Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp perched on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas, was a place of laughter, prayer and adventure just days ago.
But just before daybreak on Friday, the Fourth of July public holiday, the river rose 26ft (8m) in about 45 minutes amid a torrential downpour.
Many of the girls were sleeping in low-lying cabins less than 500ft (150m) from the riverbank.
Many of those bunk beds are now mud-caked and toppled, the detritus of a summer camp cut tragically short.
Destroyed personal belongings are scattered across soaked interiors where children once gathered for Bible study and campfire songs.
So far 78 fatalities have been confirmed from the floods in central Texas. At least 68, including 28 children, were in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic was located.
Among the dead is the camp’s longtime director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, and several young campers. Ten girls and a counsellor from the camp are still missing.
The BRICS bloc of developing nations at their summit in Brazil on Sunday condemned the increase of tariffs and attacks on Iran, but refrained from naming US President Donald Trump.
The group’s declaration, which also took aim at Israeli military actions in the Middle East, spared its founding member Russia from criticism and mentioned war-torn Ukraine only once.
The bloc issued a declaration in which they raised “serious concerns” about the rise of tariffs which it said were “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules.” In an indirect swipe at the US, they said those restrictions ”threaten to reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains and introduce uncertainty.”
Lula also criticised NATO’s decision to hike defence spending up to 5% of member states’ GDP. He said it was “always easier to invest in war than peace.”
The declaration also criticised the attacks on Iran without mentioning the US or Israel, the two nations who conducted them.
BRICS leaders expressed “grave concern” for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, called for the release of all hostages, a return to the negotiating table and reaffirmed their commitment to the two-state solution.
The group’s 31-page declaration mentions Ukraine just once, while condemning “in the strongest terms” recent Ukrainian attacks on Russia.
The Irish government is reportedly set to reject demands from the European Union to implement hate speech legislation after Dublin abandoned plans to do so last year.
In September of last year, the Irish government scrapped plans to criminalise so-called hate speech in its Criminal Justice Bill, which would have allowed the state to send someone to prison for up to five years for “incitement to hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics”.
The move to abandon the controversial section of the bill came as Justice Minister Helen McEntee admitted that it did “not have a consensus” among the Irish population.
In response, the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, warned that Dublin may face legal action from Brussels for failing to meet the bloc’s stringent speech standards.
The commission said in May that Ireland “still fails to transpose the provisions related to criminalising the public incitement to violence or hatred against a group or a member of such group based on certain characteristics, as well as the conducts of condoning, denial and gross trivialisation of international crimes and the Holocaust”.
… On the one side, you had the Normans, led by their Duke, William. Normans — aka Northmen — were partially Franco-fied Vikings, invited to settle in France in 911 at the behest of the West Frankish king, Charles the Simple.
On the other side, you had the English — descended from Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from northern Germany — led by the just-crowned King Harold Godwinson.
OK, so now you can give your flip answer. Here’s mine: those armies were whiter than an all-albino Osmonds tribute band.
But not to the BBC, whose new miniseries — “King and Conqueror” — features “a diverse group of actors” telling the story of Harold and William’s fight for the English throne.
“Adding diversity to a high medieval period setting follows the BBC’s ‘colour-blind’ casting of non-white stars as Tudor courtiers in another upcoming historical drama,” according to The Telegraph.
That isn’t color-blind casting — it’s historical revisionism, full stop. They’re remaking history to suit a particular agenda. It’s the same agenda introduced by Tony Blair’s New Labour government a quarter century ago to remake the British electorate.
Today’s report also goes right back to a conversation with my wife last week.
(LifeSiteNews) — United Nations (UN) women’s rights advisor Reem Alsalem called on governments to define gender based on biology, not ideology.
During the June 26 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem presented her new report condemning the erasure of women and girls due to LGBT ideology.
“You cannot protect what you cannot define,” Alsalem declared.
“I never thought the day would come where the mandate would deem it necessary to prepare a report affirming that the words ‘women’ and ‘girls’ refer to distinct biological and legal categories,” she continued.
The report emphasized that sex-based violence is rooted in the biological distinctions of sex, defined as the physical and physiological characteristics that differentiate males and females.
It further recommended “the proper and effective consideration of sex in understanding the experiences of discrimination of women and girls, preventing further violence and responding to the needs of survivors.”
Leading researchers in Denmark are sounding the alarm after uncovering a disturbing link between Covid mRNA “vaccines” and surging cases of disabling neuropathy.
A bombshell new study led by Danish scientists has reignited concerns that the mRNA injections are responsible for soaring reports of Small Fiber Neuropathy (SFN), a serious neurological condition affecting the nerves.
The peer-reviewed case series was led by Dr. Giulia Carolina Primicerio at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen.
The results of the study were published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences (Volume 474).
Dr. Primicerio and the team of researchers found compelling clinical evidence linking mRNA and viral vector Covid vaccines to new-onset nerve damage.
Expert Tal Beeri discussed how it is unknown why the religious directive had not been given, but if it were, Hezbollah would have joined the war against Israel on Iran’s side.
Hezbollah refrained from entering the war between Israel and Iran on Iran’s side due to a lack of religious directive, expert Tal Beeri said.
Beeri is the head of the Research Department at the Alma Center for the Study of Security Challenges in the North. He has published a detailed analysis titled “Why Didn’t Hezbollah Join Iran in the War against Israel?” In it, the Middle East expert challenged prevailing explanations for Hezbollah’s decision to refrain from entering the war on Iran’s side and also discussed the perceived gap between Hezbollah’s weakness and the actual reality.
Beeri noted: “There is a significant gap between the existing portrayal of Hezbollah’s supposed weakness and the actual reality.”
In the days before a return deadline set for Sunday, tens of thousands of Afghans crossed the border from Iran, creating an “emergency” situation at border crossings, according to the United Nations.Iranian authorities said that out of six million Afghans living in Iran, about four million could be affected by a late May order asking them to leave the country by July 6.Unicef’s representative in Afghanistan, Tajudeen Oyewale, called the situation an “emergency” in a country already facing a “chronic returnee crisis.” He said that 1.4 million Afghans have returned this year from long-time host countries like Iran and Pakistan.Men, women, and even entire families are crossing the border with little money or belongings. “What is concerning is that 25 percent of all these returnees are children… because the demographics have shifted,” Oyewale was quoted as saying to news agency AFP on Thursday.
Brazil is playing host to a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies Sunday and Monday during which pressing topics like Israel’s attack on Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to be handled with caution.
Analysts and diplomats have said the lack of cohesion in an enlarged BRICS, which doubled in size last year, may affect its ability to become another pole in world affairs. They also see the summit’s moderate agenda as an attempt by member countries to stay off Trump’s radar.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has some of his priorities, such as debates on artificial intelligence and climate change, front and centre for the talks with key leaders not in attendance.
Lula said in his speech on Sunday that “we are witnessing the unparalled collapse of multilateralism” and that the meeting is taking place “in the most adverse global scenario” of the four times Brazil has hosted it. He called for the group to promote peace and mediate conflicts.
When Russia sought assistance from China, North Korea and Iran amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some Western officials expressed concern about the formation of a new axis against Western countries.
But none of these countries came to Iran’s aid during the Iran-Israel war or when American forces attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities.
China and Russia, the most powerful countries in the axis, have only expressed verbal condemnation of Washington’s actions but stopped short of providing any financial, material or military assistance to Tehran.
Alexander Gaboyev, Director of the Carnegie Centre for Russian and Eurasian Affairs, told the New York Times: “Each of these countries is completely pacifist and they don’t want to get involved in each other’s wars. Unlike the US and its allies, these countries do not necessarily have the same structures, values and institutional links with each other.”
The four countries have authoritarian regimes and are hostile to the United States, which has always tried to undermine them and question their legitimacy. They also have some strategic ties with each other which seek to circumvent US-led economic sanctions by advancing trade and exchanging weapons technology.
Michael Kimge, a professor of history at The Catholic University of America and a former US State Department official, also believes that “there is probably little coordination between China, North Korea, Iran and Russia, so that they share views and have conversations around the centre of dissatisfaction with the United States, but not very meaningful coordination with each other.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday for what some analysts have dubbed a “victory lap” following the US joining Israel in strikes against Iran. But as they meet for the third time this year, the outwardly triumphant visit will be dogged by Israel’s 21-month war against Hamas in Gaza and questions over how hard Trump will push for an end to the conflict.
Russia’s former transport minister Roman Starovoit has been found dead with a gunshot wound in his car just hours after it was revealed he had been sacked from his role.
Mr Starovoit, the ex-governor of the Kursk region, is reported to have taken his own life.
The report of his death comes after he was dismissed from his transport role by President Vladimir Putin.
In a statement on Monday, the Investigative Committee of Russia said: “The body of the former minister of transport of the Russian Federation, Roman Vladimirovich Starovoit, was discovered in his personal vehicle with a gunshot wound today in the Odintsovo city district.”
The circumstances surrounding Mr Starovoit’s death are being investigated, with the statement adding: “The main version is suicide.”
Earlier on Monday, it was revealed Mr Putin had fired Mr Starovoit after just over a year in the job.
Mr Starovoit was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.
A few months after he left his role as governor, Ukrainian troops crossed over the border into Kursk as Kyiv launched the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since the Second World War.
The U.K. Royal Family’s X account posted a clip of the Coldstream Guards playing Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan – widely recognized as an LGBT anthem – with the hashtag #Pride2025 along with emojis of a rainbow, sparkles, and a disco ball to mark London Pride. This is the first time the Royal Family has publicly acknowledged the annual event of the LGBT movement.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – the widely loathed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – have previously celebrated “pride” month, posting to their Instagram account: “This month we pay tribute to the accounts supporting the LGBTQ+ community – those young and old, their families and friends, accounts that reflect on the past and are hopeful for a deservedly more inclusive future. We stand with you and support you. Because it’s very simple: love is love.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil will play host to a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies Sunday and Monday during which pressing topics like Israel’s attack on Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to be handled with caution.
Analysts and diplomats said the lack of cohesion in an enlarged BRICS, which doubled in size last year, may affect its ability to become another pole in world affairs. They also see the summit’s moderate agenda as an attempt by member countries to stay off Trump’s radar.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will have some of his priorities, such as debates on artificial intelligence and climate change, front and center for the talks with key leaders not in attendance.
China’s President Xi Jinping won’t attend a BRICS summit for the first time since he became his country’s leader in 2012. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will make an appearance via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid traveling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The restraint expected in Rio de Janeiro marks a departure from last year’s summit hosted by Russia in Kazan, when the Kremlin sought to develop alternatives to U.S.-dominated payment systems which would allow it to dodge Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The talks would focus on conditions for a possible ceasefire, including hostage and prisoner releases, and Hamas would also seek the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing to evacuate the wounded, the official told AFP.
Hamas’s delegation, led by its top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, was in Doha, the official told AFP. Israel’s public broadcaster said the country’s delegation had left for the Qatari capital in the early afternoon.
Qatar’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the indirect negotiations had begun.
‘Enough blood’
Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.
However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel’s withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system.
On the ground, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 26 people were killed by Israeli forces on Sunday.
Ukraine said it struck a Russian air base on Saturday, while Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones overnight as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war.
Ukraine’s military General Staff said that Ukrainian forces had struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia’s Voronezh region, describing it as the home base of Russia’s Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets.
Writing on Facebook, the General Staff said it hit a depot containing glide bombs, a training aircraft and “possibly other aircraft.”
Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attack.
New details of the Gaza ceasefire proposal emerged on Sunday as Israel sent a negotiating team to Qatar ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘s White House visit for talks toward an agreement. Inside the territory, hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 38 Palestinians.
“There are 20 hostages that are alive, 30 dead. I am determined, we are determined, to bring them all back. And we will also be determined to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said before departing, emphasizing the goal of eliminating Hamas’ military and governing power.
A person familiar with the negotiations shared with The Associated Press a copy of the latest ceasefire proposal submitted by mediators to Hamas, and its veracity was confirmed by two other people familiar with the document. All three spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media.
President Trump threatened to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on countries “aligning” themselves with the BRICS bloc of developing nations.
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday evening.
The threat comes after members of the BRICS group issued a declaration on Sunday condemning the U.S. increase in tariffs, as well as the strikes on Iran — all without mentioning Trump by name.
The group’s statement raised “serious concerns” tariffs, saying they are “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules” and threaten to “reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.”
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet at the White House on Monday. One of the most difficult questions on the table is what Gaza might look like without Hamas.
Experts tell Fox News Digital that while the need for an alternative is clear, almost every proposed solution comes with serious structural, political and security limitations.
John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) and veteran of both Republican and Democratic administrations, said building an alternative to Hamas must happen in parallel with dismantling it.
Hamas terrorists emerge from the shadows as they surround Red Cross vehicles. (TPS-IL)
“Part of how you win is by showing there’s a viable alternative,” Hannah said. “People need to see there’s a future beyond Hamas”
That future, experts believe, lies in a non-Hamas technocratic government – comprised of Palestinians unaffiliated with either Hamas or the PLO – backed by a coalition of key Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE.
Following an AP investigation accusing a US mercenary firm of firing on desperate Gaza aid seekers, the company has released extensive new footage in an attempt at damage control. But the video only further implicates the scandal-plagued operation.
On July 2, the Associated Press released an exposé containing short videos which appeared to show American mercenaries associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) opening fire on aid-seekers in Gaza during an incident in southern Gaza this May. The footage was supplied by a former employee of UG Solutions, a firm charged with securing GHF distribution sites.
“I think you hit one,” one soldier of fortune says to another following a loud burst of gunfire.
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said Monday, as the Kremlin dismissed the country’s transport chief after a weekend of travel chaos when Russian airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks.
At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 injured, including three children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia’s bigger army is also trying hard to break through at some points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) front line, where Ukrainian forces are severely stretched.
The European Union is considering a temporary trade agreement with the United States that would maintain a 10 percent tariff on most exports, according to a briefing by the European Commission to EU ambassadors on Friday, reported news portal Politico.The update came after a key round of negotiations in Washington on Thursday, where EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič aimed to defuse US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a sweeping 50 percent tariff on all European imports starting July 9, if a deal is not reached.Talks will continue on potential exemptions for certain sectors, including the automotive industry, two national officials familiar with the discussions said, according to the news portal..However, the outcome was seen as underwhelming in several European capitals, especially after earlier signals from the Commission’s negotiating team that some industries could receive immediate tariff relief. The US currently imposes tariffs of 25 percent on cars and 50 percent on steel and aluminum imports.
EU remains divided
Despite intensive negotiations, reaching a consensus on a trade agreement with the United States remains challenging for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, amid ongoing divisions among EU member states over how to proceed. According to three diplomats, all possibilities, including a failure to reach any deal, are still being considered.In a fresh twist, US officials have reportedly threatened to impose a 17 percent tariff on European food imports, two national officials confirmed, backing a report by the Financial Times.Von der Leyen is expected to hold one-on-one consultations with EU leaders over the weekend before deciding on the bloc’s next steps, one official said. Meanwhile, Trump is likely to meet with his advisers on Monday, meaning any official announcement would be delayed until after those discussions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting the United States on Monday, a visit analysts expect will focus on celebrating Israel and the US’s self-anointed victory against Iran and discussing a proposal for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza.
Last week, Trump said Israel had agreed to conditions for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, which would allow all parties to work towards an end to Israel’s 21-month-long war on the besieged enclave.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned Saturday Russia’s biggest drone and missile attack yet in the three-year war in Ukraine.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the latest series of large-scale drone and missile attacks by the Russian Federation,” Guterres said in a statement referring to the assault Friday and also calling for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
Hours-long Russian bombardments sent Ukrainians scurrying for shelters across the country.
AFP journalists in Kyiv heard drones buzzing over the capital and explosions ringing out throughout the night as Ukrainian air defense systems fended off the attack.
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Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar on Sunday for proximity talks with Hamas on the latest proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had accepted the invitation despite what he described as the “unacceptable” changes that Hamas wanted to make to a plan presented by mediators from Qatar, the US and Egypt.
On Friday night, Hamas said it had delivered a “positive response” to the proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and that it was ready for negotiations.
However, a Palestinian official said the group had sought amendments including a guarantee that hostilities would not resume if talks on a permanent truce failed.
In Gaza itself, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Sunday that 80 people killed in Israeli attacks had arrived at hospitals over the past 24 hours.
An Israeli delegation is heading to Qatar for indirect talks with Hamas on a possible hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The development comes ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington DC on Monday aimed at pushing forward peace efforts.
The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to secure a permanent ceasefire and an end to the 21-month-long war in Gaza.
At least four people were killed and more than 30 injured in another round of Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight, just days after a series of phone calls between US president Donald Trump, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A view shows the site of apartment buildings hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine. Photograph: State Emergency Service Of Ukraine/Reuters
The latest attack will once again pose questions on what’s next for Ukraine as the US ceasefire proposal, pursued by Trump, appears to be failing to make any further progress.
Zelenskyy’s top aide Andriy Yermak said in an update on Telegram that “one of the important principles of defence is the destruction of the enemy’s ability to produce weapons,” as he called for “Russia’s military-industrial complex … to be weakened in various ways: from sanctions to direct strikes.”
The western world must realise that Russia’s scaling up of weapons production only brings us closer tothe day when it will be used not only against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin fired his transport minister on Monday following massive disruptions of Russian civilian airspace caused by Ukrainian drone raids.
The Kremlin provided no specific details or reasons for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit, who had served as the governor of Russia’s Kursk region before being reappointed transport minister in May 2024.
However, his firing comes after almost 300 flights were grounded at major airports over the past weekend due to the latest Ukrainian drone raid.
On Saturday and Sunday, 485 fights ended up getting cancelled, according to the Russian federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya.
In total, from early morning on Saturday until Monday morning, so
In the ongoing discussion of trade and tariffs, Politico and others reported that the US and China are following through on a deal to lift export restrictions on items essential for technology production.
DONALD Trump issued a bleak warning that Putin wants to “keep killing people” after Russia launched its largest-yet barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine.
In a middle finger to the US, the onslaught hit just hours after Putin and Trump had a fruitless 60-minute phone call – which touched on the possibility of fresh American sanctions.
