Five people in Louisiana have died this year after contracting a flesh-eating bacterium found in warm coastal waters, a figure that state health officials say is significantly higher than the annual average. The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed that, as of Wednesday, at least 26 people had been infected with Vibrio vulnificus in 2025, with every case requiring hospitalisation. Officials reported that 85 per cent of infections were linked to…

Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of pursuing a “deliberate strategy” to terrorise civilians and destroy infrastructure.

A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 75 people gathered for worship in a mosque in the besieged city of El Fasher, according to first responders. The attack, among the deadliest in the city this year, struck the al-Daraja neighbourhood, where many civilians from the famine-stricken Abu Shouk displacement camp had sought refuge after it was overrun by RSF fighters. The Emergency Response…

A British couple detained in Afghanistan for eight months have been released, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has confirmed.

Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Manila on Sunday in a large-scale protest against alleged corruption in government-funded flood control projects. The demonstration, dubbed the “Trillion Peso March”, is named after a Greenpeace estimate that $17.6bn (£14bn) was misappropriated from climate-related projects in 2023. Organisers say the protest will highlight public anger over so-called “ghost” infrastructure schemes and the misuse of public funds. The date…

Indonesia will prohibit the construction of new hotels, restaurants and other commercial facilities on cleared rice fields and productive agricultural land in Bali, following the island’s worst flooding in more than a decade, which left at least 18 people dead. The ban, announced by Bali’s governor, Wayan Koster, comes after torrential rains triggered flash floods that swept through large parts of the island earlier this month. A state of emergency…

President Donald Trump has suggested that television networks which cover him “negatively” could face government action, as controversy continues over ABC’s suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from a state visit to the United Kingdom, Trump claimed that major US networks were “97% against me”, though he offered no evidence for the figure, saying only that he had “read it…

The United States is attempting to regain control of Bagram airbase from the Taliban, President Donald Trump has said, in a move to reclaim a key strategic asset relinquished during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Chequers on Thursday, the president confirmed that negotiations were under way with the Taliban for American forces to reoccupy the site, once the…

Europeans whose sex characteristics do not fit typical definitions of male or female are facing a sharp and “alarming” increase in violence, according to the EU’s leading human rights body. Findings published on Tuesday by the Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) are based on responses from 1,920 people in 30 European countries who identify as intersex, a term covering those with innate variations in sex characteristics, including individuals who identify…

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte, intend to present scientific evidence in a United States court to refute claims that the First Lady was born male, their lawyer has confirmed.

The families of four victims who perished in the Air India Flight 171 disaster have filed a lawsuit in the United States against aerospace giants Boeing and Honeywell, alleging negligence and a defective fuel cutoff switch contributed to the crash that claimed 260 lives. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, went down shortly after departing Ahmedabad for London on 12 June. The complaint, lodged on Tuesday in Delaware Superior Court,…

The Saudi official acknowledged the delicate balance of Riyadh’s relationships, stressing that ties with India — also a nuclear power — remain “more robust than ever” and that the kingdom seeks peace across the region.