Cannes becomes the latest famous destination to crack down on mass tourism
Nice, Venice, Barcelona and Amsterdam are other European cities that have also imposed limits on cruise ships. The French Riviera resort of Cannes has become the latest famous European destination to join the growing global backlash against overtourism by imposing what its city council calls “drastic regulation” on cruise ships. Cannes city councillors voted on Friday to introduce new limits on cruise ships in the city’s ports. Starting on January 1, only ships with fewer than 1,000 passengers will be allowed in the port, and a maximum of 6,000 passengers will be allowed to disembark daily. Larger ships will be expected to transfer passengers to smaller boats to enter Cannes. Two cruise ships were scheduled to dock in Cannes, world-renowned for its film festival, on Sunday, each far larger than the upcoming 1,000-passenger limit with a combined capacity of more than 7,000 people. “Cannes has become a major cruise ship destination, with real economic benefits. It’s not about banning cruise ships, but about regulating, organizing, setting guidelines for their navigation,” Mayor David Lisnard said in a statement. Cruise operators have called such restrictions damaging for destinations and for passengers. The nearby city of Nice announced limits on cruise ships earlier this year as have some other European cities, including Venice, Barcelona and Amsterdam. France – which drew in 100 million visitors last year, more than any other European country and more than the country’s population – is at the forefront of efforts to balance economic benefits of tourism with environmental concerns while managing burgeoning crowds. Advertisement Cannes and Nice are not the only French cities to take action against overtourism. On Monday in Paris, Louvre workers went on strike to protest “untenable” working conditions, “chronic understaffing” and “unmanageable crowds” caused by overtourism, which they felt the museum’s infrastructure and current staffing levels could no longer manage. Similar protests have taken place recently in other European cities. Demonstrations took place this weekend in Venice against Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s wedding to highlight wealth inequality and protest against the impact of mass tourism on the city. Activists argued that the lavish three-day event exemplified the disregard for local residents’ needs, including affordable housing and essential services, in a city already struggling with mass tourism and environmental concerns. Residents of Barcelona took a quirky approach by using water guns in protests against overtourism, aiming to highlight their frustration with how excessive visitor numbers are driving up housing costs, displacing locals and eroding the city’s unique character. Adblock test (Why?)
PSG defeats Messi, Inter Miami in FIFA Club World Cup
Paris Saint-Germain sweep aside Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-0 to set up last eight clash with Bayern Munich or Flamengo. Paris Saint-Germain have thrashed their former player Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-0 in the last 16 of the Club World Cup with Joao Neves scoring twice en route to victory. A Miami own goal and a strike by Achraf Hakimi widened the margin to four by halftime at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. The European champions will face the winner between Bayern Munich and Flamengo in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Oscar Ustari made six saves for Inter Miami while PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma had to make just three after Miami were held without a shot attempted for the first 50 minutes. The match was Messi’s first time facing PSG since leaving the club and coming to the United States two years ago. Desire Doue won PSG a free kick just outside the penalty area less than five minutes into the match. Vitinha took the kick and connected with Neves, who headed it on the run across Ustari’s body and into the net. Miami defender Noah Allen took a tumble and subbed out due to injury in the 19th minute. His replacement, Tomas Aviles, immediately earned a yellow card by tripping up Nuno Mendes. PSG continued to control play until Neves doubled the advantage in the 39th minute. Fabian Ruiz dispossessed Sergio Busquets, and a quick passing sequence freed up Neves for an open shot from the centre of the box. Aviles’s unfortunate match continued when he accidentally chested a PSG cross over his own goal line in the 44th minute. Moments later, PSG’s Bradley Barcola made a perfect run to receive a pass deep in the box, and he passed it back to Hakimi. Advertisement His first shot ricocheted off Ustari’s head and the crossbar, but Hakimi scored his own rebound for a 4-0 advantage. Hakimi scores PSG’s fourth goal [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters] After a quiet first half, Messi was credited with Miami’s first shot attempt in the 51st minute when he had a left-footer deflected over the net. Inter Miami’s best chance came early in the second half. A Messi pass to Luis Suarez sent him clear at the side of the net, but the ball slid harmlessly off his foot without a shot. The 38-year-old striker kicked a water bottle over the barrier in frustration, summing up the day for Inter Miami. Messi finally connected with Inter Miami’s first shot on goal in the 63rd minute, but it was easily scooped up by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Messi had another chance on a header with about 10 minutes remaining, forcing Donnarumma to make a diving save in the only real threat to his third clean sheet of the tournament. Neves said it was a very “positive” day for PSG. “It is the first time I have scored two [goals] in one game, so I am very happy. But I am happier for the win,” he told DAZN. “We have the same confidence [as before]. We will play our game, no matter against who [our opponents are]. We are tired now, but we will recover [before the quarterfinal].” Inter Miami’s coach Javier Mascherano told DAZN that the game was a good learning experience for his side. “We knew today was going to be very, very difficult. They [PSG] are probably the best team in the world,” he said. “In the second half, we tried to play and show our worth.” Adblock test (Why?)
Boxing: Jake Paul beats Chavez Jr by unanimous decision
‘I want tougher fighters, I want to be world champion,’ Paul said in his challenge to former and current WBC champions. Celebrity boxer Jake Paul has defeated former middleweight boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr by unanimous decision in a cruiserweight fight in California, United States. The 28-year-old YouTube influencer-turned-boxer overcame his opponent with a judges’ score of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92 in the 10-round fight at Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday night. The win marks Paul’s triumphant return to the ring seven months after his blockbuster fight against 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Chavez Jr, 39, is a former World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion who has not held a major boxing title in 13 years and has fought just once in the last three and a half years. He has also had some well-documented personal problems over the last few years. Paul, who gained fame as a social media star on YouTube and became a boxer, now has a six-fight winning streak and a 12-1 record with seven knockouts (KOs). Jake Paul celebrates at the end of the cruiserweight boxing bout against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr [Patrick T Fallon /AFP] ‘I want to be world champion’ Following the win, Paul challenged a number of current and former WBC champions to a fight. “I want tougher fighters, I want to be world champion,” he told streaming service DAZN in the ring. He called on Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, Anthony Joshua, Gervonta Davis and Tommy Fury to “stop running”. However, Chavez Jr said his conqueror was a “good fighter” but was not ready to face the list of champions he had named. Advertisement “He is strong, [he is a] good boxer [but] I don’t think he’s ready for champions,” the Mexican said. Paul, who was set to face Canelo Alvarez until the latter signed a lucrative four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, said Alvarez was “ducking” the fight. In a video posted to his social media account, Paul showed what he said was a contract signed by himself and Alvarez for a fight to be held in Las Vegas on May 3. “The truth is, you [ Alvarez ] could be bought,” Paul said at the time. “You’re a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut. The truth is, these sports-washing, shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening because they couldn’t fathom the fact that they can’t create a bigger fight than me and you.” Alvarez, a Mexican boxing superstar, unified boxing’s super-middleweight world titles after a pedestrian but unanimous points win over IBF champion William Scull in Riyadh on May 3 . Paul celebrates his win [Patrick T Fallon/AFP] Paul vs Chavez Jr: Contrasting fortunes The 28-year-old is one of the sport’s top attractions despite not having a traditional fighting pedigree through a boxing association. Paul has made at least $60m since starting his boxing career, according to multiple sources. His fight last November with Tyson, which Paul won in an eight-round decision, peaked at a staggering 64 million concurrent streams on Netflix. Meanwhile, Chavez Jr – with a record of (54-7-1, 34 KOs) – last held a major boxing world title in 2012 and has had a difficult time inside and outside the ring in recent years. In November 2021, his shock defeat by a split decision to 46-year-old former UFC fighter Anderson Silva in a crossover boxing match was undoubtedly the lowest – and most embarrassing – point of his professional boxing career. Coincidentally, Paul beat Silva in a fight last year. The Mexican’s personal issues have included a lack of motivation, a repeated failure to make weight for fights, alcohol and drug addiction, an arrest for illegal possession of a firearm in his Los Angeles home and a failed drug test. At the launch of the Paul-Chavez fight in May at The Avalon in Hollywood, Paul mocked Chavez’s addiction problems as well as his “lack of mentality”. Reports say that Paul has a chance of entering the WBC’s rankings with the win. “The WBC ratings committee has been following Jake Paul’s career,” ESPN reported WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman as saying before the fight. “If he defeats Chavez, and depending on how the fight plays out, the committee will make the decision. It’s very likely [Paul will be ranked] if he wins convincingly.” Paul, right, punches Chavez Jr during their cruiserweight boxing match [Etienne Laurent/AP] Adblock test (Why?)
Topuria wins UFC lightweight title with stunning knockout of Oliveira
Topuria delivers on his promise to win via first-round knockout after moving up in weight to fight Oliveira. Spain’s Ilia Topuria scored a stunning first-round knockout victory over Charles Oliveira to claim the UFC lightweight title at UFC 317, with Alexandre Pantoja securing a third-round submission win over Kai Kara-France to retain the flyweight title in the co-main event. Former featherweight champ Topuria announced in February that he was going to step up to the 155-pound (70kg) division to fight for the belt vacated by former champ Islam Makhachev’s move up to the welterweight division. Standing between him and the title on Saturday evening was 35-year-old Brazilian former lightweight champ Oliveira, who briefly brought his vast experience to bear before being defeated. After a dominant run at featherweight, which saw him move to 16-0 as a professional, Topuria, who was born in Germany to Georgian parents, looked small in the cage compared with Oliveira, but he defended well against the Brazilian’s grappling before showcasing his striking power. Oliveira, who was stripped of the lightweight belt in May 2022 when he missed weight for a defence against Justin Gaethje, looked good during a brief exchange on the mat, but Topuria disengaged to bring the fight back to the feet, and shortly afterwards, Oliveira’s evening ended. The 28-year-old stunned Oliveira with a crunching right hand and followed it up with a left hook that sent Oliveira crashing to the mat. His eyes glazed as his back hit the canvas and Topuria fulfilled his pre-fight prediction of a first-round knockout win. Topuria celebrates the victory as Oliveira congratulates him [Stephen R Sylvanie-Imagn Images via Reuters] “I already said it – I represent the new generation of the mixed martial arts – this is the next level of the game. This is the next thing, and this is what I represent,” Topuria said in a post-fight interview. Advertisement “I did exactly what we had planned: lot of jabs, right hand, left hook, and boom – his lights were out.” In the co-main event, Brazil’s Pantoja dominated New Zealander Kara-France before taking his back and locking in a rear naked choke 1 minute and 55 seconds into the third round to defend his flyweight crown. Elsewhere on the main card, Joshua Van beat Brandon Royval via unanimous decision at flyweight, while Beneil Dariush beat Renato Moicano via unanimous decision in their lightweight bout, and Payton Talbott defeated Felipe Lima via unanimous decision at bantamweight. Adblock test (Why?)
Irish band Kneecap shouts out to Palestine Action Group at Glastonbury
Thousands of fans chanted ‘free Palestine’ and waved Palestinian flags as the Irish trio performed in the UK. Irish-language rap group Kneecap has performed at the Glastonbury Festival in front of tens of thousands of fans chanting “Free Palestine”, defying United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer who said he did not think it was “appropriate” for the band to appear. The group’s Liam O’Hanna on Saturday also gave a “shout-out” to Palestine Action Group, which UK Interior Minister Yvette Cooper announced last week would become a banned group under the Terrorism Act of 2000. “The prime minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer,” said O’Hanna, who appeared on stage wearing his trademark Palestinian keffiyeh in front of the capacity crowd, including many people waving Palestinian flags. “This situation can be quite stressful but it’s minimal compared to what the Palestinian people are [facing],” O’Hanna, who performs under the name Mo Chara, added, referring to the backlash the band has faced for its outspoken support of Palestinians in Gaza. He is facing charges under the British Terrorism Act of supporting a proscribed organisation for allegedly waving a flag of Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group at a concert in London in November last year. O’Hanna has said he picked up a flag that was thrown onto the stage without knowing what it represented. The rapper is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August. “Glastonbury, I’m a free man!” he shouted as the trio took to the stage at Glastonbury’s West Holts field, which holds about 30,000 people. Advertisement The trio also thanked festival organisers Michael and Emily Eavis for resisting pressure to cancel their appearance, including from Starmer. Several Kneecap concerts have been cancelled since the band’s performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in April, where they accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians, enabled by the United States government. At least 56,412 Palestinians have been killed and 133,054 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Ireland’s people and government have been some of the most outspoken critics of the war, as well as Israel’s deliberate starvation of Gaza’s population, which many people see as having parallels to the English occupation of Ireland. Festival-goers wave Palestinian flags during Kneecap’s Glastonbury set [Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP] The BBC, which broadcasts dozens of Glastonbury performances, did not show Kneecap’s set live, but said it planned to make it available online later. The broadcaster said it would not be re-airing the live performance of British rap punk duo Bob Vylan who appeared on stage before Kneecap and led chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF [Israeli army]”. A BBC spokesperson said the comments were “deeply offensive”, and that they would not be available to rewatch on BBC iPlayer. The BBC also reported that UK Culture Minister Lisa Nandy spoke to the BBC director general, Tim Davie, seeking an “urgent explanation” after the chants were aired live. According to the BBC, Avon and Somerset Police also said that they would be reviewing footage of both Kneecap and Bob Vylan’s sets to “determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation”. The bands were among about 4,000 performers across 120 stages to appear at this year’s festival, which also featured headliners including Neil Young, Charli XCX, Rod Stewart, Busta Rhymes, Olivia Rodrigo and Doechii, as well as a surprise appearance by Britpop band Pulp. Adblock test (Why?)
Southern Europe roasts as first heatwave of the summer scorches continent
Southern Europe struggles with soaring heat as temperatures hit 40C, sparking fears of wildfires and health risks. Europeans are braced for the first heatwave of the Northern Hemisphere summer, as climate change pushes thermometers on the world’s fastest-warming continent further into the red. With temperatures expected to rise to 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Italian capital, Rome, on Saturday, the Eternal City’s many tourists and Catholic pilgrims to the Vatican alike have been converging around the Italian capital’s 2,500 public fountains for refreshment. In France, with residents of the southern port city of Marseille expected to have to cope with temperatures flirting with 40C (104F), authorities ordered public swimming pools to be made free of charge to help residents beat the Mediterranean heat. Two-thirds of Portugal will be on high alert on Sunday for extreme heat and forest fires with 42C (108F) expected in the capital, Lisbon. Meanwhile, visitors to – and protesters against – Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos’s Friday wedding in Venice were likewise sweltering under the summer sun. “I try not to think about it, but I drink a lot of water and never stay still, because that’s when you get sunstroke,” Sriane Mina, an Italian student, told AFP news agency on Friday in Venice. Meanwhile, Spain, which has in past years seen a series of deadly summer blazes ravaging the Iberian peninsula, is expecting peak temperatures in excess of 40C (104F) across most of the country from Sunday. Scientists have long warned that humanity’s burning of fossil fuels is heating up the world with disastrous consequences for the environment, with Europe’s ever-hotter and increasingly common blistering summer heatwaves a result of the long-term warming. Advertisement With peaks of 39C (102F) expected in the cities of Naples and Palermo, Sicily has ordered a ban on outdoor work in the hottest hours of the day, as has the Liguria region in northern Italy. The country’s trade unions are campaigning to extend the measure to other parts of the country. In Greece, the first heatwave of the summer arrived on Thursday when a fast-moving wildfire engulfed holiday homes and forest land on a section of the Greek coastline just 40km (25 miles) south of the capital, Athens. More than 100 firefighters, supported by two dozen firefighting aircraft, battled the wildfire that tore across the coastal area of Palaia Fokaia. The flames were whipped up by high winds as temperatures approached 40C (104F). The heatwave comes hot on the heels of a series of tumbling records for extreme heat, including Europe’s hottest March ever, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate monitor. As a result of the planet’s warming, extreme weather events including hurricanes, droughts, floods and heatwaves like this weekend’s have become more frequent and intense, scientists warn. Adblock test (Why?)
Death toll rises after Pakistan hit by flash floods and heavy rains
Flash floods and roof collapses over past 36 hours have claimed 19 lives, increasing total toll to 32, authorities say. Heavy rain and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 32 people since the start of the monsoon season earlier this week, according to the disaster management officials. Flash floods and roof collapses over the past 36 hours have claimed the lives of 19 people, eight of them children, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial disaster management authority said in a statement on Saturday. Of the total deaths, 13 were reported in the Swat Valley. At least 13 people have been killed in the eastern province of Punjab since Wednesday, the area’s disaster management authority said. Eight of the deaths were children, who died when walls and roofs collapsed during heavy rain. Flash flood risk remains Flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also damaged 56 houses, six of which were destroyed, the disaster authority said. The national meteorological service warned that the risk of heavy rain and possible flash floods will remain high until at least Tuesday. Last month, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms in the South Asian nation, which experienced several extreme weather events in the spring, including strong hailstorms. Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million inhabitants are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Hey Daddy’: How different world leaders massage Trump’s ego
Describing Israel and Iran fighting each other at his NATO pre-summit news conference in The Hague this week, US President Donald Trump drew an analogy with children fighting in a schoolyard, who eventually had to be separated. “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” Mark Rutte, NATO secretary-general, chimed in. Asked about the comment after the summit, Trump said: “No, he likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn’t I’ll let you know. I’ll come back and hit him hard, OK? He did it very affectionately. Hey Daddy. You’re my Daddy.” The White House decided Rutte was flattering the US president, and made a reel of Trump’s visit to the Netherlands, set to the music of Usher’s Hey Daddy. Rutte’s flattery of Trump didn’t stop there. On tackling the Russia-Ukraine war, Rutte told reporters before the NATO summit: “When he came in office, he started the dialogue with President Putin, and I always thought that was crucial. And there’s only one leader who could break the deadlock originally, and it had to be the American president, because he is the most powerful leader in the world.” But how sincere are world leaders’ statements about Donald Trump? Do they genuinely serve to improve bilateral relations and does flattery work? Who has handled Trump well and what have the results been? Neither Rutte, nor any other European leader, engaged in any kind of dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a long time after the summer of 2022, the year of his invasion of Ukraine, believing it pointless. Advertisement German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was severely criticised as “defeatist” for phoning Putin last November, while Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, the only European leaders to have visited the Kremlin during the war, have been viewed as openly collaborationist. Yet when Trump started talks with Putin, many Europeans paid him the same compliment as Rutte when they made their inaugural visits to the White House after he took office in January. Keir Starmer, UK “Thank you for changing the conversation to bring about the possibility that now we can have a peace deal, and we will work with you,” said the United Kingdom’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, in the Oval Office in February. Starmer pulled a few rabbits out of hats. Knowing Trump’s fondness for the notion of hereditary power, he drew from his jacket a letter from King Charles III containing an invitation for an unprecedented second state visit to Windsor Castle. Trump was momentarily speechless. “Your country is a fantastic country, and it will be our honour to be there, thank you,” Trump said when he’d gathered himself. Starmer and Trump exchanged a few handshakes while speaking and Starmer repeatedly touched Trump’s shoulder in a sign of affection. But did all this flattery have much effect? Trump announced he was freezing military aid to Ukraine the following month, much to the outrage of the UK, along with Nordic and Baltic countries. Giorgia Meloni, Italy Both Starmer and Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, identified Ukraine as a key issue for Trump, who has made it clear he wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize by ending international conflicts. So far, he has claimed credit for ending this month’s “12-Day War” between Israel and Iran, preventing nuclear war following the May 7 air battle between India and Pakistan, and overseeing a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Meloni, therefore, tried a similarly flattering approach to Trump. “Together we have been defending the freedom of Ukraine. Together we can build a just and lasting peace. We support your efforts, Donald,” she said during her White House visit in April. Meloni astutely punched all of Trump’s hot-button issues in her opening remarks, saying Italy had policies to combat Fentanyl, an addictive painkiller that Trump has blamed Canada and Mexico for allowing into the country, to invest $10bn in the US economy and to control undocumented immigration. She even adapted Trump’s slogan, Make America Great Again, to Europe. “The goal for me is to Make the West Great Again. I think we can do it together,” Meloni said to a beaming Trump. Advertisement None of this has translated into a state visit by Trump to Rome, a move which would cement Meloni’s position as a major European leader, however. Mark Carney, Canada Meanwhile, newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was both flattering and firm with Trump last month. He complimented Trump on being “a transformational president” who had sided “with the American worker”, but also shut down Trump’s territorial ambition to annex Canada as the 51st US state. “It’s not for sale, won’t be for sale ever,” Mark Carney said. Relations seemed to have taken a turn for the better following Trump’s friction with Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Trump called him “very dishonest and weak” at the 2018 G7 summit in Canada before storming off early. But Carney may not have had much effect at all. On Friday, Trump ended trade talks with Canada and threatened to impose additional tariffs on exports over Canada’s new digital services tax. Which meetings have gone less well? Emmanuel Macron, France There was little warmth in Trump’s White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in February. Braced for confrontation with a leader who claims to lead Europe in strategic thought, Trump spoke from lengthy, defensive, scripted remarks which attempted to justify his Ukraine policy. Macron preached that peace in Ukraine must not mean surrender – a sentiment shared by many European leaders, but not expressed to Trump. Trump was cordial with Macron, but not affectionate. Meanwhile, France is holding out on any sort of capitulation to Trump in European Union trade talks. Other members of the EU want to settle for an “asymmetric” trade deal that might benefit the US more than the EU, just to get it done. What’s more, following the G7 meeting in Canada two weeks ago, it was clear no love was lost between
Teen labourers among 19 killed in horrific road collision in Egypt
A truck collided with a minibus carrying day labourers, two of whom were 14-year-old girls, to their workplace. A truck has collided with a minibus carrying workers on a road in Egypt, killing 19 people, most of them teenage girls, according to local officials. The collision occurred as the workers were heading to work in the early hours of Friday morning on a regional road in the city of Ashmoun in the Nile Delta province of Menoufia, north of the capital Cairo. The truck collided with the minibus as it carried the labourers to their workplace from their home village of Kafr al-Sanabsa, according to the state-owned newspaper, Akhbar al-Youm. Most of the workers were teenagers – two of them just 14 – according to a list of the names and ages published by the state-owned daily, Al-Ahram. Egyptian media has dubbed the crash victims “martyrs for their daily bread”. Some 1.3 million minors are engaged in some form of child labour in Egypt, according to government figures, and accidents often involve underage labourers travelling to work in overcrowded minibuses in rural areas. Only three people survived the crash on Friday, according to a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Labour, and they were transferred to the General Ashmoun Hospital. Egypt’s Labour Minister Mohamed Gebran has ordered authorities to compensate the families of the deceased with up to 200,000 Egyptian pounds (about $4,000) each. Each injured person will also receive 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($400). Menoufia provincial governor, Ibrahim Abu Leimon, said the cause of the crash would be investigated. Preliminary reports suggest excessive speeding may have been a key factor. Advertisement Abu Leimon also called on the country’s Ministry of Transportation to reassess safety measures on the regional road. In April, five members of a single family died in a two-car collision on the same road. Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year across Egypt. In October 2023, 35 people were killed, at least 18 of whom burned to death, in a “horrific collision” involving a bus and several cars on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, according to Al-Ahram. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,220
Here are the key events on day 1,220 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Here is how things stand on Saturday, June 28: Fighting Ukraine’s military has said it struck four Russian Su-34 warplanes at the Marinovka base outside Russia’s city of Volgograd, some 900km (550 miles) from the Ukrainian border. A Russian missile attack has killed at least five people and wounded more than 20 in Samar in Ukraine’s southeast, in the second strike on the industrial city in three days. Russian troops have captured the village of Nova Kruhlyakivka in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported. A Russian attack has damaged an “important power facility” in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, causing power cuts in some settlements in the region, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Kursk region injured a war correspondent from Chinese news outlet Phoenix TV, Russian authorities said, as they urged the United Nations to respond to the incident. Ukraine’s air force said it downed 359 out of 363 drones and six of eight missiles launched by Russia in an overnight attack. Russia’s drone production jumped by 16.9 percent in May compared with the previous month, data from a think tank close to the government showed, after President Vladimir Putin called for output to be stepped up. Ceasefire deal United States President Donald Trump said he thinks something will happen in Russia’s war in Ukraine that would get it “settled”, citing his recent call with Putin but offering no other details. Putin said relations between Russia and the US were beginning to stabilise, attributing the improvement to efforts by President Trump. Putin reiterated that he had “great respect” for the US leader and was willing to meet him. Putin also said Moscow was ready to hold a new round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, potentially in Istanbul, although the time and venue have yet to be agreed. Advertisement NATO Lithuania has notified the UN that it is leaving the treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. It joins Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland – all NATO and European Union members bordering Russia – in withdrawing from the treaty, citing the increased military danger from their Russian neighbour. The Kremlin said Estonia’s stated readiness to host NATO allies’ US-made F-35A stealth jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, posed a direct threat to Moscow. Putin said Russia was looking to cut its military expenditure from next year, contrasting that with NATO’s plan to raise its collective spending goal to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the next 10 years. Sanctions Senator Ron Wyden, the top Senate Finance Committee Democrat, pressed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to commit to enforcing Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia and to clarify comments about Russia rejoining an international bank payments network. Wyden also sought answers on how the US-Ukraine critical minerals deal and investment agreement would help improve Ukraine’s post-war security and not benefit any entity or country that aided Russia’s war effort. Ukraine plans to ask the EU to sanction Bangladeshi entities it says are importing wheat taken from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, after its warnings to Dhaka failed to stop the trade, a top Ukrainian diplomat in South Asia said. Adblock test (Why?)