Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

Mexican authorities have discovered 20 bodies in the state of Sinaloa amid escalating violence between rival factions of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, with growing signs of a dangerous alliance forming between cartel groups. On Monday, the state prosecutor’s office confirmed that four of the victims had been decapitated and found hanging from a bridge near Culiacán, the state capital. A further 16 bodies, one also decapitated, were found inside a van parked beneath the bridge. The severed heads were located in a nearby bag. This gruesome discovery comes after the deadliest month yet in a spiralling conflict between two…

Southern Europe is sweltering under a punishing heatwave, with temperatures reaching a blistering 46°C in parts of Spain and nearly all of mainland France placed under weather alert. The extreme heat, intensified by fossil fuel-driven climate change, has enveloped Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece in the season’s first major heatwave, sparking health warnings, wildfires, and widespread disruption. In Turkey, more than 50,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to raging forest fires, according to the country’s interior ministry and disaster management agency. Across Europe, authorities have scrambled emergency services to combat the growing threat of wildfires and…

Israel has ramped up its offensive in Gaza, with airstrikes killing around 60 Palestinians and fresh evacuation orders forcing tens of thousands to flee northern areas of the devastated enclave. The escalation came as a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington for renewed ceasefire talks. Ron Dermer, Israel’s strategic affairs minister and a close ally of Netanyahu, is set to meet US officials to discuss indirect negotiations with Hamas, the aftermath of Israel’s military campaign against Iran, and broader regional diplomacy. A spokesperson for the Israeli government stated on Monday that Netanyahu is working to end…

Smoking on beaches and in public parks across France has been officially banned from Sunday, under sweeping new rules designed to shield children from the dangers of passive smoking. The legislation, which also applies to bus shelters and areas within 10 metres of schools, libraries, and swimming pools, was published in the official government gazette on Saturday and came into immediate effect, one day ahead of schedule. The move is part of a broader national effort to create a “tobacco-free generation” by 2032. The timing of the ban, rolled out just one week before France’s school holidays begin, is no…

The US Senate, controlled by the Republican Party, has advanced President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending bill in a key procedural vote, increasing the likelihood of its passage in the coming days. The 940-page “megabill”, dubbed by Trump as his “big, beautiful bill”, aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts, lower other taxes, and significantly boost funding for border security, immigration enforcement, and the military. It cleared its first hurdle late on Saturday with a narrow 51-49 vote, following hours of tense negotiations and internal party discord. Two Republican senators, Thom Tillis and Rand Paul, broke ranks and voted…

Iran could be capable of producing enriched uranium again within months, despite recent strikes on its nuclear facilities by the United States and Israel, according to the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog. Speaking in an interview with CBS News, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that although the damage inflicted was significant, Iran’s nuclear capabilities had not been entirely dismantled. “They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that,” Grossi stated in remarks released…

Environmental campaigners, immigrant rights advocates, and a Native American tribe have condemned the construction of a controversial outdoor migrant detention facility deep within the Florida Everglades, branded by state officials as “Alligator Alcatraz”. Crews began work this week to prepare the remote site, located at a largely abandoned training airfield, for what has been described by critics as a “cruel spectacle” designed to house undocumented migrants in harsh, inhumane conditions. The facility is being built to support the Trump administration’s newly intensified immigration crackdown, which aims to detain and incarcerate up to 3,000 undocumented migrants per day. Set to open…

The United Nations has warned that armed groups in Colombia are increasingly turning to social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook to recruit children into their ranks. According to a new report by the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia, 474 cases of recruitment or use of children under 18 were verified between 2022 and 2024, with a sharp increase reported in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Of 118 reported cases this year, 51 have already been verified by UN investigators. The report raises the alarm over a growing trend of digital coercion, with armed groups using platforms…

Republican and Democratic senators have offered sharply conflicting views on President Donald Trump’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, following a delayed and contentious behind-closed-doors intelligence briefing on Capitol Hill. The briefing, held on Thursday, was originally scheduled for Tuesday but postponed by the White House amid accusations of leaks, fueling Democratic outrage and accusations of obstruction. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer labelled the delay “outrageous”, accusing the administration of withholding crucial information from Congress. “Senators deserve full transparency, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening,” he said. Senators briefed by top security…

Japan has executed a man known as the “Twitter killer” for the brutal murders of nine people he met online, marking the country’s first use of the death penalty in two years. Takahiro Shiraishi, 33, was hanged on Friday after being convicted of murdering and dismembering nine individuals, mostly young women, whom he lured via Twitter, now known as X, in 2017. Shiraishi admitted to the killings, having approached vulnerable users on the platform who had expressed suicidal thoughts. He offered to help them die, before bringing them to his apartment near Tokyo, where he killed and mutilated them. The…