Global Briefing Archive

Ceuta migrant surge death toll rises to 67

Thousands of migrants entered Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, overwhelming local resources and prompting the territory's president to seek a national emergency declaration and military support from Madrid.

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Ceuta migrant surge leaves 67 dead as most return to Morocco

Thousands of migrants entered Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in a sudden influx that overwhelmed local resources, prompting the territory’s president to ask Madrid to declare a national emergency and request military support.

Spanish authorities said that up to 60,000 people crossed into the tiny territory, many by swimming or wading around the Tarajal border fence, and that roughly 48,000 to 49,000 had returned to Morocco within a day.

The death toll from the crossings has risen to 67, including people who drowned while trying to reach Ceuta and others who were killed in a stampede at a breakwater barrier.

The episode has created a political crisis for Spain’s government and drawn sharp criticism from right-wing parties across Europe.

U.S. prosecutors drop Reflecting Pool vandalism charges against ex-Olympian

Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the criminal case against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who had been accused of deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after a $14 million renovation.

In a court filing, the Justice Department said damage to the pool liner was the result of a flawed, or botched, installation by the contractor, not vandalism, and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro placed blame on the Interior Department.

Hearn had maintained that he merely touched the water out of curiosity; President Trump publicly criticized Pirro’s decision to drop the charges.

Renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja killed in Pakistan avalanche

Nirmal Purja, the British-Nepali mountaineer who climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in just over six months in 2019, was killed in an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, the world’s 12th-highest mountain.

The avalanche struck around noon on Thursday while Purja was leading an expedition of 10 other climbers; 11 people were caught and confirmed dead.

Earlier in the search, rescuers recovered three bodies; the total later rose to four, including an American climber, while Purja’s fate remained unclear.

'Sopranos' actor Vincent Pastore dies at age 80

Vincent Pastore, the veteran actor best known for playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on HBO’s The Sopranos, has died at the age of 80.

He was found at his home in New York City.

Pastore appeared across all six seasons of The Sopranos and had film roles including Goodfellas and Awakenings, both released in 1990.

Trump cancels planned Iran strikes, citing pending deal

President Trump said he is cancelling planned military strikes on Iran because Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries asked the United States to hold off, citing that the “perimeters of a deal” had been agreed to.

The announcement came after media reports that he was planning intense strikes on Iran over the weekend, and after Trump said he was “losing faith” in a peace deal and threatened to hit Iran “very hard.”

Tourist plane crash near Peru’s Nazca Lines kills 13

A Cessna Grand Caravan sightseeing plane crashed in Pueblo Viejo, about four miles from the city of Nazca in southern Peru, killing all 13 people on board, local authorities said.

The victims included 11 foreign tourists and two pilots; the flight had taken off from the coastal city of Pisco to view the ancient Nazca Lines geoglyphs.

FIFA abandons World Cup private investment plan after backlash

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has scrapped a controversial plan to invite private investors into a new commercial venture tied to the World Cup after fierce opposition from member nations.

UEFA said it had lost confidence in FIFA’s leadership and noted that many other members of the football family shared that view, despite the decision to abandon the proposal.

Shooting at Idaho In-N-Out leaves multiple dead

A shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Saturday afternoon left multiple people dead and others injured in what police described as a very chaotic scene.

Twin Falls police chief Matthew Hicks said the shooter was among the dead, and that authorities were still working to determine the shooter’s identity and motive. At least three people were killed and two injured, a city spokesman said, while cautioning that the victim count was expected to rise.

Lorena Wiebes wins Tour de France Femmes opening stage

Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes won the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes in Lausanne, Switzerland, and took the first yellow jersey of the 2026 race.

Wiebes climbed the Côte Saint-François and outsprinted Kim Le Court and 2023 champion Demi Vollering at the end of the 138-kilometre stage.

The race began in Lausanne on Saturday and is scheduled to feature its first ascent of Mont Ventoux later in the event.

Tuvalu boxer wins first Commonwealth Games medal without bout

Twenty-year-old Tarona Taafaki has become the first athlete from Tuvalu to win a Commonwealth Games medal, taking bronze in the women’s 75kg boxing category without winning a fight.

Taafaki received a bye into the semi-finals, where she lost on a unanimous points decision; because all boxers eliminated at that stage receive bronze, she secured Tuvalu’s maiden medal.

Trump blames Minnesota, not Iran, for water system cyberattack

President Trump claimed, without presenting evidence, that Minnesota’s Democratic government was behind cyberattacks on the state’s own water systems, remarks that came after U.S. officials said investigators believed Iran was likely responsible.

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