“A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and leaving some trapped and others presumed dead inside a partially collapsed shopping mall. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage in the area, which was devastated by a deadly quake a decade ago. … Around 300,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centres, and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to help with rescue operations as aftershocks continued to rumble in the area, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. Multiple people were unaccounted for after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory, broadcaster NHK reported.” (07/28/26)
“Protesters demonstrating against ongoing power outages in Libya stormed a key energy complex overnight and closed gas lines that fuel power plants, which officials warned could trigger a nationwide power blackout. Demonstrators in the capital Tripoli, Zawiya, Misrata and other locations across western Libya have protested for several days over hourslong power outages. They demand better electrical services and have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. As part of the ongoing protests, a group stormed the General Electricity Company’s Mellitah Oil & Gas complex about 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Tripoli. The disruption could cause a complete blackout in multiple areas and ultimately collapse the electricity network, the company warned in a statement Tuesday.” (07/28/26)
“A Christian father of 11 has reached a settlement with the Department of Justice after facing up to 10 years in prison for protesting at a Tennessee abortion clinic in March 2021. Paul Vaughn was convicted of violating the FACE Act, a federal law that prohibits ‘threats of force, obstruction or inflict property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services.’ … The Biden DOJ also added a felony conspiracy charge carrying up to 10.5 years in prison. Vaughn pursued legal action against the Justice Department over his prosecution. He shared first with Fox News Digital that he recently reached a seven-figure settlement with the government agency. … Trump pardoned Vaughn and 23 other pro-life protesters convicted under the FACE Act by the Biden administration Department of Justice.” (07/28/26)
“U.S. healtcare giant Johnson & Johnson said it has reached a proposed $5.5 billion settlement to resolve most remaining lawsuits alleging its talc-based baby powder and other products caused ovarian cancer. The agreement, announced Monday, follows more than a decade of litigation, including nearly a decade of consolidated federal litigation in New Jersey, along with related cases throughout the country. Tens of thousands of claimants accused Johnson & Johnson of marketing its talc products for feminine hygiene and failing to adequately warn consumers about an alleged cancer risk, despite studies dating back to the 1980s reporting an association between genital talc use and ovarian cancer.” (07/28/26)
“A federal judge on Monday ordered U.S. immigration authorities to release a key witness in the [murder] of a Mexican homebuilder by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered the release of Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego from ICE custody within 48 hours, after the judge previously blocked his deportation. Ellison agreed with Rojas Pliego’s argument that his detention violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights. … Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when Araujo Salgado was [murdered] by an ICE officer during a traffic stop. All three passengers were [abducted by the gang].” (07/28/26)
“The Las Vegas police officer who shot and killed a local homeowner after the man called 911 for help has resigned from the department, authorities said. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Officer Alexander Bookman resigned effective March 27. News 3 also reached out to the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, which said Bookman was eligible to return to work but chose to resign. The resignation follows the shooting death of Brandon Durham, 43, who was killed less than 15 seconds after Bookman entered Durham’s home on November 12, 2024. … Body-worn camera video showed Bookman kicking down Durham’s front door, entering the home and shooting Durham as he struggled over a knife with an intruder police identified as Alejandra Boudreaux.” (07/27/26)
“Iran on Tuesday hanged two men convicted in a case of killing four police officers during January protests, state media reported. A report by Mizanonline. ir, affiliated to the country’s judiciary, identified the two as Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi, saying they also set a police station on fire and damaged public properties in the central city of Isfahan, some 250 miles south of the capital, Tehran. The two men are the latest executed from among the tens of thousands who were arrested during a January crackdown on nationwide protests.” (07/28/26)
“Myanmar’s military-backed parliament approved a law on Tuesday that authorises capital punishment for those who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centres, the speaker said. The ‘Anti-Online Scam Bill’ was passed after MPs approved changes to a draft bill at a combined meeting of the lower and upper houses Tuesday morning in the capital Naypyidaw, Union Parliament Speaker Aung Lin Dwe said during a live television broadcast. Lower house MP Aye Chan confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the death sentence remained in the approved version of the law. … Internet fraud factories have flourished in war-torn Myanmar, part of Southeast Asia’s thriving scam economy, targeting web users worldwide with romance and cryptocurrency investment cons.” (07/28/26)
“Police in Chile say they have captured a man convicted years ago of the kidnapping and murder of popular folk singer Victor Jara under military ruler Augusto Pinochet. Nelson Haase was one of a group of officers given jail terms for the killing, which took place just five days after the coup which brought Pinochet to power in 1973. He was sentenced to 25 years. Haase took flight when the sentence was announced in August 2023 but was found by police on Saturday in the south of the country. Jara, who became famous in the 1960s and 70s for his protest and pacifist songs and supported the ousted socialist president Salvador Allende, was subjected to torture and shot 44 times.” (07/28/26)
“Haiti’s CEP electoral council on Monday scheduled the first presidential elections in a decade for December with a runoff in February, after plans to hold the vote in August with a December runoff were postponed over security concerns. Haiti has not held elections since 2016. Its last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in 2021, after delaying a vote. Successive governments have been tasked with holding an election but said insecurity amid a conflict with powerful armed gangs made it impossible.” (07/27/26)
