After 22 months of full-scale war, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians and forcing Gaza to the brink of famine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly preparing to defy international, domestic and military opinion by escalating the war on Gaza still further and ordering its full occupation. “The die is cast – we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip,” Israeli media cited an anonymous...

A helicopter crash has killed eight people including the nation’s defence and environment ministers, according to Ghana’s government. Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the victims of the crash in the southern Ashanti region of the country, said Julius Debrah, chief of staff to President John Mahama, on Wednesday. “The president and the government extend their condolences and solidarity to the...

Southern Europe is battling deadly wildfires and extreme heat this week, with record temperatures and dry conditions forcing evacuations across France, Spain and Portugal. An enormous wildfire in southern France’s Aude region has killed one person, injured nine others, marking the country’s largest wildfire this season. The blaze, which erupted on Tuesday, has already scorched at least 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) – an area larger than the city...