July 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said on social media Thursday that Saudi Arabia must sign the Abraham Accords as part of its nuclear deal with the United States.
Trump added that the nuclear deal will be approved but Saudi Arabia’s entry into the Abraham Accords is a required condition.
“The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but it is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote. “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the agreement on Wednesday. The Department of Energy says U.S. companies will benefit from the deal with involvement in establishing nuclear facilities in Saudi Arabia to the tune of billions of dollars.
The nuclear deal is to last 30 years and will involve the United States supporting Saudi nuclear development.
The Abraham Accords are meant to normalize relations between Israel and Arab nations in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia’s entry into the Abraham Accords would be a step toward a diplomatic relationship with Israel.
Saudi Arabia has called for progress toward Palestinian statehood, a sticking point that has drawn Israel’s criticism of the nuclear deal with the United States.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have also voiced skepticism over the nuclear deal, fearing that it may ultimately lead to the enrichment of uranium and plutonium for the development of nuclear weapons.
“This agreement will set off a nuclear race in the region, further disincentivizing Iran from limiting its own program,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., posted on social media.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Donald Trump’s June 24 supplemental funding request at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
A wildfire burns in Burgohondo municipality in Avila province, 60 miles west of Madrid, on Wednesday forcing more than hundred residents to evacuate from the area. Photo by Raul Sanchidrian/EPA
July 23 (UPI) — Three firefighters were killed, two in France and one in Italy, and 12,000 people were forced to evacuate as wildfires continued to ravage areas of southern France, Italy and Spain.
Almost 6,000 acres have been burnt in the area west of Bordeaux, where 10,000 people were ordered to flee amid a ban on internal combustion and electric engines and road closures, the Gironde regional government said Thursday.
Authorities said 500 firefighters were tackling the blaze, which was moving southwestwards after breaking out in Saumo, a small town 20 miles northwest of Bordeaux, on Wednesday and that firefighting aircraft were en route to the scene.
No injuries had been recorded.
The two French firefighters died Tuesday as they battled to bring a separate blaze under control in a suburb of Bordeaux.
Var, a department on the Cote d’Azur between Marseille and Nice, was also badly affected, with thousands of acres burnt. Residents evacuated there were allowed to return to their homes Thursday to assess damage on strict instructions to restrict movement and activities because of the risk the fire could flare up again, amid windy conditions.
Meteo-France red alerts for forest fires were in place across several other departments in southern France on Thursday.
In Italy, a firefighter was killed and another was injured Wednesday battling a major fire on Sicily.
Sicilian Civil Protection chief Salvo Cocina said the wildfire in San Cataldo, in the southwest of the island, was one of 10 major incidents that had triggered the evacuation of residents, as a precaution.
About 6,000 firefighters, forestry officers and civil protection personnel were deployed in the operation.
The regional government said the most critical fires were in Casaboli, Bivona, Alimena, San Cataldo, Galati Mamertino districts and certain areas of the Madonie Park and Syracuse areas.
Footage online, shot by the Spanish Civil Guard, shows officers going door-to-door telling residents to leave as a major wildfire raged southwest of Madrid, between Almorox and Villa del Prado.
It comes after a huge wildfire to the north of the capital in Guadalajara province that broke out on July 16 razed almost 80,000 acres and a deadly forest fire in southeastern Almeria province that killed at least 11 people on July 10.
Across European Union countries, wildfires have burnt more than 628,000 acres so far in 2026, European Forest Fires Information System figures show — although the figure was below the 668,000 acres burnt in the same period in 2025.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. Photo by NASA/UPI | License Photo
July 23 (UPI) — A group of non-governmental organizations shared with world leaders a plan for the reconstruction of Gaza with an estimated cost of $71.4 billion, according to a report released Thursday.
Oxfam, an international coalition of non-governmental organizations, said in its report that the cost to rebuild Gaza is seven times the cost of every other reconstruction effort there over the past 20 years.
The report, “Building Gaza Anew,” shares a “blueprint” of what that construction will look like. It draws from the analyses of World Bank, European Union and United Nations assessments following military offensives by Israel in Gaza in 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2021.
The U.N., EU and World Bank’s Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment for the Gaza Strip published in April estimates that the region has suffered about $57.9 billion in damage and economic losses. It will require $71.4 billion for recovery and reconstruction over the course of the next decade.
“Gaza has never been allowed to finish rebuilding,” Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International executive director, said in a statement. “A decade after Israel’s 2014 offensive on Gaza, families were still waiting for homes that never came, and then the bombs returned. This is not fate. It is Israel’s illegal occupation and blockade, and the impunity producing the same result, war after war. Every government that funds the rubble but never the reckoning is complicit in it.”
Oxfam called on the U.N. General Assembly and President Donald Trump‘s Board of Peace to lead a charge in funding reconstruction.
The press release from Oxfam said more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 173,000 have been injured. About 1.9 million people have been displaced by the Israeli military.
While the cost of reconstruction lays out the costs associated with rebuilding infrastructure, buildings and homes, the Oxfam report said human development in Gaza has been set back 77 years. This stems from the destruction of institutions of health, education, religion and culture.
“Nearly all schools are destroyed or damaged, universities levelled, thousands of teachers, professors and researchers have been killed, and libraries and archives of Palestinian history lost,” the report said.
“What was destroyed in Gaza was not merely steel and concrete,” Mohammad Skaik, Gaza program manager for PalTrade, said in a statement. “Israel eradicated an entire social and economic world, built up over generations, and only Palestinians can rebuild it.”
The non-governmental organizations have set out a five-year framework for reconstruction “underpinned by rights-based principles and a single national vision linking Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.” They argue that models for reconstruction “imposed from the outside will fail.”
In February 2025, President Donald Trump proposed the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust. The plan proposes further displacing the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip through voluntary relocation to neighboring countries while the United States takes over the strip. The U.S. government would then govern over the strip for 10 years, developing the region with outside investments.
After blowback from leaders in the Middle East, Trump walked back his proposal, referring to it as a recommendation.
“Reconstruction is not only a humanitarian task; it is a political one,” Misyef Jamil, senior researcher at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, said in a statement. “A plan designed in foreign capitals, however well-funded, would be a cosmetic exercise — simply another form of control over Palestinian land and lives. Our consultations across Gaza carried one unmistakable message: nothing about our future without us.”
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. Photo by NASA/UPI | License Photo
Israeli police barred Palestinian worshippers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque as more than 2,300 right-wing Israelis entered the compound under police protection during Tisha B’Av. Palestinian officials say the incursions aim to undermine the site’s longstanding status quo.
New Delhi, India — She darted through a sprinting crowd, running from a cloud of tear gas just above her head. Her eyes stung so badly she could barely see, yet she filmed the chaos on her phone.
“I saw policemen brutally beating up unarmed girls and peaceful children,” said Avanshika Singh, who has been turning up for student protests that shut down the national capital, demanding the education minister’s resignation.
On her return home, the 18-year-old put together a rough cut from the chaos and captioned it on Instagram: “Today, we rang Parliament’s doorbell and ran.”
The march to the Indian parliament on July 20 against serial examination paper leaks brought the nation’s capital to a standstill as tens of thousands of protesters occupied central roads leading to the country’s corridors of power. More than 100 students were injured in a crackdown by police, operating under the direct instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
But since then, Indian internet has turned into a relentless reel of police excesses: shaky smartphone footage, rapid-fire edits pulsing to hip-hop tracks, and a tidal wave of memes and expletives.
“This is the only thing anyone is talking about. If nothing, we are televising our revolution,” Singh, a teenager, told Al Jazeera, standing amid a sea of protesters choking Parliament Street on Wednesday. “The entire country today feels the sting of batons and tear gas with us.”
Twelve years ago, Modi rode to power and pioneered in many ways, leveraging social media platforms to reach the masses. Today, Gen Z is flipping his Hindu majoritarian party’s dominance on social platforms, weaponising against it the very tools the Bharatiya Janata Party has long relied on.
“Hating Modi is cool on the internet now, after years of criminalising dissent,” she said, before bursting into slogans: “Uncle Modi, go back, go back.”
A woman holds a sanitary pad with a slogan in solidarity with India’s Cockroach Janta Party protests held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, which demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks, in Kolkata, India, on July 22, 2026 [Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters]
Evidence of police excess
After the July 20 demonstrations against the government’s handling of paper leaks, the police denied all the protesters’ allegations and media reports of excess force in the crackdown.
But by then, social media was flooded with evidence, recorded by the protesting students.
A New Delhi police officer thrusting a baton on a female protester’s back; usage — potentially by a paramilitary force that was deployed alongside the police — of lethal pellet guns, for the first time in the national capital; a mother crying and pleading with dozens of police officials; another officer slapping and chasing unarmed students; police officers wearing Meta glasses; law enforcement agents planting a damaged car outside a protest strip; and footage where an officer casually trips the students running from tear gas.
No sight escapes the cameras at the Jantar Mantar protest strip, where thousands of protesters keep recording round the clock. The visuals from July 20 have prompted protests across India, in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Patna, Lucknow and Aizawl.
The Cockroach Janta Party, a political pressure group that has been leading the students’ protest, has said the demonstrations would continue “peacefully” until three demands are met. They want Dharmendra Pradhan, the education minister, to resign; for the Modi government to assure that no criminal cases would be pursued against protesters; and for compensation of about $105,000 for families of students who died by suicide due to exam paper leaks and cancellations.
Niharika Soni, a 19-year-old, stood among the thousands-strong crowd that occupied Parliament Street on Wednesday, distributing water bottles to protesters. She did not take part in the July 20 march and did not care much about it either.
Then, the visuals appeared on her feed.
“My mother and I cried for two hours, watching the videos together at home,” she said, adding that her mother has been a staunch supporter of PM Modi.
“We hugged each other and come here every day now,” she added, now holding her mother’s hands, as part of a human chain, ready to confront government forces if attacked.
A supporter of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) sits on the ground as he rests during ongoing protests, two days after thousands of protesters marched towards parliament demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination paper leaks, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India, on July 22, 2026 [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
‘Leaking any responsibility’
It is also a meme fest on the Indian internet.
Protesters pose, mock and tease police personnel stationed near the protest site. Some offer flowers to them while reminding them that the officers only offered baton hits.
A stroll through the protest site and nearby roads is like scrolling an Instagram feed: posters and graffiti now line central New Delhi.
Even when they speak, protesters use language riddled with smart one-liners and mockery of the government.
“This government is leaking any responsibility towards the youth of this country,” Ipshita Gulyari, a 20-year-old, told Al Jazeera. Modi, she said, had messed with the “wrong generation”.
“There is a lot of arrogance in him — and, you know, teenagers do not tolerate that, bro.”
Another duo carried the popular Japanese manga One Piece, a symbol adopted by Gen Z protest movements worldwide. A group of friends donned fictional superhero costumes from Marvel’s Avengers: Spider-Man, Iron Man and Hulk, sitting together on police barricades, looking onto Parliament Street.
“We, the Gen Z people, are born on and for the internet. We were using Instagram before I could read a clock,” said Gulyari.
Mainstream television news channels friendly to Modi have faced accusations of not covering the protests adequately. But young people like Gulyari rely increasingly on independent small publications, and, even more, on social media.
“Gen Z is taking it lightly, being funny about it, because humour is our coping mechanism,” said 18-year-old Yashvi Kumar, a friend of Gulyari at the protest.
“In the middle of all chaos, somewhere we decided that to rebel, we need to find a way that unites us. The memes are uniting us.”
On the other hand, social media posts put up by the BJP are spammed by thousands, calling for the minister to resign.
Supporters of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) take shelter at a protest site, two days after thousands of protesters marched towards parliament demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination paper leaks, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India, on July 22, 2026 [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
Flipping the game
In 2014, Modi was among the first world leaders to understand and leverage social media to take his narrative to the masses. The Congress party, now in opposition, was trounced by Modi’s BJP in national elections that year, and has long struggled to keep up with the BJP’s social media dominance.
But with years in power, as India slid in multiple democratic indices, Modi’s government faced mounting accusations that it was criminalising dissent, with several critics jailed for years without a trial.
Modi’s party also mobilised extensive resources in the last decade in its so-called IT Cell, where a bunch of anonymous accounts, or creators friendly to the government, dox, troll and delegitimise social media criticism.
It is fitting, therefore, analysts say, that the biggest challenge Modi has faced on the streets stems from an online joke. After India’s chief justice casually likened the youth to “cockroaches” and “parasites”, the resulting fury led to the formation of the Cockroach Janta Party.
Before the Cockroach movement, “there was an undercurrent of memes from anonymous accounts, masked people, mocking the government,” said Anurag Minus Verma, a cultural critic and author of The Great Indian Brain Rot.
“In a post-ironical world, anything said with irony travels faster — and irony becomes a central feature of the internet during this kind of protest,” he said. “The pent-up anger found a channel at Jantar Mantar, allowing youth to do their thing, speak in their language.”
The most remarkable turnaround for Verma, he said, has been the unmasking of critics at the protest, where demonstrators ridicule and mock Modi, erasing the fear.
Verma argued that the Modi government had crushed and criminalised protests by labelling them anti-nationals and breaking them into sections. “The Gen Z protesters already identify themselves ridiculously enough: they are cockroaches,” he said. “It becomes a single identity — and that becomes easier to penetrate the virality zone.”
“Some are recreating the popular memes from Nepal, Bangladesh and Hong Kong uprisings,” he told Al Jazeera. “The criticism and hate directed at Modi in the capital is not only acceptable now, but even cool.”
Modi, in a tacit acknowledgement of the power of the social media wave that’s against his government, on Thursday morning offered his first comments on the student protests — on X.
“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!” he wrote, before mentioning that his government had set up fast-track courts to punish those behind the paper leaks.
But the CJP’s leader Abhijeet Dipke was quick with his riposte on X.
Playing on Modi’s own words, overlaid on a photo of Education Minister Pradhan, Dipke wrote: “Hi, my name is Nothing”.
The United States continued to hit Iran for a 12th consecutive night early on Thursday, and Iran retaliated, striking targets across the Gulf, particularly in Kuwait and Jordan.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that an explosion set a tanker ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz after it attempted to navigate the southern route off the coast of Oman.
Here is a recap of what happened on Wednesday night and Thursday.
Where did the US attack Iran?
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said at 02:30 GMT on Thursday that it concluded the latest round of strikes against Iran.
It targeted Iranian military targets, including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air defence assets, CENTCOM said, without specifying what areas in Iran were struck.
A local official told the Mehr news agency that US missiles struck the area around a passenger terminal in Shalamcheh, a western city near the Iraqi border. Two people were killed in the attack, the deputy governor of Iran’s Khuzestan province told the state broadcaster IRIB on Thursday. Local media also reported that 11 people were injured.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assidi reported from Iranian capital Tehran that overnight strikes targeted at least three cities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. This included the city of Ramshir, where an asphalt facility was reported to have been targeted.
In Hormozgan province, explosions were heard in the city of Sirik, which overlooks the Strait of Hormuz, Assidi reported.
He added that the governor confirmed an overnight attack in Bushehr on a power substation near the city’s nuclear power plant. This resulted in a few hours of power outage in the city.
IRIB also reported that explosions were heard in Iran’s Jask.
The Tasnim news agency reported that a US missile hit a location on the outskirts of the city of Andimeshk.
Two naval search and rescue vessels were hit and seriously damaged in a US attack on Iran’s Hormozgan, the ISNA news agency reported, citing the province’s Ports and Maritime Administration.
Where did Iran hit back?
Kuwait
The IRGC claimed attacks on US assets in Kuwait on Thursday.
It said it had “attacked and destroyed a large warehouse of military equipment, a Patriot missile defence system, and a hangar of American MQ9 drones” at Ali Al Salem airbase.
Addressing the Kuwaiti people, the IRGC insisted that it was the US, not Iran, that had “violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty”.
It said its attacks were aimed at US bases, territory it described as beyond the control of Kuwait’s own border guards.
“So it is America that has violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty, not us. We are attacking lands occupied by the American army, an army that knows nothing but crime,” the IRGC said.
Jordan
Later on Thursday, the IRGC claimed attacks on US assets in Jordan, saying it had “destroyed a radar of the American THAAD missile defence system with lightning strikes”.
“A Patriot system and a C-RAM radar were also targeted and destroyed, and the fuel tanks of the American base were set on fire,” it said.
The IRGC added that “a large helicopter equipment warehouse and a helicopter repair and maintenance shed were also set on fire and destroyed”.
Addressing the Jordanian people, it insisted that its actions did not violate Jordanian sovereignty, arguing that the US military presence infringes on local authority and that targeting US forces was a legal and necessary response.
What happened in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea?
The IRGC said an explosion set a tanker on fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement carried by Iranian media, it said two other vessels quickly turned back following the explosion.
The IRGC claimed the three ships were acting under US orders and had “intended to pass through the mine-laid route south of the Strait of Hormuz”.
“The powerful IRGC Navy emphasises that the Strait of Hormuz is under our control and that as long as America’s evil deeds in the region continue, it is completely closed and no oil tanker will enter or exit [the strait],” it warned.
“Any ship that is deceived by America and intends to pass through without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran will suffer the same fate.”
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a ship was targeted 70 nautical miles (130km) off the Saudi coast, causing a fire on board. There was no mention of casualties among the crew.
The Houthis, meanwhile, claimed a major operation against two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, called the Encelia and the Layla. The Saudi SPA news agency confirmed the Encelia was hit.
The Houthis said they targeted those two tankers with cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones, causing huge balls of fire and devastation.
The Houthis framed the attack as part of a tit-for-tat campaign against Saudi Arabia. They are calling it a “siege-for-siege”. They said it has been 12 years since Saudi Arabia has been imposing a siege on the Yemeni people, and that it is now time for Yemen and the Houthis to respond in kind. Riyadh has rejected Houthi claims that it had besieged Yemen.
Seoul’s military warned Thursday that North Korean landmines in the DMZ may have washed across the border after heavy rainfall. In this photo, water from the Imjin River is released from Gunnam Dam on Tuesday. Photo by Yonhap
SEOUL, July 23 (UPI) — South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday warned that landmines laid by North Korea in the Demilitarized Zone may have been washed into the South after recent heavy rainfall.
“There is a very high possibility that these washed-away landmines could flow into our territory via the rivers shared between the two Koreas, and an explosion of these landmines could cause significant damage,” JCS spokesman Capt. Jang Do-young said during a regular press briefing.
Jang urged the public to be cautious when near inter-Korean rivers and to report any suspected landmine to police or a nearby military unit.
The alert comes days after South Korean authorities issued a flood warning for the Imjin River following heavy downpours and North Korea’s release of water from a dam without advance notice.
Seoul’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said Monday that satellite imagery confirmed water had been released from North Korea’s Hwanggang Dam on the upper reaches of the Imjin River.
A Unification Ministry official on Tuesday said joint responses to natural disasters should be treated as humanitarian matters.
“Responsible cooperation between the two sides is necessary,” the official told reporters.
An unannounced discharge from Hwanggang Dam in September 2009 caused flooding that killed six South Koreans. The following month, North Korea agreed to provide advance notice before future releases. Pyongyang sent notifications on a handful of occasions in 2010 and 2013 but has not done so since.
North Korea released water from the dam several times during last year’s monsoon season, prompting the Unification Ministry to publicly urge Pyongyang to provide advance notice. A ministry spokeswoman said the appeal served as a form of “indirect communication” because Pyongyang had cut off inter-Korean communication channels in April 2023.
Thursday’s warning also comes as Pyongyang continues an extended campaign to fortify the border and harden its military posture toward South Korea, including laying large numbers of landmines inside the DMZ.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the South a “hostile state” and scrapped an inter-Korean military agreement in late 2023.
Beginning in April 2024, Pyongyang ramped up activity along the DMZ by clearing land, laying mines, reinforcing tactical roads and installing anti-tank barriers near the Military Demarcation Line.
South Korean military officials have said North Korea increased the number of troops assigned to the work from roughly 1,000 last year to about 5,000 this year.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry last month described the activity as a violation of the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, an assessment later contradicted by the U.S.-led United Nations Command.
Centre back William Saliba won’t require surgery for injury sustained at World Cup, his club says.
Published On 23 Jul 202623 Jul 2026
Arsenal defender William Saliba will be sidelined for an extended period after suffering a back injury while playing for France during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the reigning Premier League champions say.
Saliba was hampered by the injury throughout the tournament in North America, limiting his training. He was substituted in the first half of France’s 2-0 semifinal defeat by Spain and missed the 6-4 third-place playoff loss to England.
“Subsequent specialist reviews on William’s return to London this week have confirmed that he has suffered a back injury which will require a period of rehabilitation,” Arsenal said in a statement on Wednesday.
France’s William Saliba shakes hands with coach Didier Deschamps after sustaining an injury and being escorted off the pitch [Marco Bello/Reuters]
“Extensive assessments have concluded that surgery is not recommended, but William should now commence a managed recovery programme.
“Everyone is fully focused on supporting William to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible.”
Saliba made 50 appearances across all competitions for the North London club last season as the Gunners ended a 22-year wait to win the Premier League title and also reached the Champions League final.
Thousands of people are being evacuated from areas of southern France as firefighters battle huge wildfires. Researchers say climate change is intensifying heat and drought, creating conditions for larger and more destructive wildfire seasons across Europe.
July 23 (UPI) — Arizona health officials have confirmed the state’s first infection of an mpox strain responsible for a global outbreak, identifying the case as having been infected while traveling outside the United States.
The Arizona Department of Health and Services said in a statement Wednesday that it has confirmed its first case of Clade I mpox, involving a person with recent international travel.
“ADHS and local public health officials are working to prevent additional infections through monitoring and follow-ups with people who may have been exposed,” the state health agency said.
“There is currently no evidence of local transmission connected to this case.”
Little information about the patient was made public. The ADHS said it was notified of a confirmed travel-associated case of the mpox strain this month.
It is the state’s 34th case of the disease this year, with all but the most recent patient having contracted Clade II mpox.
Mpox is an infection caused by the monkeypox virus, which is spread through physical contact, including direct skin-to-skin contact and sharing of personal items, including bedding, towels and clothing, the ADHS said.
The virus has two main clades: Clade I, which is endemic to Central Africa, and Clade II, which is associated with West Africa.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Clade I was historically reported to have a much higher case-fatality rate than Clade II, though recent data suggest case-fatality rates for both clades are low, especially when medical care is provided.
Clade II is the cause of the ongoing mpox outbreak that began in 2022, infecting more than 114,000 people worldwide, including about 37,500 people infected in the United States, CDC statistics show. ADHS statistics show Arizona had 582 mpox infections in 2022, followed by 20 in 2023, 66 in 2024 and 17 last year.
Clade I is also responsible for an ongoing mpox outbreak that began in Central Africa in late 2023, and which has since spread internationally, resulting in more than 55,000 confirmed cases, including more than 150 deaths, since January 2024, the CDC said.
The United States reported between 1,700 and 2,800 mpox cases a year from 2023 through 2025, though nearly all have been Clade II.
The CDC said Clade I cases have increased in frequency in the country since March, with more than 20 cases reported in the United States as of June.
Tropical Storm Bertha was moving a little south of west over southeastern Louisiana as of Wednesday night. Image courtesy of NOAA.
July 23 (UPI) — Tropical Storm Bertha was nearing southern coast of Louisiana late Wednesday, hours after it made landfall over the state, according to forecasters.
The center of the storm was about 75 miles southwest of New Orleans and about 135 miles east-southeast of Lake Charles, La., the National Hurricane Center said in its 10 p.m. CDT update. The storm was traveling west at 12 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, marking no change in strength or direction.
There was a tropical storm warning in effect from the Alabama-Mississippi border to Sargent, Texas, and metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.
The NHC said a faster westward or west-southwestward track is expected for Bertha over the next day or so.
“On the forecast track, the center of Bertha will move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts through Thursday afternoon, and then move farther inland into Texas Thursday evening and Thursday night,” the NHC said.
Little change in strength in the storm is expected over the next day or so. Bertha is expected to maintain tropical storm intensity until it reaches the upper Texas coast on Thursday. It’s expected to dissipate inland over Texas by Thursday night or Friday.
Bertha, which formed Monday night, is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 1 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals through Thursday along the central Gulf Coast from western Florida into southern Louisiana. This could produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas, the NHC said.
Surf conditions caused by Bertha will continue spreading west along the northern Gulf Coast, with swells likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions
1 of 3 | Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., right, meets Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second from right, during a courtesy visit inside Malakanang Presidential Palace in Manila. Rubio was in Manila to attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations. Photo courtesy U.S. State Department | License Photo
July 22 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Manila on Wednesday for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, met with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his counterpart in China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Meanwhile, police clashed with protesters outside who criticized the United States’ involvement in area conflicts and blamed the Trump administration for fueling tension in the region. Some protestors held up signs that said, “U.S. out of everywhere!” and “War criminals not welcome! Ban Rubio! Ban Trump!”
The two men confirmed that “there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea” and discussed other matters, Pigott said.
Tensions between the Philippines and China have been high lately over the disputed South China Sea. On Monday, the Philippine military accused Chinese coast guard personnel of striking and injuring a Philippine sailor. China said the Philippine officers instigated the conflict.
China claims most of the South China Sea, including areas that hold the exclusive economic zones of other countries including the Philippines.
In person at the ASEAN conference, Rubio behaved politely toward his Chinese counterpart, saying he appreciated China withholding support for Iran and opposing a toll in the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the countries were taking steps to establish boards of investment and trade.
He did not mention recent claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that China interfered in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
“Look, these are the two most powerful countries in the world,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday. “It would frankly be reckless and irresponsible for the U.S. and China not to have a relationship.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States in September.
In contrast to his remarks Wednesday, Rubio’s words in an opinion column that the U.S. State Department placed in Philippine newspapers this week were somewhat less measured when it came to the conflict over the South China Sea.
“If those waters fall under the control of a power willing to use commerce as a geopolitical weapon, both the United States and the ASEAN states would face dire new threats to their sovereignty, security and economic futures,” he wrote.
Tropical Storm Bertha was moving a little south of west over southeastern Louisiana as of Wednesday evening. Image courtesy of NOAA.
July 22 (UPI) — Tropical Storm Bertha moved somewhat westward over southeast Louisiana on Wednesday evening, hours after it made landfall over the state.
The center of the storm was about 40 miles southwest of New Orleans and about 165 miles east-southeast of Lake Charles, La., the National Hurricane Center said in its 7 p.m. CDT update. The storm was traveling west at 7 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, marking no change in strength or direction.
There was a tropical storm warning in effect from the Alabama/Florida line west to Cameron, La., metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. A tropical storm watch was in place from west of Cameron, La., to Sargent, Texas and Lake Maurepas.
The NHC said a faster westward or west-southwestward track is expected for Bertha over the next day or so.
“On the forecast track, the center of Bertha will move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts through Thursday, and then move farther inland into Texas Thursday night,” the NHC said.
Little change in strength in the storm is expected over the next day or so. Bertha is expected to maintain tropical storm intensity until it reaches the upper Texas coast on Thursday. It’s expected to dissipate inland over Texas by Thursday night or Friday.
Bertha, which formed Monday night, is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 1 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals through Thursday along the central Gulf Coast from western Florida into southern Louisiana. This could produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas, the NHC said.
Surf conditions caused by Bertha will continue spreading west along the northern Gulf Coast, with swells likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions
July 22 (UPI) — The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to pass a bill that adds new limits on congressional stock trading, though it does not quite enact a complete ban.
House Republicans also attached a section requiring people to provide photo identification in order to vote, a provision from the controversial SAVE America Act, The Hill reported.
Lawmakers voted 232-198 to pass the bill, which would still need to pass the Senate. Thirteen Democrats joined Republicans in voting for it.
The bill would restrict active members of Congress, their spouses and any dependent children from buying new stocks of any publicly traded company. It would allow them to keep stocks they already own. Lawmakers would also have to file a public notice with the House clerk at least seven days before they sell a stock.
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., chairman of the House Administration Committee, led the bill and said it is “critical to restoring public trust in this institution.”
“I believe it is time we just stop allowing members to buy new stock,” he said. “Doing so removes the appearance of impropriety altogether.”
Many Democrats said the bill doesn’t go far enough — it doesn’t apply to the executive branch — and opposed the addition of changes to voting measures.
“House Republicans are pushing (a) voter suppression bill that will upend mail-in voting and throw the elections into chaos, and are trying to trick members into supporting it by linking it to a partial stock trading ban that falls short of the full congressional stock trading ban the American people want,” Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., told CNN.
Magaziner previously co-led a stalled bipartisan bill to ban stock trading.
If lawmakers violate the new rules, they would have to pay a fee of $2,000 or 10% of the value of the transaction, whichever is greater, and forfeit any profit.
Claimed attacks come days after Houthis announced naval embargo on Saudi vessels.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have claimed an attack on two Saudi oil tankers transiting through the Red Sea.
“We targeted two Saudi oil tankers, named ENCELA and LAYLIA, for their violation of the blockade decision issued by the armed forces,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Wednesday.
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Saree added that the attacks were carried out, “using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”, and led to fires on the ships.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, had also forced “nearly ten ships… to abandon their routes, and turn back”, Saree said.
Saudi Arabia has not commented on the claims, but the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said it had received reports that a tanker has been struck.
“The master of a tanker reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting,” UKMTO, which monitors shipping in the region, said.
Yemen’s Houthi group, which has fought the Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition that backs it for more than a decade, imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20. That followed some of the worst violence Yemen has seen for four years, after the Yemeni government bombed the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian plane from landing.
The Houthis said the declaration of the maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia was “based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’ and affirmed “the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade”.
The group, which seized Sanaa in 2014, accused Saudi leaders of imposing “an unjust and oppressive siege” for nearly 12 years, “plundering our resources and imposing a comprehensive blockade on our ports and airports by land, sea, and air”.
“The Saudis feel that they can instigate a popular uprising against the Houthis using these economic strangulation methods,” Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a journalist based in Sanaa told Al Jazeera.
Riyadh has rejected claims that it was imposing a siege on the Yemeni people, and the group’s critics point out that they have rejected a proposal from Jordan to resume flights between Amman and Sanaa.
“The ultimate goal for Ansar Allah’s naval blockade against the Saudis, is to force Riyadh to lift its embargo on the ports and airports controlled by the Houthis,” al-Bukhaiti said.
Amid the disruption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Israel war on Iran, Saudi Arabia has been attempting to facilitate oil flow through alternative routes through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. But that route is now under threat from the Houthis.
The Houthis disrupted global commerce when they began attacking ships around the Bab al-Mandeb after the launch of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. The attacks ended with the announcement of a “ceasefire” in Gaza in October 2025.
“The people who are questioning if the Houthis can successfully do a blockade against the Saudis should remember, how successfully the Houthis closed access to the Red Sea for the Israeli ports, which in fact resulted in the closure of Eilat port in southern Israel,” said al-Bukhaiti. “Eventually the Americans had to do a deal with the Houthis, with mediation from Oman,” he added, referring to a May 2025 agreement.
The Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, including for oil exports.
Between Yemen to the northeast and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa to the southwest, the strait is just 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound vessels using the Suez Canal.
In 2024, about 4.1 billion barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products passed through the strait – about 5 percent of the global total.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since Israel and the US launched their war on Iran in late February, shutting down Bab al-Mandeb as well could block 25 percent of the world’s oil and gas supply.
For decades, neo-Nazis and far-right extremists flocked to the Austrian home where Adolf Hitler was born to glorify the Nazi leader. Now, the building has been transformed into a police station following a $22.8-million renovation.
Democratic Party leadership candidates Kim Min-seok, left, and Jung Chung-rae attend a youth and labor policy forum at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo by Asia Today
July 22 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party leadership race has descended into an increasingly bitter dispute over allegations that members of a controversial religious group may be attempting to influence the party’s Aug. 17 national convention.
The dispute began after former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, a candidate for party leader, raised the possibility that the Shincheonji Church of Jesus was intervening in the election.
Shincheonji is a South Korean religious movement whose alleged political activities have become the subject of a national investigation. The church has denied allegations that it directed members to join political parties or interfere in elections.
Kim’s claims have revived questions about why proposed legislation authorizing a special counsel investigation into Shincheonji was abandoned while rival candidate Jung Chung-rae was serving as Democratic Party leader.
The controversy has escalated beyond the original allegations. Jung has denied wrongdoing and threatened legal action, while his allies have demanded that Kim produce evidence, apologize or withdraw from the race.
Party members have warned that the dispute could deepen factional divisions and make it difficult to reunify the party after the convention.
The conflict is increasingly being viewed as a proxy battle between supporters of President Lee Jae Myung and those aligned with Jung.
Kim is generally associated with the party faction loyal to Lee. Jung, a former party leader, has developed his own base among rank-and-file members, and several senior party figures have publicly rallied behind him.
“The essence of this convention is to defeat an alliance of anti-Lee forces, divisive elements and Shincheonji,” Kim said Tuesday. “We must also examine, one by one, why the Shincheonji special counsel investigation did not proceed.”
Kim did not identify Jung by name. His remarks, however, were widely interpreted as criticism of Jung because proposed special counsel investigations into Shincheonji and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification were abandoned during Jung’s tenure as party leader.
Rep. Lee Geon-tae, an ally of President Lee, reinforced Kim’s allegation in a social media post.
“It appears difficult to dismiss Shincheonji’s alleged intervention in the party convention as mere speculation,” Lee said. “We need to determine why the special counsel legislation was halted.”
Jung denied the allegations and said he would take legal action against the dissemination of false information.
Rep. Moon Jeong-bok, a Supreme Council member aligned with Jung, challenged Kim during a party leadership meeting Wednesday.
“What evidence supports the claim of a secret alliance with Shincheonji, and why is this allegation being used to place the party in danger?” Moon said. “He said he has evidence, so he must disclose it and accept responsibility.”
Reps. Choi Min-hee, Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-soo, who are running for seats on the party’s Supreme Council and are considered Jung allies, issued a similar demand at a news conference.
They said Kim should apologize and withdraw his candidacy if he could not substantiate the allegation.
“He is portraying the Democratic Party as though it were violating the constitutional separation of religion and politics to gain an advantage in the election,” they said.
Some party officials said Kim’s accusation could backfire because Jung’s supporters may interpret it as an attempt to associate all of them with Shincheonji.
“It could be understood as linking every party member who supports Jung to Shincheonji,” a Democratic Party official said. “That could provoke voters and create even greater barriers between groups of supporters.”
Party members said the larger concern was that the fight could undermine unity long after the leadership election ends.
The repeated allegations, threats of lawsuits and demands for candidates to withdraw have pushed debate over party policies and future priorities into the background, they said.
“A certain level of conflict was expected before the convention, but the candidates are now crossing lines that should not be crossed,” another Democratic Party official said.
“The candidates and party leadership must prevent further division so these wounds do not remain after the primary is over.”
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks to reporters outside the Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, 22 July 2026, after the court sentenced Oh to a 10 million-won (USD 6,600) fine for accepting illegal political funds in connection with opinion poll results he obtained ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
July 22 (Asia Today) — Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was fined 10 million won ($6,600) Wednesday after a court found him guilty of having a political supporter pay for opinion polls he commissioned before the 2021 mayoral by-election.
Oh would lose his position as mayor if the sentence is upheld by the Supreme Court. He rejected the ruling and said he would appeal immediately.
The Seoul Central District Court also ordered Oh to forfeit 21 million won ($13,900).
Former Seoul Vice Mayor for Political Affairs Kang Chul-won, who was indicted with Oh, was fined 3 million won ($2,000). Businessman and political supporter Kim Han-jung was fined 5 million won ($3,300).
Prosecutors accused Oh of receiving the results of 10 private opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun before the April 7, 2021, Seoul mayoral by-election.
They alleged that Oh instructed Kang, then his chief of staff, to have Kim pay about 33 million won ($21,900) in polling costs.
The court found Oh guilty of arranging payment of 21 million won for five polls, including three that were not intended for publication and two that were released publicly.
The court said Oh complained when poll results were unfavorable and sought to delay their release to minimize their negative effect.
“The commissioning and payment of the polls were also connected to an effort to publish and report candidate-commissioned opinion polls prohibited under the Public Official Election Act,” the court said. “The nature of the offense is serious.”
The court said Oh had previously served as Seoul mayor and should have been familiar with the purpose and requirements of the Political Funds Act.
It also said he led the offense but repeatedly attempted to avoid responsibility during the trial by presenting arguments the court found difficult to accept.
Oh disputed the ruling after leaving the courthouse.
“The court found five opinion polls unlawful today, but I cannot accept that conclusion,” Oh told reporters. “The correct decision would have been to find me not guilty on every count.”
Oh said the conviction was based on Myung’s statements and circumstantial evidence rather than direct evidence.
His legal team said in a statement that it regretted the court’s decision to convict Oh without objective evidence.
“It is difficult to accept a conclusion reached by piecing together some of Myung’s exaggerated statements and various circumstances,” the statement said.
The defense said it would file an immediate appeal.
The case is governed by an expedited trial provision requiring a first-trial ruling within six months of indictment and appellate and Supreme Court rulings within three months of the preceding decision.
A final Supreme Court ruling is expected by January at the latest.
Firefighters battle a fire blazing at the Mackintosh Building, housing the Glasgow School of Art, in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, in 2018. The school announced Wednesday that the cost of rebuilding it to the architecht’s specifications would cost too much. File Photo by Stringer/EPA
July 22 (UPI) — The Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh building, damaged twice by fire, would cost too much for the school to fully rebuild on its own, the school’s board of governors said Wednesday.
Rebuilding the school in line with artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s original design would cost about $355 million, the school said in a press release Wednesday.
That amount is “equivalent to five times the GSA’s annual turnover [revenue], an amount that is not affordable and which would compromise the financial sustainability of the institution.”
The Art Nouveau building, completed in 1909, was damaged by fire twice. Much of the building was destroyed in 2014 after a student’s art project was ignited by an overhead projector. In June 2018, when the rebuilding was nearly complete, another fire destroyed it. There was no cause found for the second fire, which ignited a dispute between the school and its insurance company that ended in arbitration that wrapped up this spring.
Neil Baxter, architectural historian and former lecturer in architectural history at the school, said the building is “of the greatest world importance,” and said, “The Scottish government should step up, and if it can’t, the British government should step up,” The New York Times reported.
The school released an 80-page analysis Wednesday that highlights the potential for the Mackintosh Building “to become an anchor project in a creative and cultural production innovation district, attracting investment to the city, driving the growth of its creative economy, and supporting new businesses and employment opportunities.”
Ann Priest, chair of the Glasgow School of Art’s board of governors, said early discussions with Scottish and British government officials ahead of the announcement “have been supportive and incredibly positive.”
Priest said the board believes the building should be a “heritage-led economic regeneration project, building on the existing creative and cultural production assets within this part of the city, to strengthen Glasgow’s creative eco-system and its position as one of the UK’s leading creative economies.
“The Mack will always have a special place at the heart of The Glasgow School of Art’s history, and we have further plans within the next phase of work to create museum standard interpretations of the building that will exist alongside its retained architectural elements and help tell the story of this remarkable place and the people who have worked and studied there for years to come,” Priest said.
Gordon Gibb, a former director of professional studies at the school’s architecture department, said that the school needs another organization to “take over” the restoration.
“This is a building that influenced world architecture and changed Victorian traditionalism into modernism,” Gibb told The Times. “We have detailed records of every part of it,” he added, “so it should be brought back.”
Visitors tour the newly remodeled undercroft beneath the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2026. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
July 22 (UPI) — The man who rushed a stage to attack author Salman Rushdie will face federal terrorism charges in a trial that began Wednesday in New York.
Khomeini, then the ayatollah of Iran, created the fatwa in 1989 because of Rushdie’s novel, The Satanic Verses, published in 1988. Hardline Muslims considered the book blasphemous because of the way it portrayed the Prophet Muhammad.
The attack on Rushdie happened at the Chautauquah Institution in Chautauquah, N.Y., as he was delivering a speech for more than 1,000 people on writers in political exile. Matar rushed the stage and stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times.
Matar is a U.S. citizen of Lebanese origin who was raised in New Jersey and California. His friends and relatives said that after some professional and academic frustration, he became religious. His mother told The New York Times that she could not support him.
Rushdie, 79, wrote and published in 2024, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, a memoir about the attack and his recovery.
Matar had written in his notebook a list of pros and cons to attacking Rushdie. The Times reported that a page provided by prosecutors showed that he wrote one reason not to do it was: “Could make life worse. But I doubt that. It kind of sucks already.”
Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast has seen Congress approve most of the economic and tax reforms he promoted Photo by Adriana Thomasa/EPA
SANTIAGO, Chile, July 22 (UPI) — Chile’s Congress approved most of the economic and tax reforms promoted by President José Antonio Kast — one of the flagship initiatives of his government agenda.
The reforms include a gradual reduction in the corporate tax rate from to 23% from 27% to encourage investment and revive economic growth.
The Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday passed the National Reconstruction and Economic and Social Development bill, which also establishes tax incentives for the repatriation of capital, creates compensation mechanisms for companies when courts overturn projects that have already received Environmental Qualification Resolution approval and eliminates the tax on a first home for older adults.
Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz said the initiative seeks to “restore tax competitiveness” and provide greater certainty for investment.
“We have approved measures to restore certainty for investment in Chile, remove permitting barriers that have kept investment projects and economic activity stalled, and provide security for those who decide to invest,” he said.
The approval represents one of Kast’s main legislative victories since taking office in March, and allows him to advance one of the pillars of his economic agenda — reducing the tax burden to stimulate private investment and accelerate growth.
Jorge Berríos, academic director of the Graduate Diploma in Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Chile, told UPI that the reform is intended to restore investor confidence and create conditions for the country to return to growth above 3%.
“A reduction of several percentage points in the corporate tax rate has positive effects on companies and the economy, although those results are generally seen over the long term,” he said.
Berrios said some effects could be felt sooner in the labor market because of the subsidies included in the initiative, as well as through an improved perception of Chile among domestic and foreign investors.
“The Chilean market is returning to a structure similar to that of the 1990s, with market-oriented reforms that allowed the country to achieve strong growth and stand out in Latin America,” he said.
Berríos said the Chilean economy experienced several years of uncertainty marked by increased regulation and higher taxes — factors that he believes damaged the country’s standing among investors.
The Confederation of Production and Commerce, the country’s leading business organization, welcomed approval of the bill. Its president, Susana Jiménez, said the initiative represents “an important step toward restoring the economy’s dynamism and returning to growth.”
The only provision still awaiting approval is the compensation mechanism for municipalities, which will lose part of the revenue generated by the tax on residential properties.
Guyana Prime Minister Mark Anthony Phillips said an independent inquiry will be established “as early as possible” to determine what happened before the MV Barima departed and whether operating procedures were followed. File Photo by Nathalia Aguilar/EPA
July 22 (UPI) — Guyana will establish an independent commission of inquiry into the country’s deadliest maritime disaster after the sinking of the MV Barima left at least 53 people dead.
Meanwhile, authorities continued rescue and recovery operations while investigating discrepancies in the ferry’s passenger manifest and possible safety violations.
The MV Barima, an 87-year-old ferry operating between Georgetown and the remote community of Port Kaituma, capsized Saturday night after issuing a distress signal, Authorities described it as the worst maritime disaster in Guyana’s history.
Prime Minister Mark Phillips said Wednesday the independent inquiry will be established “as early as possible” to determine what happened before the vessel departed and whether operating procedures were followed.
Investigators will also examine how discrepancies in the passenger manifest occurred, how cargo was handled, whether the emergency response was adequate and whether violations of maritime regulations occurred, according to Guyana’s Department of Public Information.
“I can assure you, yes, we will have a commission of inquiry and people will be held responsible based on the outcome, the results and the recommendations of that commission of inquiry,” Phillips said.
Authorities now believe about 179 people were aboard the ferry when it capsized, despite the official manifest listing 116 passengers and 17 crew members, Phillips said.
He cautioned against drawing conclusions about possible overloading or operational failures before investigators complete their work, but did acknowledge discrepancies between the official records and the estimated number of passengers.
Phillips said the commission also will recommend reforms to strengthen maritime safety, improve ferry operations and help prevent similar disasters.
The announcement comes as search and recovery operations entered a new phase. President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said Wednesday that authorities planned to begin raising the wreck using specialized flotation equipment to improve access for rescue and recovery teams, according to the Department of Public Information.
Ali said additional divers and technical personnel were joining the operation, which includes the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, police, civilian volunteers and private-sector partners. He ssaid seabed mapping technology provided with support from ExxonMobil had located the ferry resting on its starboard side, allowing engineers to plan a recovery effort.
“We have not ruled out rescue just yet,” Ali told relatives of those still missing during a late-night briefing, according to the Department of Public Information.
Authorities said 76 people have been rescued since the accident, while dozens remain unaccounted for.
Separate criminal and administrative investigations also remain underway.
Earlier this week, officials confirmed that the ferry’s captain and mate tested positive for marijuana after the accident. Maritime personnel responsible for the vessel’s operations were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, according to the Department of Public Information.
