“Floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains have left at least seven people dead in Sri Lanka ’s tea-growing mountainous regions, forcing the closure of some schools, officials said on Tuesday. Heavy downpours over the last two days have flooded homes, fields and roads in many parts of the country. The mountainous areas in the central region are the worst hit, according to the government’s Disaster Management Center. At least five people died after being buried in mudslides that overran two houses in the central region, while two others died in floods, said Pradeep Kodippili, the center’s spokesperson. Three others have been injured. He said 291 houses had been damaged and nearly 3,500 people have been evacuated. Navy and army personnel have been deployed to rescue those trapped in the floods. Local television channel Hiru TV showed troops and civilians rescuing people trapped by floodwaters in their homes or at risk of being buried by mudflows.” (08/04/26)
“Foundations funded and co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Bezos have launched an initiative committing $200 million to revive 100 of Earth’s most threatened species, including endangered lemurs, salamanders, pangolins, pigs and echidnas. DiCaprio’s Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund are leading the Phoenix Species Project, the groups announced Tuesday. They call it the largest single fund in history dedicated exclusively to recovering critically endangered species.” (08/04/26)
“Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s migration policies faced fierce criticism as leaders from across the European Union met Tuesday following last week’s rush of migrants to the Spanish territory of Ceuta in North Africa. The sudden arrival of 72,000 migrants on Thursday and Friday sparked a humanitarian crisis in Ceuta and reignited the immigration debate in the 27-nation bloc, though most of the migrants soon went back. More than 80 migrants died, including some who drowned or were trampled in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities. Open letters from 22 EU leaders, and a quick retort from Sanchez, have exposed a roiling debate inside the EU pitting migration hawks against the progressive Spanish leader who has challenged consensus within the bloc on migration as well as NATO spending, Gaza and Israel.” (08/04/26)
“New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced on Tuesday that she’s suing Amazon
on antitrust grounds, alleging the online retailer abuses its power over third-party delivery contractors to suppress competition and harm workers. Amazon prevents delivery workers from unionizing, restricts contractors in its delivery network from hiring each other’s drivers, and limits competition for their labor, leading to lower wages and causing employees to ‘endure harsher working conditions than they should,’ Davenport’s office said in a release.” (08/04/26)
“Twenty-five states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday over a wave of tariffs against dozens of countries. The US says the tariffs, which range between 10% and 12.5%, were imposed due to trading partners – including the UK, China and the European Union – failing to properly tackle forced labour. In a legal document seen by the BBC, the coalition of Democratic states said the decision was ‘arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law’. In response, White House spokesman Kush Desai said the US was ‘using its lawful authority’ to address practices that burden American businesses. Desai added that any foreign countries failing to deal with the importation of goods produced with forced labour was ‘unreasonable’ and ‘must be addressed’.” (08/04/26)
“US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday declined to pause a $655.5 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization over attacks that killed and wounded Americans in Israel during the Second Intifada. Sotomayor rejected the emergency request without providing an explanation and without sending it to the full court. The decision allows the plaintiffs to continue trying to collect the money while the PA and PLO prepare to ask the Supreme Court to review the judgment. … The case was brought by American victims and relatives of victims of shootings and bombings in and around Jerusalem between 2002 and 2004. The attacks killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more.” (08/04/26)
“Residents of two villages have evacuated their homes near Guatemala’s Fuego volcano following an eruption, the country’s disaster management agency says. Video of the eruption shows clouds of gas and ash over the volcano as lava and pyroclastic flows roll down. The eruption began Monday morning and continued throughout the day, leading to the evacuation orders for the villages on the southern side of the mountain., according to Claudinne Ogaldes, executive secretary of the Guatemalan disaster managing agency, CONRED. During a previous eruption of the Fuego volcano in June 2018, hundreds of people were killed and a whole village was destroyed. That episode affected as many as 1.7 million people, according to authorities. The Fuego volcano is one of the most active in Guatemala. Another eruption in June last year spurred preventive evacuations.” (08/04/26)
“A Russian soldier in Crimea opened fire on his colleagues, killing one and wounding another, before turning his weapon on civilians and killing three, an official said on Tuesday. Three other people were wounded, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of the Sevastopol region. He said the attacker had been arrested. There was no information on the motive for the attacks.” (08/04/26)
“Oil prices fell to a three-week low on Tuesday as senior US officials raised hopes of a deal with Iran to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz waterway. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both announced talks had progressed to allow shipments to potentially resume as soon as this week. The cost of a barrel of brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, fell by almost 5% to under $80 on the news of supply disruptions potentially being eased. But the failure of previous negotiations in recent months to de-escalate the conflict between the US and Iran has led to a volatile oil market, with drivers ultimately being hit by higher fuel prices at the pumps. On Tuesday, along with the drop in Brent crude, US West Texas Intermediate prices were down more than 5%, to $76 a barrel.” (08/04/26)
“More than eight years after Boeing organised the maiden flight of the 737 MAX 7, US authorities announced Monday that they certified the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced certification of the smallest version of the single-aisle MAX plane, a process that had been significantly prolonged by new requirements under federal legislation following two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. The action, which Boeing and regulators had telegraphed in recent weeks, sent Boeing shares sharply higher. The MAX 7 is Boeing’s first new aircraft to be cleared since the crashes and other problems sent the company into a multi-year slump.” (08/04/26)
