The U.S. is set to announce a $345 million military aid package for Taiwan that includes key defense systems that would be critical against any attack on the island

The remains of a mountain climber who vanished on a Swiss glacier in 1986 have been recovered after they were revealed by melting ice. DNA tests confirmed the remains were those of the 38-year-old hiker from Germany who went missing nearly four decades ago near the Matterhorn mountain, Switzerland’s most famous peak. A huge search at the time failed to find any trace of him. Police in the Valais canton said: “DNA analysis enabled the identification of a mountain climber who had been missing since 1986. “In September 1986, a German climber, who was 38 at the time, had been reported missing after not returning from a hike.” The force did not give the climber’s identity nor information on the circumstances of his death. Climbers crossing the Theodul glacier above Zermatt this month had spotted a hiking boot and crampons emerging from the ice. Alpine glaciers are increasingly giving up long-held secrets as the planet heats up, accelerating the rate of glacier retreat. In 2015, the remains of two young Japanese climbers who went missing on the Matterhorn in a 1970 snowstorm were found and their identities were confirmed through the DNA testing of their relatives. In 2014 the body of missing British climber Jonathan Conville, missing since 1979 on the Matterhorn, was discovered by a helicopter pilot. His family said finally knowing he had died in an environment he loved was bittersweet. Last year plane parts were found on the Aletsch glacier from a Piper Cherokee that crashed in 1968. And two sets of human remains were also revealed – one thought to have died in the 1970s or 1980s on the Chessjen glacier, and one on the Stockji glacier in the 1980s. Switzerland has more glaciers – 1,400 – than any other country in Europe, accounting for about half of all those in the European Alps. Swiss glaciers experienced record melting last year, losing more than 6 per cent of their volume and alarming experts at the Swiss Academy of Sciences who said a loss of 2 per cent would once have been considered extreme. Separate research found that the country’s glaciers had lost more than half their total volume since the early 1930s – a much faster shrinkage than scientists had forecast. At that rate, they said, almost all the Alpine glaciers would be gone by the end of this century. “Glacier retreat is accelerating. Closely observing this phenomenon and quantifying its historical dimensions is important because it allows us to infer the glaciers’ responses to a changing climate,” said Daniel Farinotti, a co-​author of the study. Alpine glaciers irrigate crops, and melt water from them cools rivers, so is vital to biodiversity including fish. The glaciers also collect pools of water in “ice dams”, which threaten flooding if the water is released. European glaciers are projected to lose more than 80 per cent of their current mass by 2100 under a high-emissions worst-case scenario, and many will disappear regardless of the emission scenario, according to a 2019 IPCC report. Read More Climate change comes for European skiing: After deadly conditions and closed runs, is this the beginning of the end? Floods, fires and deadly heatwaves are the alarm bells of a planet on the brink Summer 2022 was ‘a sign of things to come’ for UK climate, says Met Office Alaska man inadvertently films his own drowning on a glacial lake with helmet GoPro Russia: Putin ‘threatening civilian ships in Black Sea’ as Ukraine advances - latest Ukraine’s troops advance around Bakhmut despite intense artillery fire, military say

Bryan Kohberger's trial is currently scheduled for October this year and prosecutors already said in June that they are seeking the death penalty

By Brendan O'Brien CHICAGO (Reuters) -Tens of millions of Americans were confronted with a one-two punch of brutally hot temperatures

A New York man who stole a badge and radio from a police officer brutally beaten by other rioters during the attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to more than four years in prison

Russian forces intercepted two missiles over its southern port of Taganrog and the Azov district in the Rostov

Carlee Russell, the 25-year-old Alabama woman who claimed she went missing and later alleged that she had been kidnapped, has been charged. The arrest warrant was issued earlier on Friday 28 July, Hoover Police Chief Nicholas Derzis said in a news conference. Hoover police arrested Ms Russell “for her actions related to faking her kidnapping and subsequently making false statements to detectives.” Chief Derzis continued, “Her decisions that night created panic and alarm for citizens of our city and even across the nation.” Numerous law enforcement agencies worked “tirelessly” to bring Ms Russell home to her family and to find a kidnapper “that we know now never existed.” She turned herself into the Hoover City Jail for charges of false reporting to law enforcement authorities, which is a misdemeanour, and falsely reporting an incident, also a misdemeanour, he said. Each charge had a bond set at $1,000 and can result in up to a year in jail and a potential fine of $6,000 if convicted. She posted bond and was released from jail. Chief Derzis also said they have not found out where she was in the 49 hours she went missing. Ms Russell’s attorney issued a statement: “There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13, 2023. My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident — this was a single act done by herself.” The statement continued, “My client was not with anyone or any hotel with anyone from the time she was missing. My client apologizes for her actions to this community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well and to her friends and family. We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward, understanding that she made a mistake in this matter.” Ms Russell disappeared on 13 July after calling 911, claiming she had seen a toddler walking on the side of an Alabama interstate. But by the time police arrived at the scene, neither Ms Russell nor the toddler were anywhere to be found. This sparked an investigation. Mysteriously, 49 hours after she vanished, the 25-year-old arrived at home. She was reportedly in a state of shock, and eventually told her family, boyfriend, and then detectives a harrowing story of her survival over the last two days. Ms Russell’s explanation involved being abducted by a white man with “orange hair” and she was forced to undress and pose for photos. Miraculously, though, she claimed, she was able to escape and flee into the woods and make it home safely. Shortly after that is when her story began to unravel: her search history revealed that she had looked up the movie Taken, “how to take money from a register without being caught,” and questions surrounding amber alerts. Police voiced doubts about her abduction publicly. “To think that a toddler, barefoot, that could be three or four years old is going to travel six football fields without getting on the roadway, without crying ... it’s very hard for me to understand,” Mr Derzis said during a previous press conference. The police chief said investigators had their doubts from the beginning, but on 24 July, he admitted, “We know that it was a hoax.” Read More Carlee Russell charged with filing fake police report in connection to kidnap hoax – updates Three unanswered questions in the mysterious case of Carlee Russell Carlee Russell claimed she was kidnapped by a man with orange hair. It was all a lie

President Joe Biden said the US was experiencing a surge in manufacturing that was delivering higher wages to

Donald Trump has vowed to continue his 2024 presidential run from prison if necessary after the Mar-a-Lago boxes case became subject to a superseding indictment late on Thursday. The former president and aide Walt Nauta were hit with a new set of federal charges related to alleged mishandling of classified information after leaving the White House. Federal prosecutors accuse him of retaining defence information and conspiring with club employee Carlos De Oliveira to delete security footage to hide evidence of misconduct. On Friday morning, radio host John Fredericks asked Mr Trump if conviction and sentencing in one of the cases against him would stop his White House campaign. The former president assured him that he would continue to run, even while incarcerated, adding that there is nothing in the Constitution to stop him. Meanwhile, a separate federal grand jury is considering indicting Mr Trump on charges over the January 6 Capitol riot and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Last week, Mr Trump received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith’s office saying he is the target of their investigation. The former president’s legal team met with prosecutors on Thursday morning in preparation for the expected indictment. Read More Trump hit with more charges as Mar-a-Lago worker added to documents case Iran war plans, deleting security footage, a third defendant: Key takeaways from new Trump documents charges Carlos De Oliveira: Who is second Trump aide now charged in Mar-a-Lago secret documents case

New details reveal that California Rep Eric Swalwell did not hold back when criticising Speaker Kevin McCarthy last month, reportedly calling him a “p****” on the House floor. According to The Daily Beast, the heated exchange stemmed from the events of 21 June, when Republicans voted to censure California Democratic Rep Adam Schiff. As Democrats chanted “Shame!” at their colleagues across the aisle, Mr Swalwell, standing near the speaker’s podium, had something to say to one Republican in particular – Mr McCarthy. “This is pathetic,” Mr Swalwell allegedly said to the House speaker, according to two members of Congress who spoke to the outlet. “You’re weak. You’re a weak man.” Mr McCarthy looked like “he had a vein popping out of his forehead,” one lawmaker told the outlet. Another said the House speaker stared down Mr Swalwell for roughly 10 seconds before deciding to walk away. The next day, the beef between the two lawmakers intensified. Just before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a joint address to Congress, Mr Swalwell was right outside the chamber on the Republican side when Mr McCarthy reportedly spotted him. “McCarthy said, ‘If you ever say something like that to me again, I’m gonna kick the s*** out of you,’” one member told The Daily Beast. Another lawmaker expanded on this, recalling: “They were in each other’s faces. Basically nose-to-nose. And Rep Swalwell said something like, ‘Are we really gonna do this?’” The House speaker then allegedly threatened the California Democrat: “Call me a p**** again, and I’ll kick your a**.” Both lawmakers speaking to the outlet apparently recalled the next words from Mr Swalwell identically: “You. Are. A. P****.” But Mr McCarthy did not fulfill his promise, and instead the two congressmen stared each other down before McCarthy stepped to the side. The Independent has reached out to the offices of Speaker McCarthy and Mr Swalwell for comment. The bad blood between the Californians has been spilled before; back in January, shortly after McCarthy became speaker, he booted Mr Swalwell – as well as Mr Schiff – from the House Intelligence Committee. This also isn’t the first documented instance of name-calling in the recent past among Congress members. Georgia Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene called Colorado Republican Rep Lauren Boebert a “little b****” last month on the House floor. Read More ‘Shame!’McCarthy booed and heckled on House floor after ‘phony’ censure against Democrat Adam Schiff White House attacks McCarthy’s impeachment gambit as ‘ridiculous, baseless stunt’ Marjorie Taylor Greene attacks special counsel Jack Smith as ‘little b****’ for Democrats Republican-led committee calls off vote to hold Meta's Mark Zuckerberg in contempt White House attacks McCarthy’s impeachment gambit as ‘ridiculous, baseless stunt’ Biden is welcoming far-right Italian Prime Minister Meloni for White House talks

A 17-year-old girl testified Friday she "just prayed" and covered her head during Ethan Crumbley's mass shooting at Michigan's Oxford High School, which left four students dead and seven others wounded in 2021.

The new charges against former President Donald Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified documents were outlined in what's known as a superseding indictment.