Latest News
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Due to torrential rainfall, offices and schools in southern Taiwan have been closed
On Monday, torrential rains in southern Taiwan caused offices and schools to close. Some rail services were also disrupted. Officials are bracing themselves for a typhoon that is expected to hit the northern part of the island at the end of the week. Over the last few days, a low-pressure system hovered above southern Taiwan, causing heavy rains and flooding. Local governments in Kaohsiung, Tainan and Pingtung, which are home to a total of?more than four million people, closed offices and schools. The Kaohsiung Government said that it expects the cumulative rainfall to exceed 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) over the five-day low-pressure period, nearly half of what the city usually receives in an annual cycle. Taiwan Railway announced that there would be delays on the east coast main line, and on trains going to and from Kaohsiung or Taitung. Express services will not run and local trains are dependent on weather conditions. April Yao, Taitung's county chief, wrote on her Facebook page: "If you have nothing to wear for goodness sake do not go out." Taiwan's Central Weather Administration stated separately that Typhoon Saudel is currently?heading toward Japan's southern Okinawa area and?is expected?to pass by the northern part Taiwan on Friday morning before reaching the east coast of China. Ben Blanchard, reporting; Lincoln Feast, editing.
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Indian rescuers are searching for 22 missing people after a cargo ship sinks
Indian coastguards and navy carried out search-and rescue operations on Sunday off the eastern coast of India after a Panama flagged?bulk ship?carrying a crew of 24 sank. Two Chinese nationals were rescued. Shyam Jagannathan of India's Maritime Administration told Shyam that the two Chinese seafarers claimed the vessel called Ocean Winner developed a list and sank in eight minutes. This forced the crew to abandon the ship. Jagannathan stated that the chances of finding survivors usually fall after?the initial 12 hours. However, rescuers continued their search. Sarbananda Sonowal said, in a post on social media, that "all agencies are coordinating closely and actively doing search and recovery efforts." MISSING CREW MEMBERS According to India's Coastguard, the missing crew members includes 18 more Chinese, three Myanmarese and one Bangladeshi. In a recent post, the Indian Navy stated that it is working closely with the Coastguard to find?the missing sailors. A coastguard spokesperson confirmed that two coastguard vessels were sent from Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair), the capital of India’s Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. According to an initial report by India's Maritime Administration, the Ocean Winner carried?iron ore bound towards China after leaving India's eastern Paradip Port on Friday. According to government sources, it sank 240 nautical miles from the port. The cause of this sinking wasn't immediately known. Disha Mishra, Bengaluru (additional reporting); Mayank Bhardwaj (writing); Raju Gopalakrishnan & Helen Popper (editing)
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Iran announces that the Pakistani army chief will visit Tehran on Monday
Esmaeil baghaei, the'spokesperson' for the Iranian foreign ministry, said that Asim Munir, the Pakistani army chief, will visit Tehran on Monday in order to continue his 'efforts' to bring peace and stability to the region. Pakistan has assumed a role as a mediator in the negotiations between Iran, the U.S., and Israel to end the war that began in February with the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran. Two sources in the Pakistani government confirmed Munir’s visit. First source: Iran and Pakistan are in direct contact. Second source: The 'talks' would also cover recent developments, such as the threat by Donald Trump to impose tougher sanctions on Iran. "He (Munir) will discuss peace under Islamabad's MoU, Trump's ?warning and the ?situation after the Pakistan-Turkey-Saudi Arab Agreement and Houthi issues with Iranian leaders," the source said. The visit coincides with heightened tensions, as Iran threatens to respond militarily to U.S. sanctions plans that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic’s already-ailing economy. The announcement will be made on Monday, when U.S. officials are expected to announce details about the planned sanctions that they have described as "the most severe sanctions in history" against?Iran. Trump has warned of the economic consequences for any country providing "any kind of lifeline" to Iran as he seeks to isolate it. The Strait of Hormuz is a virtual standstill for oil shipments. Tehran has threatened to hit unauthorized oil tankers who try to?transit the vital waterway. Iran's economic situation is already being impacted by sanctions.
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Search for 22 people after Bulker sinks off India
India's Coast Guard &?Navy conducted search and rescue operations on Sunday off the east coast of India after a cargo vessel?flagged by Panama sank with a crew of?24. Two Chinese nationals were rescued. Shyam Jagannathan is the director general of India’s Maritime Administration. He told reporters that two Chinese seafarers were rescued. They said their vessel began to list and sank in eight minutes. This forced crews to abandon ship. Jagannathan stated that the chances of finding survivors usually fall sharply after 12 hour, but rescuers are continuing their search. According to the Indian Coast Guard, 22 crew members are still'missing' from Ocean Winner. These include 18 Chinese nationals, 3 Myanmar?nationals, and 1 Bangladeshi. In a recent post, the Navy stated that the Indian Navy was working closely with the Coast Guard in order to locate the rest of the crew. A Coast Guard spokesperson said that two vessels were sent from Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair) to help with the search and rescue operation. According to an initial report from India's Maritime Administration, the Ocean 'Winner' was carrying iron ore bound towards China when it left India's eastern 'Paradip' port on Friday. According to government sources, the cargo ship sank 240 nautical miles away from the port. It was not known what caused the sinking. (Disha Mishra, Bengaluru, contributed additional reporting; Mayank Bhardwaj wrote the article; Raju Gopalakrishnan edited it)
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India launches rescue operations after bulk carrier sinks near east coast
The Indian Coast Guard reported that India's maritime rescue agency had lost contact with a cargo vessel flying the Panamanian flag, which sank near the eastern coast of India. According to Commandant Amit?Uniyal?, a spokesperson for Coast Guard, the vessel was manned by 24 people, 20 of whom were Chinese, three Myanmarese and one Bangladeshi. Uniyal reported that the Coast Guard dispatched?two vessels from Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly known as Port Blair) for a search and rescue mission. The Coast Guard has rescued two people from life rafts. The agency reported that a search and rescue mission was underway for seafarers aboard the vessel. According to government sources the Ocean Winner was carrying ore from India to Singapore after leaving India's eastern Paradip Port on Thursday. They added that 240 nautical mile away, the ship sank. The cause of the sinking is unknown. Captain Alekha Charan Sahoo said that he hoped for the best and prayed for the safety of all the crew on board. Reporting by Nidhi verma, Saurabh sharma, Jatindra dash, and Disha mishra from Bengaluru. Editing by Sharon Singleton, Rod Nickel, and Rod Nickel.
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Two US tanker planes leave Bulgaria one month after their deployment infuriated Iran
Bulgaria's defence ministry announced on Saturday that two U.S. aircraft, tankers, had departed the Bezmer base in Bulgaria. This comes nearly a month after their deployment angered Iran. The United States has been at war against Iran since February 28 and requested that their temporary deployment be made under an agreement governing the?joint use of military installations. Sofia rejected the charge made by Iran that their deployment would be complicity in "aggression" and "war crimes". Defense Minister?Dimitar?Stoyanov informed reporters that two U.S. KC-135 aircraft left Bulgaria 'on Friday. It was not possible to reach the U.S. authorities for comment immediately. Residents in the area protested the deployment of the aircraft approved by Bulgarian parliament on July 22. They feared that the planes could be attacked by Iranian missiles and drones. Stoyanov stated that all of the aircraft's flights during their temporary deployment were training missions over other countries, and that Bulgaria had "no direct threats to our national safety." He said: "We work in full coordination with the U.S. Government?and have prior?information. This is why our decisions are well-founded." (Reporting and editing by Timothy Heritage, Aleksandar Vasovic)
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Seven people killed in UK when vehicle traveling the wrong way strikes police car
The local police said that seven people, including two police officers, died in a crash on Saturday in the?northeast of England after a vehicle driving 'the wrong way' down a major highway hit a marked police vehicle. The incident took place around 3:39 am (0239 GMT), near the South Bank area, east of Middlesbrough. All occupants of both vehicles died on the spot. Cleveland Police Chief Constable, Victoria Fuller said: "This tragic incident will be felt throughout Cleveland and our communities as well as the entire policing community." The police force said that it was still investigating and working to identify all of the victims. As is standard in these cases, the Independent Office for Police Conduct will review the incident. Ireland's chief of police warned this week that following two recent head on crashes near Dublin in which five people died, some young drivers were driving wrong way on the motorway "for social network likes". A?parliamentary committee in Ireland has asked TikTok how it removes "content that appears to glorify dangerous and illegal behavior?on our streets". Ireland's media regulator issued a similar demand on Tuesday. (Reporting and editing by Alexandra Hudson, Joe Bavier, and David Milliken)
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South Korea ships test Arctic commercial route amid Western concern
On Saturday, a South Korean container vessel set sail?for Europe via arctic in the nation's first commercial trip on the route. The?nation is testing its viability and hopes to turn the southeastern port of Busan into a maritime hub. The PanStar Acro is expected to sail north hugging the eastern Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, crossing the Bering Sea and taking the Northern Sea Route. It will stop in Felixstowe, Britain, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Poland's Gdansk before returning in a trip that should take between 40 and 45 days. President Lee 'Jae Myung made Arctic shipping for South Korea a priority, making it a "shipping powerhouse". Officials claim that this could transform Busan, and make the Arctic a regular trading route by 2030. The project could cause friction with Western allies who want to?keep Russia isolated? during its war in Ukraine. Seoul has spoken to Moscow about the trip, including whether or not the ship needs help if it gets stuck in the ice. The Oceans Ministry of South Korea and the Foreign Ministry of Russia did not respond when asked for comments. According to Norway's Center?for High-North Logistics, last year?88 ships made 103 transits along the route. This is up from 97 vessels in 2024 and 42 in 2022. These vessels were primarily from countries such as Russia and China. Scientists say that melting Arctic ice makes it easier to travel through the north, and the increased shipping speeds up global warming. PanStar, a South Korean container ship operator, has secured 837 TEU cargo on the government-backed trip. This includes auto parts and chemical products as well as 100 empty containers. A government official stated that the PanStar?Acro will flag off at around 8 pm (1100 GMT), depending on loading and other preparations.
Worldwide tech failure hold-ups flights and disrupts services worldwide
A global tech interruption that appeared to be connected to issues at worldwide cybersecurity company CrowdStrike and Microsoft affected operations in various sectors on Friday including airports, airlines, media and banks.
Below is a list of disruptions that have actually been reported:
AIRLINE COMPANIES, AIRPORTS
Airline companies and airports around the globe have actually alerted of hold-ups, cancellations or switched to manual check-in due to the massive IT blackout.
- Berlin airport temporarily halted all flights due to a. technical fault, a spokesperson told .
- Spanish airport operator Aena reported a. computer systems occurrence while Lisbon airport, Portugal's. biggest, also experienced disruptions. Amsterdam's Schiphol. Airport and supposedly Brussels airport were impacted as well.
- Top Dutch airline KLM said it might not handle. flights on Friday and that it suspended the majority of its operations. Air France, KLM's moms and dad business, stated that its operations were. interrupted.
- Turkish Airline companies is experiencing problems with ticketing,. check-in, and reservation, it stated in a post on X. Budapest Airport. said that numerous airline company check-in systems were out of. operation.
- Significant U.S. providers consisting of American Airlines,. Delta Airlines and United Airlines halted. flights on Friday morning mentioning communication issues. American. Airline companies later stated it had re-established operations. Frontier. and Spirit too cancelled instructions to ground planes.
- A SAS representative stated the Scandinavian airline company was. expecting delays. Australia's nationwide airline Qantas. and Sydney airport also stated airplanes were postponed however still. flying.
- Swiss air traffic control business Skyguide said it had. momentarily reduced capability in Swiss air traffic by 30% amid. the international tech blackouts.
- Indian airline companies, consisting of SpiceJet, Indigo,. Akasa Air, Vistara, Air India and Air India Express were likewise. dealing with concerns on Friday.
FINANCIALS
- Australia's largest bank, Commonwealth Bank, said. some consumers had actually been unable to transfer cash due to the. service outage.
- Several significant oil and gas trading desks in London and. Singapore were struggling to carry out trades due to a cyber. outage on Friday, 6 industry sources told .
- Macquarie Capital was unable to supply liquidity for. unexpired warrants on HKEX due to technical problems.
- South Africa's Capitec stated card payments, ATM and app. services were fully brought back following significant nationwide. disruptions connected to CrowdStrike.
- LSEG Group's Work space news and information platform. suffered an outage on Friday that affected user gain access to. worldwide, causing disruption throughout financial markets.
- Some brokerages in India are dealing with technical. problems, traders at the brokerages informed .
- German insurance provider Allianz said it was experiencing. a major blackout that is impacting workers' capability to go to to. their computer systems.
- Some German banks are dealing with disruptions amidst reports of. worldwide failures, a spokesperson for the Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft. financial market association, said on Friday, without. providing additional information.
- Barclays said its digital investing platform. Smart Financier was affected by the international tech blackout.
MEDIA
- Britain's Sky News was back on air on Friday after an. hours-long outage, however operating at very little capacity and without. a number of its usual services.
- Australia's state broadcaster ABC stated it was experiencing. a major network interruption, without giving a reason.
- Routine programming at Sky News Australia was disrupted.
EMERGENCY SITUATION SERVICES, HEALTHCARE
- England's National Health Service (NHS) said bookings of. physicians' appointments and client records were interrupted, however. emergency services had actually not been affected.
- Several medical facilities in the Netherlands had to scale down. their operations due to the fact that of the power outage, Dutch press agency. ANP reported.
- Victorian state police in Australia said some internal. systems had actually been hit by the blackout but emergency services were. running usually.
- Copenhagen's fire department stated on X it was experiencing. issues receiving immediately transmitted smoke alarm. following the blackout, and advised individuals to call 112 in case of a. fire.
- 2 medical facilities in the northern German cities of Luebeck and. Kiel have actually cancelled optional operations scheduled for Friday.
OTHER
- Critical infrastructure in Germany has been affected, an. interior ministry spokesperson said.
- New Zealand's parliamentary computer systems were also. affected, according to Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, head of the. parliamentary service.
- Australia's Telstra Group was facing interruptions. to some of its systems, a representative with the telecom company. informed on Friday.
- The Baltic Center container terminal in the Polish city of. Gdansk stated on Friday it was struck by an international interruption in Microsoft. systems and was working to resolve the issue.
- The Paris Olympics organising committee said the cyber. blackout was slowing its operations, but the effect was restricted. and ticket sales were unaffected.
- In the United Arab Emirates, some electronic systems of. the foreign affairs ministry had been impacted by the failure,. the ministry said on social networks.
(source: Reuters)