Latest news

The change of power in the UK
Burnham reshuffles the cabinet – Healey returns

The new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is making several cabinet reshuffles, the BBC reports. Both new and old faces are taking their places in the new government.

Former Defence Secretary John Healey, who resigned under Keir Starmer, will become the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, succeeding Rachel Reeves.

Current Energy Secretary Ed Miliband replaces Yvette Cooper as Foreign Secretary, while Shabana Mahmood will remain in the role of Home Secretary.

At the same time, Andy Burnham's close ally Louise Haigh is appointed Deputy Prime Minister.

Russian invasion Ukraine's response
Sources: Mykhaylo Fedorov rejects return to Zelenskyy's government

Ukraine's ousted Defence Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov has rejected an offer to return to the government, according to sources to the Financial Times.

Fedorov was ousted after a conflict with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyj. This has sparked strong criticism and protests, as Fedorov had been a popular defense minister during his six months in office.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, however, has wanted to keep him on his team.

According to the newspaper, the president offered him a new role with expanded responsibilities, but it is unclear what position it was. According to two sources with insight, Fedorov was only prepared to return as defense minister.

The Financial Times has previously reported that Zelenskyj is considering firing Syrskyj after the harsh criticism of Fedorov's dismissal and the growing protests.

The future of the Democrats
The Democrats' "Tea Party" is reshaping the party

The left-wing phalanx within the Democrats, the so-called progressives, is fundamentally changing the party.

Axios describes the development as the Democrats' own "Tea Party-like revolt" - a reference to the conservative grassroots movement that helped move the Republicans to the right in the 2010s.

Now progressive candidates are poking incumbent Democrats in the primaries, which has created unrest within the party. One of the most obvious changes concerns the view on Israel, reports Axios.

Established Democrats worry that they will lose their seats themselves if they do not adopt a more critical stance towards Israel.

– Our victories over AIPAC-backed candidates are forcing Democrats to finally listen to their voters, says Justice Democrats spokesman Usamah Andrabi.

Last week, 103 Democrats in the House of Representatives also voted for a proposal that would stop American aid funds to Israel. 

The climate threat  Global challenges
Australia's ski season threatened by record heat

Ski resorts in Australia are breaking temperature records in July, reports the Guardian. This weekend, maximum temperatures of up to twelve degrees above normal were recorded in the states of New South Wales and Victoria.

What is usually the start of the ski season has instead been marked by warm and dry weather, with only sporadic snowfall in many alpine areas.

In the wake of the El Niño weather phenomenon in the tropical Pacific, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology predicts that the winter will remain mostly warm and dry in the country's alpine regions.

- It shows the problems a warmer climate is likely to pose for future ski seasons, says climate scientist Angus Hines at the institute.

He also says that the temperature pattern has changed, so that it is now colder closer to sea level than higher up in the mountains. 

3,000 sick from contaminated water – three arrested

Three people have been arrested in North Macedonia after about 3,000 people fell ill after drinking contaminated drinking water, reports AFP.

The illnesses occurred in Gostivar, southwest of Skopje, after river water was pumped into the water supply network. All of those affected sought medical attention with stomach symptoms.

Authorities on Sunday classified the outbreak as an epidemic.

The arrested are two employees and the CEO of the local water company. They are suspected of having contaminated the drinking water in the Gostivar water supply system, police wrote in a statement.

Many dead after floods in Afghanistan

At least 20 people have died and more than 80 have been injured in major floods in northeastern Afghanistan.

The country's disaster management agency says that more than 100 people are missing, mainly in the provincial capital of Nuristan, Parun.

Among those missing is the city's mayor.

According to an aid organization in the city, the floods have "completely destroyed" large parts of the town, where many houses, according to the AFP news agency, are built very close to the river that flows through the community.