List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

Deadly wildfires erupted on Greece’s mainland, killing two as it scorched the land and left a path of destruction in its wake. The coastal area of Magnesia and city of Volos were gripped by engulfing flames on Wednesday evening, forcing the evacuation of several local communities fleeing to safety. It comes as the Greek fire brigade warned the risk of fire remained “extreme” for several areas of the country on Thursday, with climate crisis minister, Vassilis Kikilias, echoing: “Nothing is over, the battle will continue throughout the summer.” High temperatures and winds have created a “perfect storm” to allow the fires to spread this week in Europe and north Africa including Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Italy, France, Croatia, Spain, Algeria and Tunisia. As the threat lingers in Rhodes, TUI has said customers booked “on a package holiday to a hotel in the south of the island” have the option to “rebook or amend their holiday, or cancel with a full refund” upto and including 11 August. Read More Where are the wildfires? The nine affected countries mapped More than 40 people killed as wildfires rage in nine Mediterranean countries in record heatwave UK’s 40C summer of 2022 ‘will seem cool’ as extreme weather events become frequent, Met Office warns When will heatwave in Europe end? New forecast shows relief in sight

Wex Inc., a major provider of vehicle fleet management for businesses and governments, is launching a new venture

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A former Bank Negara Malaysia chief testified against the country’s ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak in a trial linked

Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s net income climbed 98% from a year earlier in the three months through June to

Meta Platforms Inc. is back. Nearly 18 months after setting the record for the biggest market value wipeout

The rapper's spectacular show at the Egyptian landmark is officially cancelled at the last minute.

Greece’s wildfires are burning through the country’s natural carbon sinks in the latest sign of how heat waves

Mitch McConnell froze and briefly appeared to be unable to continue speaking during a Senate Republican press conference. He was led away by colleagues and returned not much later, stating that he was “fine”. This is not the first time that the 81-year-old has had a health scare. The scene occurred on Wednesday as Republicans held their last weekly press briefing before the August recess, and discussed remaining business including the chamber’s effort to pass a defence spending bill before the holiday begins. Mr McConnell was seen freezing at the podium for several seconds before a number of senators, including Joni Ernst of Iowa, approached him and encouraged him to step away. He did so, only to come back a few minutes later. He refused to elaborate on what had just occurred. “Can you address what happened here at the start of the press conference? Was it related to your injury from earlier this year when you suffered a concussion?” asked CNN’s Manu Raju. “I’m fine,” responded the senator. “You’re fine? You’re fully able to do your job?” Raju asked in response, to which the minority leader replied: “Yeah.” Mr McConnell entered the Senate in 1985 and has been the top Republican since 2007. Mr McConnell’s freezing at the press conference is likely to be looked at with scrutiny given the renewed interest in the issues presented by the increasingly advanced ages of many of the members of the upper chamber of Congress. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, in particular, has been the subject of intense criticism on the matter as many have argued that the 90-year-old, who has sometimes appeared confused in interactions with reporters and staff, is no longer up to serving. This is a rundown of Mr McConnell’s previous health issues: Childhood polio He continues to walk with a limp, a residual issue caused by his battle with polio at a young age. When Mr McConnell was two years old in 1944, his upper left leg was paralyzed by polio and he was treated at the Warm Springs Institute in Georgia established by Democratic World War II President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for his own struggle with the same disease. “When I was a child and my dad was in World War II, I got polio. I recovered, but my family almost went broke,” Mr McConnell said in a 1990 re-election ad. “Today, too many families can’t get decent, affordable health care. That’s why I’ve introduced a bill to make sure healthcare is available to all Kentucky families, hold down skyrocketing costs, and provide long-term care.” Since that ad, Mr McConnell has been criticized by his political opponents for working against affordable healthcare. In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic was underway, Mr McConnell told the AP that it reminded him of having polio as a child. “Why does this current pandemic remind me of that? I think number one is the fear,” he said. “And the uncertainty you have when there’s no pathway forward on either treatment or a vaccine and that was the situation largely in polio before 1954.” At the time of the AP interview, only 16,000 people in the US had died of Covid-19. As of today, more than 1.1 million have died in the US as a result of the pandemic, according to the WHO. “There’s hope that we’re going to get on top of this disease within a year, year and a half,” Mr McConnell told the AP in 2020. Speaking about his childhood polio, Mr McConnell grew emotional as he said he was “lucky” to have a mother “who was determined to see me walk again”. “Tenacity, hard work and not giving up – my mother instilled all that in me before I was four years old and I think it’s been a guiding principle in how I lead my life,” he added. Asked how his mother could afford his polio treatment, Mr Connell told the AP: “Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that.” He recalled the relief at the arrival of the polio vaccine. “I’ve had a normal life, but I’ve been acutely aware of the disease that I had and the relief that the country had when they found the vaccine,” he said in 2020, months ahead of the Covid-19 vaccine’s arrival. “We’re going to get that relief.” Triple heart bypass surgery Mr McConnell had a triple heart bypass surgery in February 2003 in connection to blocked arteries. The procedure was conducted at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. A fall that caused a concussion The 81-year-old Mr McConnell returned to the Senate in March of this year after suffering a fall that caused a concussion. “Leader McConnell tripped at a dinner event,” communications director David Popp said at the time, adding that Mr McConnell would be in hospital for “a few days of observation and treatment”. The event was at the Waldorf Astoria DC – previously the Trump International Hotel from 2012 to 2022. One of the colleagues at Mr McConnell’s side guiding him away after he froze on Wednesday, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, a physician by training, said at the time that he expected that Mr McConnell would make a full recovery. Mr McConnell also fell at his home in Louisville, Kentucky in August 2019, suffering a shoulder fracture. Read More Mitch McConnell leaves press conference abruptly after appearing unable to speak Kevin McCarthy denies he made any deal with Trump to try to expunge his impeachments Kentucky attorney general can’t explain why he hasn’t used key to his office in three years Mitch McConnell recently ‘fell in airport and was using wheelchair’ before blackout Trump wants to see Biden impeached, and other Republicans are quick to pile on Mitch McConnell’s health history reveals previous issues after briefing freeze

Moldova has expelled 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff members in Chisinau, citing Moscow’s "unfriendly actions" amid further deteriorating relations over the war in neighbouring Ukraine. “We agreed on the need to limit the number of accredited diplomats from Russia, so that there are fewer people trying to destabilise the Republic of Moldova,” foreign minister Nicu Popescu said at a cabinet meeting. The foreign ministry said the decision was based on "numerous unfriendly actions" towards Moldova, "which are not related to the diplomatic mandate, as well as attempts to destabilise" the country. Russia has been given the 15 August deadline to cut its embassy staff to 25 from the strength of 80 currently. “For many years we have been the object of hostile Russian actions and policies. Many of them were made through the embassy,” Mr Popescu said. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the move was just another step towards “bilateral relations", and said the "unjustified and unfriendly actions ... will not go unanswered". The Kremlin said Moldova’s decision is regretted while accusing its accused leadership of encouraging “Russophobia”. “Unfortunately, ChiÈ™inău is deliberately driving our relations into a very miserable state,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Once part of the Soviet Union, the relations between Russia and Moldova reached a new low after president Maia Sandu opposed Russia for invading Ukraine and accused Russian leadership of hatching a plan to overthrow her government. The latest move comes just days after two local media outlets published an investigative report accusing the Russian embassy in the capital of spying with their dozens of satellite dishes and antennas installed in the building. The joint investigation was published by the Russian investigative media site Insider and Moldova’s Jurnal TV channel. It said that 28 antennas installed on the roof of the embassy and an adjacent building could have been used for spying activities. Russia denied the claims as “a fantasy which has nothing to do with reality”. It prompted Moldova to summon Russia’s ambassador to the country. Moldova‘s government spokesman, Daniel Voda, said: "In circumstances where employees are not involved in promoting bilateral relations, it becomes obvious that their diplomatic and administrative-technical representation is excessive.” Moldova shares its borders with both Romania and Ukraine. It is one of the poorest European countries which has been heavily impacted by the war in Ukraine. It has accused Russia of backing separatist groups which control Transnistria, a breakaway territory in Moldova witnessing conflict since 1990s. The invasion has put a strain on its resources and services as several Ukrainian refugees arrived in the country to escape the fighting. Read More Russia-Ukraine war – live: Kyiv gains around Bakhmut as Putin’s forces fire missiles at Odesa port Paris 2024 Olympics will be bold, original and sustainable – but it might not deliver world peace North Korea’s Kim Jong-un shows Russia’s defence minister banned ballistic missiles The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

TotalEnergies SE stuck to plans for shareholder payouts and capital spending even as second-quarter profit missed estimates. Oil

Australia’s two biggest states will struggle to return their budgets to surplus as the economy sags under central