Rescue teams in Nepal are racing against time to reach hundreds of people feared trapped in tunnels and underground areas of at least six hydropower projects, following catastrophic flash floods that have killed over 900 people. The disaster, triggered by an unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud, and debris, has left more than 4,000 people missing in Nepal, with an additional 500 unaccounted for across the border in Tibet.
Rescue operation scales up
Nepal's Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, stated that nearly 21,000 security personnel are involved in rescue operations, supported by civilian workers and volunteers. China's state-run CCTV reported that Beijing has mobilized over 2,100 rescue workers. The Red Cross estimates that more than 90,000 people are likely affected by the disaster, which China and some experts attribute to the effects of the climate crisis.
Hundreds of bodies, many unidentified, have been buried in shallow graves as authorities struggle to manage the scale of the tragedy. The death toll on the Tibet side of the border stands at 16, according to reports.
Racist backlash against missing Australians
The disaster has also sparked a racism row in Australia, with a slew of offensive social media comments directed at missing Australians, most of whom were on pilgrimages, including to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Mainstream media outlets, including News Corp, Channel 7, Channel 10, and Nine, have been hit with highly offensive and discriminatory comments on Facebook articles identifying the missing individuals.
US-Iran tensions escalate
In a separate development, Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on airbases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates after the US attacked Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first such hostilities in a month. The latest exchange of fire was sparked late on Sunday by a US attack on the island of Larak in the strait. Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said the US attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and would be met with "punishment" from Tehran.
Hours after the attacks, US President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that Iran's energy hub of Kharg Island was being "blown to smithereens" but gave no further details. The White House and the US Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attacking Kharg, which handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war, would severely disrupt the Islamic republic's energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy.
Canada-US spat over Lake Ontario
Donald Trump and Canada continued a verbal duel over the US government's administrative renaming of Lake Ontario. The Ontario premier erected a giant sign saying "Lake Ontario. Now and Always," while Trump posted an AI video depicting him tearing down an avatar of that sign, erecting a replacement saying Lake America, and dancing to YMCA. The Wendat Nation grand chief, Pierre Picard, called Trump's move an attempt to erase Indigenous history. "I want to tell him that it is unacceptable for us, as a nation, to have a president who can eradicate our history, our culture and our identity," Picard said.
Deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos
White House "border czar" Tom Homan denied on Sunday that deporting British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos just a day after his arrest by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amounted to preferential treatment. Homan said Yiannopoulos, 41, had overstayed what he believed to be a visitor visa, had not appeared at an immigration hearing, and was issued a final order of removal on 22 July. "He had his due process, ordered removed by a federal judge, and ICE removed him. It's that simple," Homan added.
Other notable news
Donald Trump said NBC's Kristen Welker should face "rebuke or punishment" from the FCC after she described the success record of political candidates whom the president had endorsed as "mixed." Ghislaine Maxwell has virtually run out of legal routes to overturn her conviction for her involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of girls and young women, experts say, bar a presidential pardon. At least eight people have died off the coast of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus after a ferry capsized, with nearly 20 people still missing.
The Trump administration is shuttering two of the three US Department of Agriculture research projects studying cyclospora after the foodborne parasite sickened tens of thousands of Americans during the summer. Michigan's Democratic US senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed apologized to the state's Jewish Democratic Caucus for comments he made after an attack on a synagogue in March, which he tied to Israel's actions in the Middle East.
Stat of the day and more
Mansfield Oil Company of Gainesville is suing KRSM and its president, Syed Kazmi, for allegedly picking up nearly $4 million of fuel and not paying for it. KRSM sold some of the fuel to stations that are part of the Freedom Fuel Network, promoted by the Trump administration when drivers were facing higher oil prices amid the war with Iran.
At the sacred prairie of Pe' Sla in South Dakota, Indigenous and environmental groups banded together to halt drilling. "We're just not used to winning," said Dr Valeriah Big Eagle, who directs the Black Hills work of NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy nonprofit based in Rapid City. "We're people used to being screwed over by the government at every level."
Climate and wildlife
Turkmenistan has begun repairs on ageing facilities after being revealed as the worst country for leaks of the potent greenhouse gas methane, a move described as a "breakthrough" in addressing "mindboggling" mega-leaks. In a lighter note, Dawn the marmot was crowned the winner of the inaugural Fat Marmot Week after securing back-to-back victories in both the mass-gain and popular-vote competitions. The contest was started by researchers who previously turned to OnlyFans to help save a decades-long research project.
