture-happy shah.

Historian Ervand Abrahamian notes in his book A History of Modern Iran: “Arms dealers joked that the shah devoured their manuals in much the same way as other men read Playboy.” Indeed, the shah’s obsessive acquisition of US weaponry did much to enable his rule by terror, which was put to an end by the Iranian Revolution of 1979. And the Iranian nuclear programme that Trump has now bombed? It was started by that very same shah.

Now, arms dealers are presumably not too upset over the midsummer night’s events and the general escalation of the crisis in the Middle East. For his part, Netanyahu has gone out of his way to thank Trump for his “bold decision” to go after Iran “with the awesome and righteous might of the United States”.

In Netanyahu’s words, Trump’s action will “change history” – as though making the world safe for more war is anything new. And as the US media scramble to justify illegal attacks on a sovereign nation, the sinister hypocrisy of two heavily nuclear-armed nations undertaking to police nuclear “threats” cannot be overstated.

It is anyone’s guess what Trump, who prides himself on spontaneous and manic behaviour, will do next. But rest assured that, whatever happens, the arms industry won’t be going hungry any time soon.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.