International
Portugal on alert over fears of fresh wildfire threat
AFP
Portugal, hit by a third heatwave after weeks of wildfires, was on a 24-hour national alert Monday to counter the threat posed by more blazes, authorities said.
Under its measures, the authorities have restricted access forests and banned fireworks displays, as well as stepping up the state of readiness of the emergency services.
Having only just brought under control a fire that destroyed more than 28,000 hectares (69,000 acres) in the Serra da Estrela national park, civil protection authorities said firefighters were tackling another blaze in the central northern Vila Real region.
“According to provisional estimates, this fire has burnt 4,500 hectares,” emergency and civil protection services head Andre Fernandes said of the blaze in a hard-to-access mountainous area.
Two Canadair water bomber planes sent by Greece under the terms of an EU-wide civil protection support mechanism were aiding firefighters’ efforts.
The government issued the alert Sunday after identifying a heightened risk of rural fires as temperatures look set to hit 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) Monday and Tuesday amid an ongoing severe drought.
The latest heatwave comes with Portugal having experienced its hottest July in almost a century.
Since January, the country’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests says more than 94,000 hectares of land have been laid waste to in Portugal’s worst forest fires since 2017, when a series of blazes cost dozens of lives.
Portugal last Wednesday finally extinguished a fire which had burnt more than 25,000 hectares of land in the UNESCO-listed central mountainous area of Serra da Estrela, home to diverse wildlife species including wildcats and lizards.
Minister of the Presidency Marina Vieira da Silva said after meeting mayors of affected municipalities that Lisbon was declaring “a state of natural disaster” to allow the release of rapid aid.
The government is also drawing up a “revitalisation plan” for the Serra da Estrela park.
The consensus among scientists is that climate change has increased the probability of heatwaves, leading to drought and more forest fires.
International
Afghan man sentenced to life in prison for deadly Munich vehicle attack
A German court on Thursday sentenced an Afghan man to life imprisonment for a 2025 attack in which he drove a vehicle into a trade union demonstration in Munich, killing two people and injuring around 40 others.
The Munich Higher Regional Court ruled that the 25-year-old man, identified only as Fahrad N. under German privacy laws, committed a particularly serious crime.
Presiding judge Michael Höhne said the court was convinced that the defendant deliberately drove his vehicle into the protesters from behind. He described the scene of the attack as a “real field of destruction.”
The verdict followed the request of federal prosecutors, while the defense had sought a 15-year prison sentence and admission to a psychiatric hospital.
Fahrad N. was convicted of two counts of murder and 23 counts of attempted murder, one more charge than prosecutors had requested. He was also found guilty of 19 counts of serious bodily harm and three counts of intentional injury.
The attack occurred on February 13, 2025, as Munich prepared to welcome international leaders attending the Munich Security Conference, while Germany was entering the final stage of its parliamentary election campaign.
That morning, around 1,400 people were marching through the city center in a demonstration organized by the services union Verdi. According to investigators, the Afghan national drove a BMW Mini past police officers escorting the march before intentionally crashing into the crowd.
The vehicle traveled approximately 23 meters before coming to a stop.
Fahrad N., who was interested in bodybuilding, arrived in Germany at the age of 15 as an unaccompanied minor and had his residence permit renewed. Authorities had previously considered him “well integrated” into local society.
Investigators said he later became radicalized under the influence of Afghan clerics he followed on social media in the months before the attack.
According to prosecutors, the defendant believed Western countries were responsible for the suffering of Muslim populations in Afghanistan and the Middle East, and concluded that he should “kill randomly selected people in Germany.”
International
Mexican TikTok Influencer Shot Dead While Livestreaming in Sinaloa
A Mexican influencer was shot dead Tuesday night while livestreaming on social media outside a restaurant in the violence-plagued state of Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico.
César Gastelum, who had more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, was broadcasting live with two friends while taking part in a challenge in which they dressed as food delivery workers. During the livestream, a motorcycle carrying two individuals stopped beside them, and the driver shot Gastelum in the head.
The broadcast was interrupted immediately after the attack and was later removed by the platform. However, several news outlets preserved parts of the footage and shared images of the incident.
Initial reports from local police indicated that a delivery worker had been killed. However, after reviewing the recording and gathering witness statements, authorities identified the victim as Gastelum, who was approximately 25 years old, according to local media reports. The influencer was known for sharing lifestyle-related content.
The attack took place in a busy shopping area near the Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office in Culiacán, the state capital. Military and police forces were deployed to the scene, while forensic experts collected evidence and removed the victim’s body, according to local television reports.
Sinaloa has been experiencing a wave of violence for the past two years due to internal disputes within the powerful local drug cartel.
Local media have reported that around a dozen influencers, some allegedly linked to criminal groups, have been killed in recent years in the state.
International
Iran Rejects Negotiations With U.S. as Strait of Hormuz Remains Blocked Amid New Attack
Tensions remained high in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after a vessel was hit by a projectile, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that negotiations with Iran were moving forward and that the strategic maritime route could reopen as early as Tuesday.
Tehran denied that direct talks were taking place, but Trump insisted that discussions were underway and described the situation as a final opportunity for Iran to reach an agreement.
“This is the last chance they have to sign a good document,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz could happen “literally tomorrow” Tuesday.
The comments came after another escalation in rhetoric from Washington. Last week, Trump threatened Iran with military strikes before unexpectedly changing course on Sunday and announcing that negotiations with Tehran would resume.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai rejected the U.S. president’s version of events, stating that Tehran was not holding negotiations with Washington.
“At this moment, we are not negotiating with the United States. We are negotiating with Oman to guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Baqai said.
Earlier, the Iranian official said that Tehran was close to reaching an agreement with Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz, to reopen the crucial waterway that plays a key role in global energy trade.
The maritime route has remained blocked by Iran since the outbreak of hostilities following U.S. and Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic on February 28.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced Tuesday that they had launched an attack against an airport in Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed group had previously disrupted the passage of Saudi vessels through the Red Sea, an alternative route used for crude exports by the world’s largest oil producer.
The continued instability in the region has raised concerns over global energy supplies, as the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most important chokepoints for international oil shipments.
Afghan man sentenced to life in prison for deadly Munich vehicle attack
Guatemala Declares Highest Alert in Areas Affected by Fuego Volcano Eruption
Mexican TikTok Influencer Shot Dead While Livestreaming in Sinaloa
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International3 days agoIran Rejects Negotiations With U.S. as Strait of Hormuz Remains Blocked Amid New Attack
-
International5 days agoTruck bomb attack near police station in Colombia leaves 14 injured ahead of presidential inauguration
-
International3 days agoLula Launches Re-Election Campaign Amid Rising Tensions With Trump
-
International2 days agoMexican TikTok Influencer Shot Dead While Livestreaming in Sinaloa
-
Central America2 days agoGuatemala Declares Highest Alert in Areas Affected by Fuego Volcano Eruption
-
Central America3 days agoU.S. Defense Secretary to Close Multinational Military Exercises in Panama to Protect Canal
-
International17 hours agoAfghan man sentenced to life in prison for deadly Munich vehicle attack