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LONDON — The United Kingdom’s government announced Monday it is using new state-threat powers to crack down on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a second Iran-linked organization, following a wave of antisemitic incidents carried out on British streets.

The newly applied powers would essentially make it illegal to support either group while also expanding the authority of police and intelligence services to address any threats connected to them.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the move directly, stating: “These new powers will make it easier to prosecute and lock up anyone carrying out their dirty work here in Britain.”

The IRGC has long operated as an elite military branch loyal to Iran’s Supreme Leader, having been founded in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The organization is already subject to British sanctions.

The second group named, the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, has claimed responsibility for seven separate attacks targeting Jewish and Israeli communities as well as Persian-language media outlets. Among those incidents was an antisemitic arson attack on March 23 that destroyed four Hatzola ambulances in the Golders Green area.

In addition to the two Iranian-linked organizations, Britain also applied the new powers to Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.

All of the designations are subject to parliamentary approval before they can officially go into force.

JOHANNESBURG — A 45-year-old British citizen suspected of murdering his wife and two daughters at their home in England has been arrested in Johannesburg after purchasing an illegal firearm, South African police revealed.

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, a British national of Zimbabwean heritage, appeared before a Johannesburg magistrate’s court on Monday. He was remanded in custody until July 22 so that authorities can determine whether he is in South Africa lawfully.

South African authorities have charged him with illegal possession of a firearm — an offense that can carry up to 15 years in prison for first-time offenders. The court will also weigh whether Tshuma should be extradited to Britain to face murder charges there.

British prosecutors have given police the go-ahead to charge Tshuma with three counts of murder after the bodies of his wife, 42, and his two daughters, aged 15 and 5, were discovered at the family’s residence in Bedfordshire earlier this month.

Tshuma had departed Britain through Heathrow Airport before the victims were found, according to South African police.

South African police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters that investigators believe Tshuma purchased the weapon shortly after arriving in the country. “According to our investigation, after landing in South Africa on July 5, he then went to one of the townships and he bought this particular unlicensed firearm,” Mathe said. “It is our suspicion that this … firearm was going to be used to end his life.”

Mathe confirmed that South Africa had received a provisional extradition request from Britain, though officials are still awaiting the full formal documentation.

She also noted that Tshuma’s own family members in South Africa assisted police in tracking him down. “His family did not harbour him. … They played a very pivotal role,” Mathe said.

Southeast Asia’s regional alliance, ASEAN, is drawing scrutiny from analysts who warn that renewed engagement with Myanmar’s military-backed government could grant it political legitimacy while producing little to no real progress toward peace.

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathered in Bangkok on Sunday for an informal meeting with Myanmar’s top diplomat — the first face-to-face encounter of its kind since the military staged a coup in February 2021 and was subsequently banned from the bloc’s high-level summits.

While officials characterized the Bangkok gathering as a chance for Myanmar to update its neighbors on conditions within the country, Richard Horsey, senior Asia adviser at Crisis Group, raised a pointed concern: the meeting could be normalizing political ties before any real progress has been made.

“It would be a mistake for ASEAN to accept Myanmar back into the fold without getting anything meaningful in return,” Horsey said.

The meeting is being seen as a critical test of whether ASEAN will stand behind its own peace blueprint or allow Myanmar’s military-aligned leadership to reclaim regional standing without taking genuine steps to end the conflict — such as freeing political prisoners including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi or restoring full democratic governance.

Myanmar has been engulfed in turmoil since Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government was removed from power in the February 2021 coup. The junta’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests ignited an armed resistance movement that has since grown into a full-scale civil war.

In April 2021, ASEAN agreed to a “Five-Point Consensus” calling for a halt to violence, dialogue between all parties, humanitarian aid, and the appointment of a special envoy. However, the military government refused to implement the plan, leading ASEAN to exclude it from top-tier meetings and limit Myanmar’s participation to non-political representatives.

Last week, Myanmar’s military-dominated parliament approved a motion urging the country’s new government to push back against the Five-Point Consensus, labeling it interference in internal affairs, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Opposition groups — including the exile-based National Unity Government and ethnic armed organizations such as the Karen National Union — issued a joint statement Saturday expressing alarm over the foreign ministers’ informal meeting. They called on ASEAN to broaden its engagement to include all major democratic political stakeholders inside the country.

The human toll of the conflict has been devastating. An estimated 100,000 people have lost their lives, more than 3.6 million have been forced from their homes, and the country’s economy has been severely damaged. Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest with her location undisclosed, while numerous senior members of her party and other opponents of the junta have been imprisoned or barred from political life.

Analysts cautioned that ASEAN may be giving away too much leverage by engaging with Myanmar’s leadership in Naypyitaw before meaningful conditions are met.

“The central question is whether the organization will uphold its own agreed framework or permit re-engagement with the military regime without requiring meaningful implementation of the Five-Point Consensus,” said Ye Myo Hein, a senior fellow at the Southeast Asia Peace Institute.

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow pushed back on suggestions that Sunday’s discussions represented a shift in ASEAN’s stance. “This process of engagement does not mean any change in our basic position as reflected in the Five-Point Consensus, but it does mean achieving towards engagement, listening, and being realistic about what can be achieved,” he said.

The BBC Burmese service reported that Sihasak was planning to hold separate informal meetings with some ethnic armed organizations and the National Unity Government, though no official confirmation of those talks has been provided by officials or the opposition groups themselves.

The signs of warming relations come roughly six months after a phased election organized by the junta — an election that critics and Western governments dismissed as a staged process meant to preserve military control behind a civilian facade. That process concluded in April when a pro-military parliament chose former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing as president, formalizing the grip on power he had held since the coup.

Analysts warned that moving too quickly toward re-engagement would erode ASEAN’s ability to push its peace agenda and hold influence over Myanmar’s government. “Once the regime secures the regional legitimacy it seeks without meeting any meaningful conditions, ASEAN will have far fewer tools to encourage compliance with the Five-Point Consensus or promote a genuine political dialogue,” Ye Myo Hein said.

HAVANA — Most evenings, 39-year-old Frank Alfonso climbs to the rooftop of his apartment building to escape the stifling heat that comes with Havana’s ever-more-frequent power outages. But when the rain swept in last Friday afternoon at the same moment Cuba’s entire national electrical grid went down, even that small escape was taken from him.

Alfonso lives in one of thousands of aging tenement buildings across Havana called “solares” — structures that have been carved up over the decades into tiny living spaces. Now six months into a U.S.-imposed oil blockade, residents of these buildings are enduring extended stretches without power as Cuba’s worn-out infrastructure struggles to keep the lights on with dwindling fuel supplies.

“We didn’t even realize this time that the whole grid had collapsed, because we were already in a blackout,” Alfonso said.

Over the course of more than 24 hours this past weekend, as the system failure stretched across much of the island, Reuters followed Alfonso and his neighbors through what has become an ordinary part of their lives: existing without electricity.

NO POWER MEANS NO WATER

Just next door to Alfonso’s unit, 51-year-old Yunaisi Durruti sat in an armchair late Friday night, the glowing tip of her cigarette the only source of light in the room. Her biggest worry wasn’t the heat or the darkness — it was water.

Her faucet had been dry for a full week. The pump that moves water from the ground-floor cistern up to her second-floor apartment’s tank runs on electricity, and during the brief windows each day when power does come on, the cistern is typically already empty due to routine water shutoffs.

Durruti originally came to Havana as a young woman to study culinary arts, and later spent ten years working in the kitchen of a beachside resort operated by the Spanish hotel company Melia. That chapter of her life is behind her now. She works as a security guard, and after each shift she travels to her parents’ home in a part of the city that sees fewer blackouts — just to shower, prepare food, and wash her clothes. Her own refrigerator sits empty, since there’s no point keeping food that will only spoil.

Melia has since announced it is pulling out of Cuba following tightened U.S. sanctions imposed this spring.

Durruti noted that Cuba’s deep-rooted tradition of neighbors looking out for one another has helped soften the blow of the shortages — but only to a point.

“Everyone can share a small bucket of water,” she said. “But in this crisis, more than that is impossible.”

A PROPHECY FULFILLED

Cuba’s electrical grid and broader infrastructure have been declining for years, but residents of the tenement building said the power cuts that used to be occasional have become relentless in recent months since the oil blockade took hold.

On Saturday afternoon, 28-year-old Thalía Castillo sat nursing her three-month-old son, Thayler, while a small rechargeable fan worked to keep the heat and mosquitoes away from the infant in their ground-floor apartment.

Castillo and her husband, Lazaro Herrera, had been among the lucky ones — for a while. A power station sent by Castillo’s grandmother living in the United States had kept their apartment running for several hours after the grid went down. But the charge eventually ran out. A frozen package of meat — another item made possible by their U.S.-based family — was slowly thawing in the freezer, and every few hours Castillo wiped away the pooling blood seeping into the refrigerator.

Small figurines representing Yoruba deities lined their kitchen. Herrera serves as a priest — called a babalawo — in the Afro-Cuban faith tradition, which is widely observed across the island. Each new year brings a set of prophecies delivered by community elders. This past January, the forecast spoke of upheaval and conflict.

“Everything has come true, so far,” Herrera said.

A BRIEF MOMENT OF LIGHT

Just before 9 p.m. Saturday, Alfonso hurried back to the building. The power was still out — but Argentina’s World Cup quarterfinal match against Switzerland was about to kick off, and he wasn’t about to miss it.

Since the tournament began, Alfonso and Herrera had worked out a solution for the repeated blackouts: they mounted Herrera’s television on a rack outside and ran it off a generator from across the street.

By the time the match started, several dozen residents from the building and the surrounding neighborhood had gathered in the street around the screen. An older woman from the second floor perched on the front steps, scolding younger viewers who wandered into her line of sight. When Argentina scored its opening goal, the crowd erupted in cheers.

The rest of the street — stretching all the way to Havana’s waterfront boulevard — remained completely dark.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the European Commission spoke out Monday in favor of placing limits on how children can access social media, as a special EU advisory panel released a report recommending that platforms be off-limits to children under 13 until technology companies can demonstrate their services are safe.

Concerns about the impact of social media on young, still-developing minds have been fueling a wave of new laws around the world. Countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Indonesia have enacted bans preventing children under 15 or 16 from using platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who holds a medical degree, laid out her concerns about children’s exposure to social media and stated that children under the age of 3 should have no screen time whatsoever.

“I believe we need to consider phased and gradual access for different age ranges because childhood won’t wait and once it’s gone, we can never give it back,” von der Leyen told reporters.

She drew comparisons to other age-gated activities: “Just as we don’t give our children keys to the car before they have their license, or we do not let them buy alcohol until they are legally allowed. We need to set the age at which they can, the children can, legally access social media,” she said.

Von der Leyen also singled out infinite scrolling as one of the “addictive” features that technology companies need to address.

While she stopped short of naming specific age thresholds beyond the restriction for toddlers, the European Commission — the EU’s executive body — is expected to put forward a formal proposal for the bloc’s 27 member nations to consider in the coming months. Von der Leyen’s policy positions carry significant weight among EU member countries.

The special panel, which was created to examine child safety in the digital space, delivered its findings to the EU chief on Monday. The report concluded that when it comes to online safety, “the burden of proof needs to be on providers, not regulators, parents and children.”

“Until they demonstrate that their services are safe by design, social media and other digital services providers should have restricted access to children under the age of 13 in the EU,” the report stated. Its findings are expected to play a significant role in shaping von der Leyen’s next steps.

The panel also recommended that EU member countries consider “further precautionary age restrictions” for children who are older than 13.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Paris on Monday to sit down with approximately two dozen European leaders committed to supporting Kyiv as the conflict with Russia stretches into its fifth year.

At the same time, European foreign ministers gathered separately in Brussels, where discussions were expected to focus on Ukraine’s ongoing needs and the broader threat Russia poses to the continent.

Both Ukraine and its European allies are eager to build on recent Ukrainian battlefield gains and push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward peace talks. However, Moscow has shown no sign of willingness to compromise, despite a year of diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration.

Analysts and Western officials say Ukraine’s growing drone capabilities have given it a significant advantage in recent months. Strikes on Russian supply lines behind the front have slowed the Russian military’s progress and made advances increasingly costly for Moscow.

Ukrainian forces have focused heavily on cutting off supplies to Crimea, sparking what observers describe as the worst fuel shortage on the Black Sea peninsula since Russia’s illegal annexation of the territory in 2014. These strikes have also undermined the Kremlin’s claims that Russia is winning the war.

Zelenskyy has been pushing to fast-track a joint European effort to develop anti-ballistic air defense systems capable of intercepting Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure.

Following the latest wave of overnight Russian attacks across Ukraine, Zelenskyy posted on social media Monday: “Everyone in the world sees that Ukraine needs more air defense, more protection of life.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week that he would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air-defense systems — a move that could represent a significant turning point for Kyiv. Still, experts and Ukrainian officials caution that converting that commitment into actual weapons systems would likely require years of work.

The Paris gathering, organized under the so-called Coalition of the Willing — a group of more than 30 nations backing Ukraine — was expected to draw around 25 heads of state and government. The unusually high number of attending leaders was seen as a strong signal of long-term support for Ukraine and a warning to Moscow as Russia continues to test European resolve.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Monday that France would summon the Russian ambassador and impose sanctions on Russian hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the actions stem from “a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries.”

The war’s reach has also extended beyond Ukraine’s borders. Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported Monday that a drone launched during Russian overnight strikes on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed and detonated on Moldovan soil, calling the incident “serious and unacceptable.”

Zelenskyy made the trip to Paris following the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters in Washington. He also departed amid a significant and still-unfinished reshuffling of his government, which included Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stepping down on Sunday.

Ukraine has continued striking deep inside Russian territory using domestically developed long-range drones and missiles, at times matching or surpassing the volume of aerial attacks launched by Russia.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that Russian air defenses shot down 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital itself. Andrei Vorobyov, who leads the region surrounding Moscow, said 81 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight.

Vorobyov also reported that three people were killed and three others injured by a Ukrainian strike on the Pionersky settlement near Istra in the western Moscow region, with five private homes catching fire.

Ukraine’s air force, meanwhile, reported that Russia launched 134 long-range strike drones and three guided missiles at Ukrainian territory. Air defenses successfully intercepted or jammed all three missiles and 123 of the drones, though six drones caused damage at five separate locations.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, more than 70 people were hospitalized following a series of recent Russian strikes that damaged 11 apartment buildings, according to military administration head Ivan Fedorov.

Russia’s Federal Security Service claimed it foiled a Ukrainian plot to strike the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals. The agency said small drones were smuggled into Russia’s western Bryansk region via air balloons and larger transport drones, then transported by car to locations near the targeted bases by Ukrainian operatives. Authorities said they arrested Ukrainian agents and associates and seized 24 drones, describing the alleged scheme as part of a series of planned strikes “unprecedented in its scale and the level of threat.”

Just over a year ago, a Ukrainian covert mission known as Operation Spiderweb reportedly destroyed or damaged nearly one-third of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet by smuggling drones into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials.

BRUSSELS — The European Union announced sanctions Monday against Russian military intelligence officers, hackers, and private companies, condemning what it described as a years-long campaign of cyber espionage aimed at weakening the bloc.

The sanctions target nine individuals and four organizations accused of ties to an online spying network that the EU says has been attacking governments and conducting sabotage operations against critical infrastructure — including heating and power plants — since 2010.

The European Council released a statement saying those hit by the sanctions “contribute to Russia’s efforts to destabilize the EU, its member states and international partners.” The espionage and sabotage activities have been traced to at least nine countries.

The names of the specific individuals and organizations were not included in the official statement.

According to the European Council, the countries targeted include France, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, and Finland, “among others.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that France plans to call in the Russian ambassador within the coming days. Speaking to French BFM television, he explained that the cyber operations are designed “either to capture information, or sabotage the operation, for example, of railway infrastructures as it was the case in Poland.”

The EU’s actions focused specifically on the 16th Centre of Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB. The bloc stated the FSB has been “controlling a variety of cyber threat groups” and has “conducted a wide range of malicious cyber activities with growing severity.”

Several nations have previously accused Russia of using cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns to interfere in elections.

In April, Sweden announced that a pro-Russian group with connections to Russia’s security and intelligence services was responsible for a cyberattack on a heating plant the previous year. That announcement came on the heels of warnings from officials in Poland, Norway, Denmark, and Latvia that Russia has been systematically targeting critical infrastructure throughout Europe.

AVON, France — A wildfire burning through the famous Fontainebleau forest south of Paris forced residents out of their homes and brought train and highway travel to a halt on Monday, adding to a growing list of wildfires scorching western Europe during a relentless summer heat wave.

The Fontainebleau forest is a historically significant and heavily visited destination located roughly 70 kilometers — about 42 miles — from the French capital. The surrounding region is home to the Fontainebleau Chateau, a palace once favored by Napoleon, and draws large numbers of tourists and day-trippers from Paris and elsewhere.

Hundreds of firefighters were sent to battle the blaze, and two water-dropping aircraft were brought in to help from the air. Regional fire service spokesperson Paul Laurain shared updates with public broadcaster France-Info as crews worked to bring the fire under control.

Train service to and from Paris’s busy Gare de Lyon station had been thrown into chaos late Sunday but was gradually recovering by Monday morning. A stretch of the heavily traveled A6 highway heading southeast out of Paris was also closed due to fire danger.

The Fontainebleau fire is just one piece of a larger crisis unfolding across France. Wildfires in the southern part of the country have already burned thousands of hectares since last week, putting a strain on firefighting resources and even forcing changes to the route of the Tour de France cycling race.

France is currently in the grip of its third heat wave of the summer. Temperatures have climbed past 40 degrees Celsius — 104 degrees Fahrenheit — across western and central parts of the country, with Paris seeing temperatures around 37 C, or roughly 98 F.

Across the border in Spain, the situation remains grim following a deadly wildfire that tore through a remote expat community in the country’s south last week. A 93-year-old British national died Sunday in a hospital from injuries suffered in the Los Gallardos fire, bringing the total death toll to 13. Ten people were still unaccounted for as of Monday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was expected to travel to the fire zone Monday. Regional officials said the blaze had been contained by Sunday after burning through approximately 70 square kilometers — about 27 square miles — of forest and farmland, an area larger than the island of Manhattan.

Extreme heat, strong winds, and a prolonged lack of rainfall have combined to create dangerous fire conditions across Spain, allowing small blazes to explode in size before they can be stopped.

The fires are unfolding against a backdrop of long-term climate change. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, with temperatures rising at twice the global average rate since the 1980s.

Thai authorities are working to determine the cause of a deadly fire at a Bangkok music bar that left at least 27 people dead and dozens more injured — the latest in a long history of catastrophic blazes at nightlife venues across the globe.

Fire safety experts say the high number of casualties may reflect problems commonly seen in past entertainment venue disasters, including inadequate safety measures. The fire broke out at the Na Ladprao music bar shortly before midnight Sunday and appeared to race quickly across a ceiling covered with flammable decorative materials before cutting off the main entrance. Local media reports indicate that packed conditions inside the bar, blocked escape routes, and widespread panic made it harder for people to get out.

Witness videos posted online captured the bar engulfed in flames while thick black smoke poured from the front entrance and people rushed to escape. Images and footage recorded at the scene Monday showed Thai investigators picking through the burned-out structure, with the worst destruction visible overhead. Large portions of the ceiling had been reduced to charred ruins, while the floor below — tables still holding beer bottles — was buried under ash and debris.

Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said a musician who had been performing at the bar told him he noticed smoke rising from a circuit breaker near the stage just before the power cut out. An explosion followed, and the bar quickly filled with dense smoke.

Thai officials said investigators would look into what materials were used in the ceiling and whether any emergency exits were blocked at the time of the fire. A Google image from February appeared to show plastic plants decorating the ceiling above the stage.

Lee Young Ju, a fire safety professor at South Korea’s Kyungil University, said the fire may have been triggered by an electrical fault — possibly tied to audio or lighting equipment or faulty wiring — that then spread rapidly along the ceiling.

Royal Thai Police chief Kittharath Punpetch said investigators are also looking beyond the ceiling materials and overhead wiring. Police are examining whether gas canisters stored in the kitchen may have played a role in fueling the blaze.

Huang Xinyan, a professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, said video from the fire site suggests the bar contained combustible foam materials, had no sprinkler system, and featured small exits that may have slowed evacuation. He noted that plastic ceiling decorations may have been combined with foam soundproofing materials, potentially accelerating how fast the fire grew.

Professor Lee cautioned, however, that even if sprinklers had been present, it’s uncertain they would have slowed a fire burning along the ceiling, since sprinkler systems are not built to fight fires spreading overhead.

The Bangkok disaster is the most recent in a troubling pattern of deadly fires at entertainment venues around the world. On New Year’s Day, a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, killing around 40 people and injuring more than 100. A 2013 nightclub fire in Santa Maria, in southern Brazil, claimed more than 200 lives.

Huang said the Bangkok fire may share similarities with the Switzerland blaze, pointing out that such venues tend to be packed with flammable soundproofing materials and overcrowded with patrons, both of which can drive up the death toll.

Professor Lee said high casualty numbers in entertainment venue fires often come down to large crowds crammed into relatively small spaces, making rapid evacuation nearly impossible. He noted that these venues frequently don’t have enough exits, and most people inside only know the main entrance they used to get in. Loud music and alcohol can also leave patrons less alert and slower to react when danger strikes.

Jiang Liming, another professor at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University, pointed out that bars typically have few large windows and exits can quickly become overwhelmed by panicked crowds trying to escape all at once.

“Once there was a rapidly growing fire, large (numbers) of casualties might occur due to high density of people and fast accumulation of smoke,” Jiang said.

Kong Ha-song, a disaster prevention professor at South Korea’s Woosuk University, said death tolls in bar and nightclub fires are frequently made worse because these spaces can resemble a “maze,” with beer crates, tables, and other items blocking hallways and exit paths. He also noted that emergency exits are sometimes kept locked to prevent theft or unauthorized entry.

Thai police chief Kittharath said the single-story bar had four exits in total, but investigators were looking into whether the two rear exits were blocked or otherwise unusable at the time of the fire. One exit near the restrooms — where most of the victims were discovered — had a table pushed in front of it, while another exit near the kitchen had a damaged sign and a sliding door with its handle missing.

A massive fire ripped through a music bar in Bangkok late Sunday night, killing at least 27 people and leaving 25 others in critical condition — making it the deadliest fire the Thai capital has seen in 17 years.

The blaze broke out at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar, located in a northern section of the city, just before midnight. Photographs from the scene showed panicked patrons running from the single-story building as flames burst through it and thick black smoke rose into the night sky. Scattered shoes left behind by people desperate to escape were visible in images taken after the fire was extinguished.

Bangkok city officials reported that firefighters managed to get the blaze under control within roughly 30 minutes. By Monday morning, forensic teams had cordoned off the area and were carefully searching through the charred wreckage to determine what started the fire.

The destruction was evident from the street — windows had been blown out, and the sidewalk was covered in debris including burned television sets, speakers, and a scorched electric guitar. Through the shattered windows, gutted tables could be seen inside, some still holding empty beer bottles.

Thai national police chief Kittharath Punpetch, who visited the site Monday morning, said the majority of the victims were discovered in windowless bathrooms near a rear exit. He believes people may have retreated there to escape the flames in the main hall. He noted that the exit had not been used, possibly because a table set up in the hallway to sell candy blocked the path, or because the darkness made it impossible to find.

Kittharath also said that access to another exit near the kitchen may have been narrowed by shelving units and lockers. He added there were indications that at least some exit doors may have been locked.

Investigators are zeroing in on the ceiling above the performance stage, where materials believed to have been used as decorations were discovered. Police plan to look into whether flammable materials were used in the building’s interior and how electrical wiring was run across the ceiling.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters that a musician who had been performing at the bar described seeing smoke coming from a circuit breaker near the stage just before the power went out. The performer said an explosion followed, and thick smoke rapidly filled the venue.

Bangkok’s Erawan emergency services center confirmed 73 people were injured in total, with 25 in critical condition. Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said the majority of deaths resulted from smoke inhalation, and that authorities are working to identify victims, many of whom were not carrying identification.

Buddhist monks came to the site Monday morning to pray for those who lost their lives, while nurses distributed face masks to nearby residents to shield them from lingering smoke and fumes. A registration station was also established to collect information from family members arriving at the scene in search of loved ones.

Singer Sukanya Wongwongwai said she had been performing at a nearby venue when she heard about the fire and rushed over, as several of her bandmates had been playing at the bar that night. She said one of them died, three were taken to the hospital, and one remains unaccounted for.

“From what I heard from people who were inside, when the fire started everything went dark. The power was out and there was smoke everywhere, so they couldn’t locate other people,” she said.

The tragedy follows a 2022 fire at a music bar in eastern Thailand that killed 14 people. More than a decade earlier, 66 people died and over 200 were injured when fire broke out during a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub in Bangkok on January 1, 2009 — a blaze believed to have been ignited by an indoor fireworks display.

A Singapore court has delayed the case of a 19-year-old French student who faces criminal charges after posting a video of himself licking a straw from a juice vending machine and returning it to the dispenser.

Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien had been widely anticipated to enter a guilty plea Monday on charges of mischief and public nuisance. However, the proceedings came to a halt when prosecutors requested additional time to determine whether a conviction would result in the revocation of his student pass, which would impact his ability to continue his education in Singapore. The judge adjourned the matter to July 30.

According to authorities, Maximilien carried out the act at a shopping mall on March 12. After the video spread rapidly across social media, he was formally charged on April 24. He has remained enrolled at a Singapore business school while released on bail.

If convicted of mischief, he could face up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. The public nuisance charge carries a lighter penalty — up to three months behind bars, a fine, or both.

IJooz, the company that operates the juice vending machine involved in the incident, filed a police report following the stunt. The company responded by sanitizing the machine and replacing all 500 straws inside it. IJooz has also announced plans to upgrade its machines with safety improvements, including individually wrapped straws and compartments that only open once a purchase is completed.

Singapore is a small and densely populated city-state known for its strict rules around public conduct and cleanliness. The country enforces regulations such as limits on chewing gum and stiff penalties for littering and vandalism.

LONDON — The British government on Monday unveiled a new wave of sanctions directed at Russian cyber networks, holding them responsible for efforts to destabilize nations across Europe.

In an official statement, the government declared: “Today’s action targets 24 individuals and entities behind the destructive cyber and hybrid operations including cybercriminals involved in proxy networks linked to the Russian Intelligence Services.”

The statement went on to say: “This includes sanctioning GRU senior leadership figures Vyacheslav Stafeyev, Ivan Senin and Ivan Kasyanenko for their role in directing GRU cyber and hybrid threat operations.”

More than 400 firefighters battled through the night to contain a wildfire raging in the historic Fontainebleau forest, located south of Paris, as French authorities dispatched two water-bombing aircraft Monday to help bring the blaze under control.

The fire ignited near a highway close to Fontainebleau, a site famous for one of France’s most celebrated royal palaces — a former hunting lodge and seasonal home for past French monarchs. By midnight, hot winds had driven the flames across more than 800 hectares, the equivalent of roughly 1,980 acres.

Situated just 70 kilometres — about 43.5 miles — from Paris, the fire forced authorities to shut down the A6 highway, a major route connecting Paris to Lyon and southern France. Separate smaller fires in the region also disrupted high-speed rail service.

“The fight continues today,” the French fire service announced on social media platform X. Residents in the area were also put on notice that the Canadair water-scooping aircraft would need to draw water directly from the River Seine, which runs through the heart of Paris.

The wildfire is one of many scorching parts of Europe as the continent endures its third extended stretch of dangerously high temperatures this summer. Scientists widely attribute the growing frequency and intensity of such fires to climate change, which has left large portions of continental Europe severely dry.

Wildfires have already burned through areas of France, Spain, Portugal, and Greece, destroying thousands of hectares of land. In Spain’s southeastern Almeria province, the death toll from a separate fire climbed to 13 over the weekend following the death of a 93-year-old British woman from burn injuries.

A heatwave in late June is believed to have killed thousands across Europe, with countries recording more than 10,000 excess deaths. The extreme temperatures also knocked out power, forced school closures, and shattered temperature records in France, Spain, and Britain.

Lasse Vestergaard, chief physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut — the organization that hosts EuroMOMO, a Europe-wide system for tracking mortality — described the numbers as alarming. “To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s really high,” he said. “It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat,” Vestergaard told Reuters.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission is preparing to roll out a proposal that would place limits on children’s access to social media, according to an announcement made Monday by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, von der Leyen emphasized the importance of allowing children to experience life outside of digital platforms before technology begins to define them.

“Our children need time in the real world. Time to play, time to build friendships, time to make mistakes. Time to shape their own identity, their own personality, before an algorithm shapes them instead,” she said.

Von der Leyen also framed the issue in a way that shifts the focus from children’s behavior to the platforms themselves, stating: “This is not about whether children can access social media. It is about whether and when social media can access our children.”

The Commission is expected to formally present the proposal after the summer period.

China’s economy likely lost momentum in the second quarter of this year, as soft domestic demand undercut the gains made by strong export performance during a period of global oil market turbulence — and that slowdown is now driving expectations that Beijing will roll out new economic support measures.

The world’s second-largest economy is wrestling with a growing gap between supply and demand. Robust industrial production, fueled in part by exports tied to the artificial intelligence sector, stands in sharp contrast to declining consumer spending and private investment, compounded by a long-running slump in the property market and unpredictable global oil prices.

A Reuters survey of 54 economists projects China’s gross domestic product grew 4.5% compared to the same period last year during the April-to-June stretch — a notable step down from the 5.0% growth recorded in the first quarter. That figure also falls below the 4.7% that economists had anticipated in an earlier Reuters poll conducted in April, and sits at the bottom edge of Beijing’s official full-year growth target of 4.5% to 5%.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs described the situation in a written note: “Growth has become more uneven: exports continue to support headline activity, but domestic demand has softened notably.” They added, “Moreover, the boost from exports has not translated into a stronger labour market or meaningful profit improvement, limiting the pass-through from external demand to domestic growth.”

China’s export figures, scheduled for release on Tuesday, are expected to show continued solid growth in June, though at a slightly reduced pace. Companies have been rushing shipments to the United States ahead of potential new tariffs, capitalizing on the AI-driven demand surge and cutting prices aggressively to attract budget-conscious buyers around the world.

Financial markets are keeping a close eye on a Politburo meeting anticipated for late July, which could offer signals about upcoming policy moves for the remainder of the year. However, analysts do not expect Beijing to take dramatic action unless growth deteriorates more significantly, given that exports remain resilient and Chinese officials are focused on reining in excess factory output to combat deflation.

Looking ahead, the Reuters poll projects GDP growth will tick up slightly to 4.6% in the third quarter before easing back to 4.5% in the fourth. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, the economy is expected to have expanded just 0.9% in the second quarter, compared to 1.3% in the first three months of the year.

For all of 2026, China’s GDP growth is forecast to cool to 4.6%, down from 5.0% last year, with a further dip to 4.4% projected for 2027. The Chinese government is scheduled to release its official second-quarter GDP figures alongside June data on retail sales, industrial output, and investment on July 15 at 0200 GMT.

Economists widely expect China to lean on government spending to cushion any further economic deceleration. The country’s central bank has limited flexibility to make major interest rate moves, even after the recent easing in oil prices. Beijing has set a budget deficit target of roughly 4% of GDP for 2026 and plans significant bond issuance to support growth.

The government is also expected to ramp up fiscal spending after a slowdown in the second quarter that followed a front-loaded burst of support earlier in the year.

Capital Economics wrote in a note that “China’s growth should pick up over the second half of this year as fiscal support ramps up,” but cautioned that “domestic overcapacity will remain entrenched, leaving China’s economy reliant on exports for growth.”

According to the Reuters poll, analysts expect China’s central bank to hold its key policy rate — the seven-day reverse repo rate — steady for the rest of 2026. The weighted average reserve requirement ratio is also expected to remain unchanged in the third quarter, with a possible 20-basis-point reduction in the fourth quarter. The central bank has kept both policy rates and reserve requirements on hold since May 2025, relying instead on short-term liquidity measures to maintain supportive funding conditions while it overhauls its broader monetary policy approach.

On inflation, polled analysts estimate Chinese consumer prices will rise about 1.2% this year — below the government’s approximately 2% target — with that pace holding steady into 2027.

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Monday that its forces had carried out an attack on the port of Chornomorsk in Ukraine, located near the city of Odesa, resulting in significant damage to the facility.

According to the ministry’s statement, the strikes targeted port infrastructure being used to offload military supplies, as well as fuel storage tanks and a warehouse storing ammunition.

Russian forces also reportedly struck two ferries and a container ship during the operation.

Ukrainian agricultural company Kernel Holding announced Monday that it had halted all operations at Chornomorsk after its facilities there suffered extensive damage during Russian missile and drone attacks that took place over the nights of July 10 through July 12.

As of Monday, Ukrainian authorities had not issued any public response to Russia’s claims.

The strikes come amid growing tensions in the more than four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow has signaled it may further escalate the war after Ukraine targeted Russian oil refineries and tankers in recent weeks, a campaign that has triggered severe fuel shortages within Russia.

India has turned down a quick trade agreement with the United States and is digging in for a better deal, according to officials and analysts familiar with the situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is drawing confidence from new trading partnerships, improved economic conditions, and recent political victories at home.

Months of negotiations between the two countries failed to produce even a limited interim agreement during U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s visit to New Delhi last month — despite expectations from both sides that a narrow deal was close.

The talks broke down because Washington did not offer guarantees on India’s core demands: a tariff edge over rivals like China and a promise of no additional U.S. levies once a deal is struck, according to an Indian government official familiar with the negotiations.

“Our position is clear — we don’t intend to rush into a deal that is not on favourable terms or compromise on red lines like ceding ground on agriculture,” the official said.

The U.S. had been hoping for swift trade concessions from the strategic partner as President Donald Trump prepares to roll out new tariffs expected to take effect later this month. India’s refusal to budge risks higher duties on its exports and extended uncertainty for businesses in both countries.

The day after the Greer talks concluded, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal publicly stated that any U.S. deal would not move forward unless India is guaranteed an advantage — a clear signal that New Delhi is not feeling pressure to act quickly, even with higher tariffs looming.

Currently, most Indian goods entering the U.S. face a 10% tariff, in line with most other countries. But the Trump administration is expected to announce steeper tariffs later this month through trade investigations into what it calls excess industrial capacity — a charge India has denied.

Washington has also already proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on dozens of countries, including India, over claims those nations failed to stop trade in goods produced using forced labor.

A U.S. source familiar with the negotiations said Washington’s view is that India must make its own concessions to earn the preferential trade treatment it has been seeking.

Both the Indian official and the U.S. source spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. Neither the Indian trade ministry nor the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative responded to requests for comment.

A U.S. official, also speaking anonymously, said Washington is still engaged with India and expects an agreement to be reached eventually, though no timeline was given. The official also noted that India has at times been slow, bureaucratic, and difficult during negotiations — suggesting a quick resolution is unlikely.

When asked about the impasse, White House spokesman Kush Desai said: “The Trump administration continues to productively engage with Indian officials to finalise a historic trade deal that puts Americans and America First.”

India’s position at the negotiating table has been strengthened by several economic developments. Between April and June, India’s total goods exports climbed roughly 15% compared to the same period a year ago, helped by higher petroleum prices, despite disruptions from the war on Iran.

Exports to Gulf countries have bounced back to pre-war levels, jumping to $5.3 billion in May from $2.62 billion in March, as traders found alternative shipping routes. Exports to the United States also edged higher, reaching $17.29 billion during April and May combined.

India is also expanding its reach in other major markets. A free trade agreement with the United Kingdom is set to take effect this month, and a deal with the European Union is anticipated by early next year.

“Indian negotiators have gained some leverage in the talks, given its strong economy, diversification initiatives with other partners, and its strategic standing in the world,” said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Washington-based Asia Society Policy Institute and a former U.S. trade official.

An interim peace deal between the U.S. and Iran has also eased oil prices, improving India’s economic outlook, according to Goldman Sachs economist Santanu Sengupta. The bank raised its 2026 growth forecast for India to 6.8% and lowered its inflation and current-account deficit projections — giving New Delhi more economic breathing room to hold out for better terms. A weaker rupee has additionally boosted the competitiveness of Indian exporters.

India is also keeping a close eye on potential legal and political challenges to U.S. trade actions. A coalition of 22 Democratic state attorneys general has already filed objections to the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs stemming from the forced labor investigations.

Trade analysts say the legal uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs, combined with Modi’s recent state election victories, have given India more reason to resist a rushed agreement.

Senior figures within Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party have publicly argued that any trade deal must protect Indian farmers and small businesses — two politically powerful groups that New Delhi has historically shielded in trade negotiations.

“India realises that delaying — or even abandoning — a rushed deal may be more prudent than locking into obligations whose costs could far exceed any temporary tariff relief,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative and a former trade negotiator.

A South Korean court handed down a two-year prison sentence Monday to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, finding him guilty of illegally accepting opinion polling services valued at 270 million won — roughly $179,800 — from a political broker without paying for them, according to local media reports.

The Seoul Central District Court determined that Yoon broke political funding laws when he received 14 separate rounds of polling at no cost. The court also found that he later used his political influence to secure a nomination for a former lawmaker as a way of repaying the broker.

Yoon had pushed back against the accusations, maintaining that he never asked for the polls and made no promises in exchange for them.

The ruling stood in contrast to earlier court decisions involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee, which had concluded there was no evidence of a quid pro quo arrangement tied to the same polling services.

Yoon’s legal team has the option to appeal Monday’s decision.

The 65-year-old former president is currently entangled in eight separate legal cases. Among the most serious, he is appealing a life sentence handed down in February after a court convicted him of leading an insurrection connected to his brief declaration of martial law in 2024.

Adding to his legal woes, the South Korean Supreme Court last week issued a final ruling upholding a seven-year prison sentence against him for interfering with authorities who attempted to arrest him.

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s parliament is expected to pass a constitutional amendment on Monday that would remove President Tamas Sulyok from office, as new Prime Minister Peter Magyar continues his push to dismantle the political infrastructure left behind by former leader Viktor Orban.

Magyar, whose party Tisza swept to power in a landslide election this past April, ending Orban’s 16-year grip on the country, described Sulyok in a Saturday Facebook post as a “puppet” of the former premier. Magyar announced that parliament would vote on the constitutional change Monday, and warned that if Sulyok fails to sign the legislation within five days, impeachment proceedings would be initiated.

While Hungary’s president holds limited authority — primarily the ability to veto or request reviews of legislation — the office carries significant symbolic weight.

Tisza holds a supermajority in parliament, giving it the power to amend the constitution and reverse changes made under Orban’s government that Magyar says undermined democratic institutions. The party has already moved quickly on several fronts, including suspending news broadcasts on state-run television and radio last week as part of a broader effort to make public media more independent.

Sulyok served a decade as a Constitutional Court judge before parliament appointed him to the presidency in 2024. He has maintained that he has no political agenda and has pushed back against the amendment, requesting a review from the Venice Commission — an advisory body under the Council of Europe that evaluates whether constitutional changes meet democratic standards. The Venice Commission has declined to comment on the matter.

Orban’s Fidesz party staged a protest in support of Sulyok last Thursday, though Orban himself did not attend.

Before the vote, Magyar is expected to address parliament at 1:00 p.m. local time. The legislation being considered would also cap lawmakers’ terms at 12 years and states that its purpose is to ensure “the preconditions for the restoration of constitutional democracy.”

The amendment would bring Sulyok’s term to an immediate end, citing the public’s “serious loss of confidence” in him. Parliament would then elect a replacement president to serve either until a new constitution takes effect or for a maximum of five years, whichever comes first. Magyar’s government has indicated it plans to pursue broader constitutional reform this autumn.

A fire at a beer hall in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, has left at least 27 people dead and dozens more injured, sparking an investigation into what caused the blaze and why the death toll was so high — including whether emergency exits may have been blocked.

The fire at Na Ladprao bar in northern Bangkok ranks among the deadliest club fires in Thailand since New Year’s Day 2009, when 67 people lost their lives in a nightclub blaze.

The tragedy is a grim reminder of a long history of deadly fires at bars, nightclubs, and music venues across the globe. Here is a look at some of the worst:

January 2026: On New Year’s Day, a fire tore through a bar at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in the early morning hours, killing 41 people and injuring more than 100.

December 2025: A fire swept through a popular nightclub in Arpora village in India’s Goa state, claiming the lives of 25 people, including kitchen workers and tourists.

March 2025: A fire and subsequent stampede at the packed Pulse club in Kocani, North Macedonia, killed 63 people — most of them young partygoers — and left more than 200 injured. The fire was triggered by a pyrotechnic flame that spread across the club’s roof.

April 2024: A fire at the Masquerade nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, trapped workers inside while the venue was shut down for renovations. Twenty-nine people died. The club was located on the ground and basement floors of a 16-story residential building.

October 2023: A fire that began at a nightclub in the southeastern Spanish city of Murcia spread to two neighboring clubs, resulting in 13 deaths.

January 2022: A nightclub in Sorong, in Indonesia’s West Papua province, caught fire after two groups clashed inside the building, killing 19 people.

January 2022: A fire at Liv’s Nightclub Yaouba in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, triggered a series of explosions that killed 17 people. Government officials attributed the fire to fireworks.

December 2016: Thirty-six people died when fire broke out at a converted warehouse in Oakland, California, known as the “Ghost Ship,” which served as both a residence and an event space for artists. The blaze erupted during an electronic music and dance party and spread so rapidly that people were trapped on an illegally built second floor.

October 2015: A pyrotechnics display by a rock band at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, sparked a fire that killed 64 people and injured roughly 190 others.

January 2013: More than 200 people were killed in a fire at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, a city in southern Brazil. Investigators determined that soundproofing foam on the ceiling ignited and released toxic gases that rapidly killed those attending a university party.

December 2009: An indoor fireworks display set off a blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia, when the sparks ignited a plastic ceiling adorned with branches. About 152 people died.

January 2009: An indoor fireworks show following a New Year’s countdown ignited a fire at the Santika club in Bangkok, Thailand, killing 67 people and injuring many more. Victims perished from burns, smoke inhalation, and being crushed in the chaos.

September 2008: A fireworks display at the overcrowded King of Dancers nightclub in Shenzhen, China, ignited the ceiling and triggered a deadly stampede. Forty-four people were killed.

December 2004: In Buenos Aires, Argentina, a flare set fire to ceiling foam at the packed Cromagnon Republic club, killing 194 people. Club owner Omar Chaban was later sentenced to 20 years in prison for causing the fatal fire and for bribery, while others involved received lesser sentences.

February 2003: One hundred people died and more than 200 were hurt when fireworks used by a performing band ignited flammable foam inside the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

January 2001: Fourteen people were killed and more than 200 injured in a fire at a cafe in the Dutch town of Volendam, where patrons were ringing in the New Year.

December 2000: A fire blamed on a welding accident killed 309 people at a disco in the central Chinese city of Luoyang.

Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor who became a household name playing paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the dinosaur blockbuster “Jurassic Park,” has passed away at the age of 78.

His family shared the news on social media, saying Neill’s death occurred in Sydney and was “sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.” Just this past April, Neill had publicly announced he had beaten blood cancer.

Throughout his career, critics praised Neill as “versatile” and “reliably excellent.” He took on leading roles across a wide spectrum of genres — from a submarine officer in the 1990 action-thriller “The Hunt for Red October” to portraying the anti-Christ in 1981’s “Omen III.”

He also appeared alongside Holly Hunter in the Oscar-winning “The Piano” (1993) and opposite Meryl Streep in 1988’s “Evil Angels,” which was also released under the title “A Cry in the Dark.”

Neill was born in Omagh, a town in Northern Ireland, under the name Nigel John Dermot Neill. He relocated to New Zealand at age seven when his father, a New Zealander, left the army and chose to return to his homeland.

At 11 years old, he adopted the name Sam. In his 2023 memoir “Did I ever tell you this?,” he explained the reasoning: “to land in a primary school with a plum in the voice and Nigel for a name was asking for trouble.” He wrote that Sam was “easy to say, sounds friendly, sounds a bit blokey and has a touch of Labrador about it.”

By his own description, he was a “wonky, nerdy, unsporty, stuttering boy,” but school theater gave him his first taste of performing. He landed small parts in school productions, including playing a bridesmaid in “The Pirates of Penzance.” As he recalled in his memoir, “I liked getting a laugh.”

His career got its start with the low-budget New Zealand film “Sleeping Dogs” in 1977, which drew enough attention to open doors for higher-profile roles in Australia. Even as his international profile grew, Neill regularly returned to New Zealand to work. Among his most cherished roles at home was the grumpy Hector in the 2016 film “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” directed by Taika Waititi.

He came close to a very different kind of fame in the mid-1980s when he screen-tested for the role of James Bond. However, he admitted his heart wasn’t in it and that he felt uncomfortable throughout the daylong audition. “You never want to be the Bond that no one likes — that’s a fate worse than death,” he once said on an Australian breakfast television program.

Over the course of his career, Neill received three Golden Globe nominations and two Primetime Emmy nominations. He took home three Australian television awards, including one in 2025 for “The Twelve.”

In 2022, after declining the honor for years, Neill accepted a knighthood recognizing his outstanding contribution to film. He said he agreed to accept it because he believed it was important for all the arts to receive recognition. “Acting might look easy, but it’s actually very hard. In fact, if it looks like it’s easy, it means that the actor is doing something very hard, very well,” he said.

Neill was married and divorced twice. In his later years, he divided his time between Australia and his vineyard in New Zealand’s Central Otago region. He launched his wine label “Two Paddocks” in 1997, producing Pinot Noir from land he owned there — a pursuit he called both thrilling and demanding.

He delighted fans on social media by regularly sharing photos of animals on his farm, many of which he named after celebrity friends, including a hen named Laura Dern and a bull named Graham Norton. He had also recently spoken out publicly against a proposed new mine in the area.

He is survived by two sons and two daughters.

MOSCOW — Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, announced Monday that it had stopped a large-scale Ukrainian plot to strike two military air bases located far inside Russian territory, according to state news agency TASS.

TASS reported the FSB’s statement indicating that Ukrainian intelligence operatives had been planning attacks on the Shagol air base, situated in Russia’s Ural mountains region, and the Ukrainka air base, located in Russia’s far east. Officials stated that those involved in carrying out the attacks have since been detained.

According to the FSB, Ukraine’s plan involved using balloons and unmanned drones to transport containers packed with smaller drones into Russia’s Bryansk region. From there, the drones were intended to be moved overland to the two targeted military installations.

The disrupted plot bears a striking resemblance to an earlier 2025 attack that successfully struck Russian military air bases — including the Ukrainka facility — which the United States said resulted in the destruction of roughly 10 Russian aircraft.

New Zealand actor Sam Neill died unexpectedly on Monday at the age of 78, not long after recovering from cancer, according to a statement released by his family.

Tributes began pouring in from around the world following the announcement of his passing.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took to social media to honor the actor, writing: “Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance. He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also paid his respects online, saying: “Sir Sam Neill was one of the greats. He started out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today – one of our greatest cultural exports.”

U.S. and Iranian forces have traded heavy missile and drone strikes, with Iran targeting American military facilities across multiple Gulf nations and again declaring the critical Strait of Hormuz closed — a move that sent global oil prices climbing.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced Monday that they had struck U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, taken out radar systems in Oman, and hit fuel storage and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan. The attacks were described as a response to the latest wave of American strikes.

The exchange represents the most recent chapter in an ongoing cycle of attacks and counter-strikes, as Iran attempts to assert authority over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Military analysts noted that this latest barrage was more intense and far-reaching than previous rounds.

The U.S. military reported that its forces struck Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar installations, missile and drone capabilities, and small watercraft during Sunday operations, deploying aircraft, naval ships, and drones.

The renewed fighting has cast serious doubt on the future of an interim agreement between the two countries, signed just last month, which was designed to reopen the strait and bring an end to the conflict following an additional 60 days of diplomatic negotiations.

In a brief phone call with Reuters on Sunday afternoon, President Donald Trump commented on the weekend’s military activity against Iran. “We’re beating them up,” he said.

Over the past week, Trump has indicated he views the ceasefire as effectively finished, though he has left open the possibility of further talks.

Iran’s lead negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, took to X on Sunday with a pointed message: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

The conflict, which began when the U.S. and Israel launched military action against Iran on February 28, has created widespread instability throughout the Gulf region. Iran has struck American bases in multiple countries, and its effective blockade of the strait has driven energy costs higher and contributed to global inflation.

In a Monday statement, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards declared that the only path to restoring normal shipping through the strait was for the U.S. to halt its military operations in the waterway. They warned that “continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector.”

Brent crude oil prices jumped 4.3% on Monday, reaching $79.31 per barrel, though that figure remains well below the highs seen earlier in the conflict.

Rising fuel costs, particularly at the gas pump, carry significant political weight for Trump as November’s congressional elections approach.

U.S. officials reported that roughly 20 ships had been escorted through the strait in the prior 24-hour period, though vessel tracking services showed minimal maritime traffic actually moving through the waterway.

Iran has been working to establish a permanent toll system for ships passing through the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Iran has warned ships not to sail through without its approval.

Late Saturday, Iran announced it had closed the waterway after firing a warning shot that struck a vessel traveling on what it called an unauthorized route. On Sunday, it reported disabling a second ship.

Iran’s newly established Persian Gulf Strait Authority said Sunday that passage through the strait was not currently possible, citing what it called “recent illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region.” The authority said permits would be granted “as soon as stability and calm are restored.”

The U.S. — which earlier in the week revoked a license that had exempted Iranian crude oil sales from sanctions — maintained that its forces were in position to protect freedom of navigation despite what it characterized as “aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations” from Iran. “Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,” U.S. officials stated.

The U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center repeated its guidance that, despite serious security risks, an “expanded” southern route near Oman remained open for two-way ship traffic.

On Saturday, U.S. Central Command reported that American forces had struck 140 Iranian military targets, with more than 300 total targets hit over three nights that week, aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels in the strait.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said over the weekend that they had destroyed a command-and-control center and drone storage facilities in Jordan, hit a U.S. radar site and rocket launcher systems in Kuwait, attacked U.S. aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman, and destroyed a jet maintenance center and command facility in Qatar.

South Korea’s government announced Monday that it intends to put together a record-setting budget of more than 800 trillion won — equivalent to approximately $530.97 billion — for the 2027 fiscal year, with the windfall from a thriving AI chip sector helping to make it possible.

Budget Minister Park Hong-keun made the announcement during a national fiscal strategy meeting, explaining that the spending plan would be funded through a combination of increased tax collections and cuts to existing expenditures. The proposed figure represents a significant jump from the current year’s spending plan of 727.9 trillion won, not counting any supplementary budgets.

The government identified three so-called “mega-projects” as top fiscal priorities: investments in semiconductor chips, AI data centers, and physical AI technology. Officials said funding for these initiatives would come largely from a sweeping overhaul of current spending programs rather than depending entirely on new tax revenue.

President Lee Jae Myung pledged that the government would use every tool at its disposal to keep corporate investment plans on track.

“Additional tax revenue coming at this time is a precious resource to be used at a golden time when global AI dominance will be determined,” Lee said.

Budget Minister Park added that the government plans to restructure roughly 50 trillion won in spending — double what was done the previous year — by reviewing both discretionary and mandatory expenditures and eliminating programs that have underperformed.

South Korea also announced the creation of a Future Response Fund, a strategic investment vehicle designed to channel tax revenues that exceed long-term projections into four key areas: opportunities for youth, economic growth engines, regional development, and talent cultivation.

(Exchange rate: $1 = 1,506.69 won)

New Zealand actor Sam Neill, widely recognized for his iconic performances in “Jurassic Park” and “The Piano,” passed away Monday at the age of 78, according to a statement from his family.

Neill died in Sydney, and his family described the death as “sudden and unexpected” in a message shared on the actor’s social media accounts. No specific cause of death was given.

Back in 2023, Neill had publicly revealed a diagnosis of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Despite that battle, his family noted he “remained cancer free” at the time of his death.

Throughout his career, Neill was celebrated as a polished and adaptable performer, equally at home in art-house cinema and major Hollywood productions. He famously evaded velociraptors in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and portrayed Holly Hunter’s husband in the critically acclaimed drama “The Piano.” Neill was among a generation of actors and directors — including Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir, and Gillian Armstrong — who rose to international prominence during a creative surge in Australian filmmaking that began in the late 1970s.

HANOI, Vietnam — The remains of 15 Indian tourists who lost their lives in a deadly speedboat accident off the coast of southern Vietnam last week were transported back to India on Monday.

The vessel, which was carrying 32 Indian tourists along with four Vietnamese crew members, capsized near the shore on Saturday afternoon shortly after departing from Hon May Rut Ngoai island, located near Phu Quoc — Vietnam’s largest island — according to authorities.

The boat’s captain, Nguyen Hong Hai, 57, is now under investigation on suspicion of violating waterway transportation safety regulations, according to state media reports.

A flight carrying the victims’ remains departed from Ho Chi Minh City and was expected to arrive in Mumbai late Monday, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi announced via social media. The embassy indicated that home state authorities were asked to help coordinate further transportation for the families. Among those killed, ten were from Tamil Nadu state, three were from Andhra Pradesh, and two were from Kerala.

The tourists were part of a company-sponsored trip organized by Lava International, a manufacturer of smartphones and consumer electronics, for its employees, distributors, and retail partners, according to a statement from the company.

The Indian Embassy had previously reported that 16 survivors were discharged from the hospital and had begun making their way back to India, while one person remained hospitalized in critical condition in Vietnam.

Hon May Rut island sits roughly 10 kilometers, or about 6 miles, south of Phu Quoc, a well-known beach destination that draws millions of visitors from both within Vietnam and abroad each year. Both locations are celebrated for their white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters.

India has become one of the fastest-growing sources of tourism for Vietnam in recent years.

New Zealand actor Sam Neill has passed away suddenly at the age of 78, his family confirmed in a statement released Monday.

The family shared the news through Neill’s Instagram account, writing: “The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.”

Neill, widely recognized for his starring role in Jurassic Park, had publicly announced just this past April that he had successfully beaten stage-three blood cancer following medical treatment.

ATHENS, Greece — When Christopher Nolan’s big-screen take on “The Odyssey” hits theaters Friday, it arrives with enormous worldwide buzz — and a fair share of debate over who was chosen to play its iconic roles. But in Greece, where Homer’s ancient epic is a cornerstone of education, the reaction is far more measured.

Discussions about adaptations of classic works often center on how faithfully they stick to the original. Yet in a nation where Homer’s tale is part of every school curriculum, many Greeks point out that the story has survived for close to 3,000 years not in spite of being reinterpreted, but because of it.

“What we want children to understand is that every new creation is exactly that — a new creation,” said Filippos Mantzaris, a teacher who instructs seventh graders on “The Odyssey.”

The film features Matt Damon in the role of King Odysseus alongside a roster of well-known Hollywood performers. It follows Homer’s framework: a king’s long journey home from war, navigating gods and monsters, only to discover his palace has been taken over by rivals vying for his throne.

In Greece, “The Odyssey” is part of the standard seventh-grade curriculum in every classroom across the country.

In Mantzaris’ class, students enthusiastically discuss Odysseus’ clashes with mythical creatures and the various trials he faces. The lessons push students to weigh the hero’s cleverness against his physical might, wrestle with whether revenge can be morally justified, question whether a war-weary king is truly someone to admire, and debate whether his slaughter of his wife’s suitors was right. Through role-playing activities, children are asked to put themselves in Odysseus’ shoes.

“It’s an amazing literary text, with which children can identify, perhaps see Odysseus in themselves, but also see their own homeland,” Mantzaris said.

Twelve-year-old Kyriakos Agapiou, a student in Mantzaris’ class, said the poem taught him “that everything is possible and we should never give up.”

Farm scientist Nikos Varelas took his 4-year-old son to see a stage version of the story after the two had already read youth editions of both “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” together at home.

“It is our duty as parents, as Greeks,” Varelas said.

Actor Manos Pintzis, who played Odysseus in that local theatrical production, said bringing the story to life on stage helps young audiences connect with mythology in ways that reading alone cannot achieve.

“You don’t tell a child, ‘Just read the story because you have to,’ because the child will resist when something is forced on them,” Pintzis said. “When the child sees all of this unfolding before their eyes — that becomes a valuable step toward learning, to willingly learn what they’re expected to study.”

Back in the United States, particularly in conservative circles, much of the pre-release discussion has focused less on Nolan’s storytelling and more on his casting decisions. Elon Musk declared that Nolan had desecrated “The Odyssey” after Black actress Lupita Nyong’o was announced as Helen of Troy — even though Musk had not yet seen the film. Conservative commentators, including Matt Walsh, argued the movie placed identity politics above artistic merit, drawing comparisons to past backlash over the casting of Black and Latino actors in beloved roles.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Nolan responded that criticism “comes with the territory,” and added that “these conversations that happen before people see the film — they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.”

Nolan also told the AP that his goal was to make the film accessible and relatable, and “not look back to sort of past Hollywood versions of how to take on the ancient world.”

“You want to question people’s assumptions about how things should be portrayed in movies and what those are based on,” he said. “There’s a challenge to that and a risk to that. But my hope is that by creating a cohesive world, people understand the world as they watch the movie and they feel they understand it.”

In Greece, however, that controversy has gained little traction. Greeks are well accustomed to seeing non-Greek actors portray figures from their ancient history. Scotsman Gerard Butler famously shouted “This is Sparta!” as King Leonidas in “300.” Oklahoma native Brad Pitt took on the role of Achilles in “Troy.” Ireland’s Colin Farrell played Alexander the Great, with Angelina Jolie cast as his mother. And Anthony Quinn’s portrayal of a Greek character in the 1964 film “Zorba the Greek” remains one of the most cherished screen performances in the country’s memory.

Nolan’s cast continues that tradition, featuring Nyong’o, Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron, with narration provided by rapper Travis Scott.

One exception to Greece’s general indifference is the small nationalist party Niki, which has spoken out against both the casting and a Greek government decision to provide approximately 6 million euros — roughly $6.9 million — in subsidies to support filming in Greece. The party accused Greek taxpayers of being made to fund what it called the imposition of “woke-type ideology” on Greek history and cultural identity, citing Musk’s comments in support of its position.

Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni pushed back sharply on that criticism.

“It is not the state’s role to dictate to a creator how they should artistically interpret a work or a myth,” she told the Greek popular culture magazine Lifo. “Can we seriously be having a conversation about whether the state should censor Christopher Nolan?”

Christos Tsagalis, a professor of ancient Greek literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, said that in the end, audiences will decide whether Nolan’s interpretation succeeds. What truly counts, he said, is whether the film captures something essential about one of the greatest stories ever told.

Homer’s works have lasted through the ages by transcending their origins and becoming part of a shared human experience, Tsagalis said.

“I think it’s wonderful that something that is created at a specific point in time by a given people is shared by so many people across the globe… It’s shared culture,” he said.

“It’s a fascinating story,” he added. “It is like a movie.”

Oil prices surged and stock markets across Asia fell broadly Monday following a series of military exchanges between the United States and Iran that have reignited concerns about global energy supplies.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil pricing, climbed 3.9% to $78.96 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude rose 4% to reach $74.26 per barrel.

Both oil benchmarks had recently returned to pre-war levels after the two nations reached a temporary agreement to pause hostilities and oil tankers resumed passage through the Strait of Hormuz. That progress was reversed over the weekend when Iran attacked a container ship in the strait, setting it on fire and leaving one crew member unaccounted for. In response, the U.S. launched multiple waves of airstrikes on Iran that continued into Monday morning. Iran then struck back by targeting multiple countries throughout the Middle East.

U.S. stock futures retreated in response to the escalation. The contract tied to the S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, the Dow futures fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite futures slid 1%.

Across Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.1% to 67,786.86. South Korea’s Kospi fell sharply, declining 5.6% to 7,060.69. South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix, which had surged 13% in its Wall Street debut on Friday, tumbled 10.6% in Seoul trading. Its larger competitor Samsung Electronics also fell, dropping 6.7%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the regional trend, edging up 0.1% to 24,202.41. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 1.2% to 3,947.34, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.3% to 8,777.00.

On Friday, U.S. stocks had finished higher, driven by continued investor enthusiasm for companies benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom. The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.3%. Nvidia was the biggest single contributor to Friday’s S&P 500 gains, rising 4%.

SK Hynix made its Wall Street debut Friday afternoon after raising approximately $26.5 billion by selling American depositary shares at $149 each. The company’s stock in Seoul had already surged more than 600% over the past year, fueled by surging demand for computer memory tied to the AI boom. However, concerns have grown that AI-related stock valuations may have risen too far and that massive global spending on chips and data centers may not generate enough productivity and profit growth to justify the investment.

Those concerns have caused significant volatility among AI-related stocks, which have become some of Wall Street’s most influential due to their enormous market sizes.

Investors are also turning their attention to the upcoming corporate earnings season, when companies will report their spring profits. Firms across multiple sectors will need to show strong profit growth to support their current stock prices, which remain near record highs. Next Tuesday alone, major banks including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo are all scheduled to release earnings.

The ongoing conflict with Iran is adding uncertainty to the economic outlook by threatening to push energy prices higher, which could fuel broader inflation. Elevated bond yields have already been pressuring financial markets globally, as rising oil costs and persistent inflation could prompt the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates. While higher rates can help bring inflation under control, they also slow economic growth and weigh on investment values across the board.

Western allies are convening in Paris on Monday with the goal of securing additional air defense pledges for Ukraine, as ammunition shortages have left the country increasingly exposed to Russian ballistic missile attacks — even as momentum on the ground has shown some signs of shifting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is attending the Coalition of the Willing meeting alongside at least 25 other world leaders. The gathering is part of a broader effort that includes developing a unified position that could be presented to Russia, as well as working out security guarantees to support any future peace agreement.

The Paris summit follows closely on the heels of a NATO meeting that sought to demonstrate transatlantic unity and lasting support for Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Russia carried out missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, killing eight people and wounding dozens more, according to officials. Zelenskiy responded by urging allies to speed up weapons deliveries to Kyiv.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot addressed the urgency of the situation in an interview with Ouest-France newspaper on Sunday. “The ballistic missiles launched by Vladimir Putin are deliberately targeting civilian zones and June was one of the most murderous months since the start of the war,” he said.

Russia maintains that it only strikes targets with military significance and denies deliberately attacking civilians.

A French presidency official, speaking to reporters, said the summit’s primary focus would be anti-ballistic missile cooperation. That includes efforts to obtain more U.S. Patriot interceptors, advance the deployment of the Franco-Italian SAMP-T air defense system, and explore how European and Ukrainian defense industries might develop alternative solutions.

One possibility being considered involves multiple European countries working together on a system that would work alongside SAMP-T and/or Patriot, with Ukraine playing a meaningful role in its production.

Ukraine’s stockpiles of munitions for its air defense systems are critically low, and the country has been largely unable to intercept ballistic missiles — which travel at several times the speed of sound — over the past month. Ukraine has been pressing allies for more supplies and has also urged Europe to collaborate with it on developing its own anti-ballistic missile defense system.

As Russian strikes have intensified, Ukraine has also stepped up drone attacks deep inside Russian territory, focusing on oil infrastructure and weapons manufacturing in an effort to weaken Moscow’s economic capacity to sustain the war.

Leaders at the summit will also discuss ways to cut into Russia’s revenue streams, particularly targeting the so-called “shadow fleet” — tankers with murky ownership structures used to ship Russian oil while evading international oversight.

The European Union is also expected to adopt a 21st package of sanctions against Russia in the coming week.

French President Emmanuel Macron has indicated there will be announcements on Monday, some of them bilateral, potentially involving joint arms production agreements.

Macron also said the coalition could announce joint military exercises as part of broader efforts to make the concept of a future multinational force in Ukraine a practical reality rather than just an idea.

“What must be remembered is that the MNFU consists of land, air, sea and training. All of these pillars are intended to be tested continuously, to varying degrees, with all participants in order to guarantee their credibility,” the French presidency official said, adding: “It’s not a question of conducting exercises in Ukraine.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Missile alert sirens blared across Bahrain for the second time Monday as Iran struck back against the United States following a new wave of American airstrikes targeting Iranian territory.

Residents of the island nation, which serves as home base for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, were warned to seek shelter immediately. No immediate reports of casualties or damage were available following Monday morning’s attacks.

The U.S. military announced it had concluded its most recent round of strikes against Iran after hitting dozens of targets. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard confirmed it had begun launching retaliatory strikes in response.

The conflict escalated after the United States launched multiple waves of strikes on Iran stretching into Monday morning. The military action followed an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, which set the vessel on fire and left one crew member missing.

Iran’s state media confirmed the latest strikes on Iranian soil early Monday, reporting explosions at several locations and acknowledging at least one death.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said its forces struck dozens of sites, including air defense systems, radar installations, missile and drone equipment, and small boats. The command also addressed the central issue now threatening to reignite the broader conflict — control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas once flowed.

A devastating fire tore through a popular pub in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city, killing 27 people and leaving 22 others in critical condition, according to officials speaking on Monday.

The tragedy is far from an isolated incident. Thailand has experienced numerous deadly fires over the years, with some of the most notable incidents listed below:

December 29, 2024: A hotel fire near Bangkok’s well-known backpacker district claimed the lives of three foreign nationals — one each from the United States, Brazil, and Ukraine.

October 1, 2024: A school bus transporting more than 40 students and teachers on a field trip burst into flames on the outskirts of Bangkok, killing at least 23 people.

July 30, 2023: An explosion involving firecrackers inside a warehouse in the southern province of Narathiwat, which shares a border with Malaysia, left 12 people dead and more than 100 injured.

August 5, 2022: Fire engulfed the Mountain B night club in the Sattahip district of Chonburi, located roughly 180 kilometers (about 110 miles) southeast of Bangkok. At least 13 people were killed and 35 others were hurt.

July 5, 2021: An explosion at a factory in Samut Prakan province resulted in the death of one firefighter, injuries to 29 people, and the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents.

January 1, 2009: A fire broke out at a Bangkok nightclub packed with New Year’s revelers, killing at least 65 people and injuring more than 200 others.

July 11, 1997: At least 90 lives were lost when fire ripped through a 16-story beachfront hotel in Pattaya, approximately 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) southeast of Bangkok. Authorities determined that a cooking gas explosion in the hotel’s ground-floor cafeteria ignited the blaze, which spread with alarming speed.

May 10, 1993: One of Thailand’s deadliest industrial disasters unfolded at toy manufacturer Kader Industrial in Nakhon Pathom, where a fire killed 188 workers and injured nearly 500 more.