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Couple describes relief at rescue after whale destroys their yacht
Source: BBC News
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The Guardian
Europe ‘faces window of vulnerability until 2030,’ Dutch chief of defence warns - Europe live
Chief of defence of the Dutch armed forces, Gen Onno Eichelsheim, says Europe urgently needs to learn lessons from Ukraine Meanwhile, Ukraine’s total war costs will reach $155bn this year and the government is struggling to close a $27bn funding gap to ensure it can still conduct combat operations at the start of 2027, prime minister Sergii Koretskyi said . Koretskyi said the government planned to cover $7bn of the gap by postponing expenditure, reallocating money from other parts of the budget and cutting some costs, and was in talks with partners on how to cover the remaining $20bn, Reuters reported. Continue reading...
Al Jazeera
Iraq celebrates National Sovereignty Day as US troops withdraw
Iraq’s security forces held parades in Baghdad and Najaf to celebrate ‘Sovereignty Day’ as US troops withdraw.
BBC News
Botswana condemned for slaughtering elephants for independence celebrations
The government authorises the hunting of 23 elephants and dozens of other wild animals for independence day feasts.
Al Jazeera
‘Economic war’: Is Iran losing its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz?
Crude flows through Hormuz have recovered, but tanker insurance costs and geopolitical risks remain barriers to a return to normality.
The Guardian
Top Trump figures push to direct human rights funding to rightwing causes
Support for white Afrikaners, anti-communism and others reveals how US redefining what qualifies as human rights With hours left before the funding expires, the Trump administration is pushing to direct more than $175m of the state department’s flagship human rights fund to a slate of awards that includes a massive $40m grant for an anti-communism fund, support for a group advancing white Afrikaner rights in South Africa, a campaign against Brazil’s supreme court, and programs that would reward ideological allies in Europe who protect “western civilisational norms”. Critics have focused on 43 awards of a combined $176.9m that will bolster rightwing and conservative causes around the world while likely angering US allies over interference in internal politics. The Guardian has seen a sample of the controversial grants, which makes up most of the $205m in funding that Congress has appropri
BBC News
Russia launches largest attack on Ukraine energy infrastructure since spring
In total 11 regions of the country were attacked overnight, with residential buildings and railways also targeted, the Ukrainian PM says.