Author: staff
Published on 04/08/2026 – 9:03 GMT+2•Updated 9:04 Apple has launched a fresh legal challenge against the UK government’s demand for access to its customers’ encrypted data, months after it withdrew a security feature for UK users rather than comply with an earlier version of the same request. The US technology company filed a complaint last month with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), an independent court that examines claims of unlawful conduct by UK intelligence services. At the heart of the dispute is whether the UK government can force Apple to give it access to iCloud data that is otherwise protected…
As anyone who has ever tried photographing their pet will attest, capturing the perfect shot is easier said than done. The winners of this year’s International Pet Photography Awards make it look effortless. Founded in 2019 by Australian photographers and educators Charlotte Reeves and Craig Turner-Bullock, the annual competition has grown into what the organisers describe as the world’s largest professional pet photography awards. This year’s edition attracted more than 4,200 entries from photographers in 48 countries. From that field, a panel of 27 judges named Australian photographer Callie Soden International Pet Photographer of the Year, the competition’s highest honour.…
Firefighters in Greece were hoping to contain a wildfire on the outskirts of Athens on Tuesday that is burning for a fifth day, with easing winds enabling the use of vital aircraft. “Today, more than 30 aircraft will be deployed in the area,” enabling access to difficult mountain terrain, fire department deputy spokesperson Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT. Over 500 firefighters were deployed in villages around Mount Kithairon, some 60 kilometres northwest of the capital according to the fire service. “We want to keep the fire in a controlled situation,” Artopios said. Large areas affected by the fire still…
Four people, including three civilians, were killed by an unidentified soldier in the Black Sea city of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea, the city’s Moscow-installed governor said on Tuesday. “A tragedy in Sevastopol…According to initial information, a soldier opened fire on his fellow servicemen, killing one person, before attacking civilians and killing three of them,” Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote in a post on Telegram. He added the assailant, whose nationality was not specified and whose motives were not immediately clear, was arrested. “Emergency services, investigators and forensic experts are currently working at the scene. All the circumstances and causes of what happened…
Pulling his face away from an immersive 3D headset looking deep inside a patient’s lung, doctor Sasha Stamenković recounted the final steps of an operation using robots to remove a tumour. “We’ve done some very, very intricate operating today,” said the 60-year-old consultant thoracic surgeon. “We’ve saved a lot of lung, we’ve gone around some really, really small vessels and really small airways.” He was addressing three surgeons from another English hospital observing Stamenković using the new da Vinci 5 robotic-assisted surgical system, made by US company Intuitive. The equipment will arrive in their operating theatre later this year, part…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 9:35 GMT+2 Banyan Tree has announced the opening of its newest luxury property – a mountainside resort in China’s Sichuan province. Nestled in the heart of one of China’s most significant landscapes, the new Banyan Tree Mount Emei serves as a gateway to the Mount Emei Scenic Area, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed for “both its cultural and natural significance and known for its rich biodiversity”. “Mount Emei holds a distinctive place in China’s cultural and natural heritage,” said Philip Ding, Senior Vice President, Head of Hotel Operations, Northeast Asia and Business Development,…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 9:17 GMT+2 Beloved Filipino actress Mary Egida Rivera, who is best known for having portrayed Lola, the grandmother of Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, has died aged 82. According to an obituary online, Rivera “passed away peacefully on 15 April 2026, in Honolulu.” Rivera’s death was reported by TMZ yesterday, with the family telling the outlet the actress was placed on life support after suffering a stroke. Rivera’s obituary notes that “she was very proud” after she was cast in the Marvel blockbuster, in which she shared a scene with Batalon,…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 7:42 GMT+2 Firefighters are rushing to contain a forest blaze in the southeast of the Netherlands that spread overnight to engulf 100 hectares on Tuesday, authorities said. It was the latest in a string of wildfires to hit western Europe, following deadly heatwaves that have dried up riverbeds and vegetation, extreme weather events scientists have linked to human-made climate change. The fire started around Monday afternoon in a nature reserve near the village of Oostrum in Limburg province, close to the border with Germany. The blaze spread to 100 hectares as of early Tuesday and was…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 9:12 GMT+2 A man from El Salvador has died at an immigration prison in New Jersey that has been the target of months of protests over living conditions for people detained there, federal officials said late on Monday. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, had been held at Delaney Hall in Newark after being arrested 18 June, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lopez-Cornejo, whom the government accused of entering the US illegally, died on Saturday, the agency said. His official cause of death will be released following further medical examination, according to ICE. Democratic politicians and civil…
Published on 04/08/2026 – 8:09 GMT+2 In addition to earnings reports this week, investors were also still weighing the impact from last week’s joint US-Japan currency intervention, analysts said. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to 63,585.58, as the US dollar inched up to 157.51 Japanese yen from 157.18 yen. The euro cost $1.1511, little changed from $1.1514. The dollar was trading at 160-yen levels before regulators stepped in to boost the yen’s value after it fell to nearly 40-year lows. Some analysts said the effectiveness of such an intervention remains uncertain as it doesn’t address the fundamental economic reasons…