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At Least 30 Injured As Car Plows Into Crowd Outside Los Angeles Club
At least 30 people were injured early on Saturday when a vehicle rammed into a crowd outside a club on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, according to the city’s fire department and local media reports.
At least seven people were in critical condition and six others were seriously injured, the fire department said in an online statement.
The incident occurred just before 2 a.m. local time (0900 GMT), the fire department said.
Captain Adam VanGerpen, a fire department spokesman, was quoted by ABC News as saying that a paramedic assessing one of the injured found a gunshot wound. He said he was unable to confirm reports that it was the driver of the car that hit the crowd.
The car, he said, apparently first careened into a taco truck outside the venue and then plowed through a valet stand and into a large group of people.
Videos posted on X showed roads being sealed off and patients being taken away in ambulances.
Authorities gave no immediate details on the cause of the incident or the identity of the driver.
CNN reported, citing a law enforcement source, that the driver involved in the incident is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.
Eyewitnesses’ Accounts
Witnesses described scenes of chaos and panic as a Nissan Versa veered out of control onto the sidewalk, striking several people who were lined up outside a popular nightclub.
The car also crashed into a taco truck and a valet stand before finally coming to a stop. Moments after the crash, bystanders rushed to assist the wounded while waiting for emergency responders to arrive.
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash. It remains unclear whether it was a deliberate act, a terror-related incident, or a tragic accident. The driver of the vehicle reportedly stayed at the scene and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Santa Monica Boulevard, a hub of nightlife in the city, was bustling at the time of the incident, which contributed to the high number of injuries. Officials are asking the public to share any information, surveillance footage, or phone recordings that could aid the investigation.
(With inputs from Reuters)
UK Police Arrest 55 At Rally For Banned Pro-Palestine Group
London’s Metropolitan Police said 55 individuals were arrested on Saturday during a rally for the banned Palestine Action group outside Britain’s Parliament.
The crowd in Parliament Square had been waving placards supporting the group that was banned this month under anti-terrorism legislation, the force said in a post on X.
People from the rally, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, were taken away in police vans.
British lawmakers proscribed the group earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
Membership of Palestine Action now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The group has called the decision “authoritarian”, and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London’s High Court on Monday.
Protests Target Israel-Linked Firms
Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
Police have arrested scores of the group’s supporters at rallies across Britain since the ban came in.
Earlier on July 12, the UK police, in a major crackdown, detained several supporters of the proscribed pro-Palestinian group.
Police said they had arrested at least 41 people in London and 16 others in Manchester for showing support for the group Palestine Action.
In the previous week, police arrested 29 people after a similar protest in London.
The International Court of Justice in the Hague is hearing a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war, which began after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses.
The UK government’s decision to classify Palestine Action as a terrorist group places it in the same category as Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS. Membership now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Opponents of the ban say using anti-terrorism laws is inappropriate against a group accused mainly of damaging property rather than harming people, although some members have in the past been charged with violence in clashes with police.
(With inputs from Reuters)
EPA To Cut 3,700 Jobs, Close Research Unit Under Trump Plan
In a major administrative overhaul, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday announced plans to reduce its workforce by at least 23% and shut down its scientific research office, as part of President Donald Trump’s wider push to shrink the federal government.
In January, the EPA had 16,155 employees, and after layoffs and employees taking financial incentives to leave or retire, it will have a workforce of 12,448, the agency said.
The restructuring will save the government $748.8 million, the EPA said.
It did not specify how many of the cuts were related to the planned elimination of its Office of Research and Development, which has about 1,500 employees.
Cuts To Increase Efficiency
“Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.
“This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars.”
ORD oversees a range of research projects, including health risk assessments of “forever chemicals” such as PFAS, investigations into respiratory illness in the rural South, and studies on the spread of Valley fever, a fungal disease exacerbated by climate change and wildfires.
‘Will Have Generational Impacts’
Representative Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat, said the EPA “is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people.”
She said the closure of the office “will have generational impacts on Americans’ health and safety – this is a travesty.”
The EPA said it would create a new office focused on scientific research called the Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions.
The agency is also offering a third round of the deferred resignation program that will close on July 25, meaning the agency’s total workforce could further shrink, a spokesperson said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Tensions Escalate As Lula Criticizes US Visa Sanctions Linked To Bolsonaro Trial
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva denounced the U.S. decision to impose visa restrictions on officials tied to former President Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, calling the move “arbitrary” and “without foundation,” and asserting that foreign involvement in the judiciary is “unacceptable.”
In a statement on Saturday, the leftist leader said the action violated fundamental principles of respect and sovereignty between nations.
In an escalation of tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and the government of Latin America’s largest economy, Washington imposed visa restrictions on Friday on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, his family and other unnamed court officials.
The visa bans were a response to the Supreme Court’s decision to issue search warrants and restraining orders targeting Trump ally Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup to overturn the results of a 2022 election he lost.
“I am certain that no form of intimidation or threat, from anyone, will compromise the most important mission of Brazil’s powers and institutions, which is to permanently defend and uphold the democratic rule of law,” said Lula.
Solicitor general Jorge Messias, the top judicial official for Lula’s executive branch, said in a statement posted on X late Friday that Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet was also targeted by the ban.
Solicitor General Condemns U.S. Visa Revocations
Messias said no “improper maneuver” or “sordid conspiratorial act” would intimidate the judiciary in carrying out its duties with independence, as he condemned what he also described as arbitrary U.S. visa revocations targeting Brazilian officials for fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities.
In addition to Moraes, seven other justices from Brazil’s 11-member Supreme Court were also hit by the U.S. visa restrictions, Government Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann said on Friday.
They include justices Luis Roberto Barroso, Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia, Edson Fachin, and Gilmar Mendes.
The Prosecutor General’s Office and the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump has criticised the proceedings against Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt”, a term he has used to describe his own treatment by political opponents, and has called for the charges to be dropped. In a letter last week, he announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods starting August 1, opening the message with criticism of the trial.
Bolsonaro is on trial before Brazil’s Supreme Court on charges of plotting a coup to stop Lula from taking office in January 2023.
The right-wing firebrand has denied that he led an attempt to overthrow the government but has acknowledged taking part in meetings aimed at reversing the election’s outcome.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Pakistan Foreign Minister Backs LeT Offshoot TRF After US Labels It Terror Group
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar ignited outrage after publicly defending The Resistance Front (TRF), a group officially designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, during an address in the country’s Parliament.
In a speech that has since gone viral, Dar revealed that Pakistan, in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), actively intervened to prevent TRF—widely considered a front for the Pakistan-headquartered Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)—from being named in the UNSC’s condemnation of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives.
Dar openly admitted to lobbying against the inclusion of TRF in the UN statement, characterising acts of terrorism as “resistance” and extending diplomatic protection to LeT-affiliated operatives.
“We opposed the mention of TRF in the UNSC statement. I got calls from global capitals, but Pakistan will not accept,” he said. “TRF was deleted, and Pakistan prevailed.”
He further stated, “We don’t consider TRF an illegal organisation. Show us evidence that they executed the Pahalgam attack. Show ownership by TRF. We won’t accept the allegation, and TRF had to be deleted from the UN press release.”
US FTO Tag
His remarks came just days after the U.S. officially designated TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
The announcement, issued by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, described TRF as a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Rubio’s statement explicitly linked TRF to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, calling it “the deadliest assault on civilians in India since 2008.”
The U.S. designation, which also includes TRF’s aliases, significantly broadens legal and financial restrictions on the LeT’s extended network.
“These actions demonstrate the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting our national security interests and seeking justice for victims of terrorism,” Rubio noted.
TRF has a known history of launching coordinated attacks in India, especially targeting military personnel and infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. Multiple intelligence reports from both Indian and American agencies have flagged the group’s close operational and funding ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The U.S. terror designation came amid growing international pressure.
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ summit, called for a global “zero-tolerance” stance on terrorism.
(With inputs from IBNS)
US Sets Stablecoin Rules With Trump’s New Law
In a landmark move, US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a law establishing a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies, commonly known as stablecoins — a significant step that could enable these digital assets to become a regular mode of payment and money transfer.
The bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 308 to 122, with support from nearly half the Democratic members and most Republicans. It had earlier been approved by the Senate.
‘Massive Validation’
The law is a huge win for crypto supporters, who have long lobbied for such a regulatory framework in a bid to gain greater legitimacy for an industry that began in 2009 as a digital Wild West famed for its innovation and speculative chaos.
“This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and pioneering spirit,” said Trump at a signing event that included dozens of government officials, crypto executives and lawmakers. “It’s good for the dollar and it’s good for the country.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a statement, said the new technology would buttress the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency, expand access to the dollar economy and boost demand for US Treasuries, which back stablecoins.
Stablecoins are designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 US dollar peg, and their use has exploded, notably by crypto traders moving funds between tokens. The industry hopes they will enter mainstream use for sending and receiving payments instantly.
Over 7X Growth Projected
The new law requires stablecoins to be backed by liquid assets – such as US dollars and short-term Treasury bills – and for issuers to disclose publicly the composition of their reserves monthly.
Crypto companies and executives argue such legislation will enhance stablecoins’ credibility and make banks, retailers and consumers more willing to use them to transfer funds instantly.
The stablecoin market, which crypto data provider CoinGecko said is valued at more than $260 billion, could grow to $2 trillion by 2028 under the new law, Standard Chartered bank estimated earlier this year.
The law’s passage culminates a long lobbying effort by the industry, which donated more than $245 million in last year’s elections to aid pro-crypto candidates including Trump, according to Federal Election Commission data.
Promised Delivered, Says Trump
The Republican president, who has launched his own coin, thanked executives for their support during the 2024 presidential campaign, saying, “I pledged that we would bring back American liberty and leadership and make the United States the crypto capital of the world, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Democrats and critics have said the law should have blocked big tech companies from issuing their own stablecoins, which could increase the clout of an already powerful sector, contained stronger anti-money laundering protections and prohibited foreign stablecoin issuers.
“By failing to close known loopholes and protect America’s digital dollar infrastructure, Congress has risked making the US financial system a global haven for criminals and adversarial regimes to exploit,” said Scott Greytak, deputy executive director of Transparency International US.
Could Boost Demand For T-Bills
Big US banks are internally debating an expansion into cryptocurrencies as regulators give stronger backing to digital assets, but banks’ initial steps will focus on pilot programs, partnerships or limited crypto trading, Reuters reported in May.
Several crypto firms including Circle and Ripple are seeking banking licenses, which would cut costs by bypassing intermediary banks.
Backers of the bill have said it could potentially give rise to a new source of demand for short-term US government debt, because stablecoin issuers will have to purchase more of the debt to back their assets.
Trump has sought to broadly overhaul US cryptocurrency policies, signing an executive order in March establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve.
The president launched a meme coin called $TRUMP in January and partly owns crypto company World Liberty Financial.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Israeli Fire Kills At Least 32 Near Aid Site In Gaza, Says Hospital
Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis reported that at least 32 people were killed by Israeli gunfire early Saturday as they headed towards an aid distribution site in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspects who approached its troops after they did not heed calls to stop, about a kilometre away from an aid distribution site that was not active at the time.
Gaza resident Mohammed al-Khalidi said he was in the group approaching the site and heard no warnings before the firing began. “We thought they came out to organise us so we can get aid, suddenly (I) saw the jeeps coming from one side, and the tanks from the other and started shooting at us,” he said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund, a U.S.-backed group which runs the aid site, said there were no incidents or fatalities there on Saturday and that it has repeatedly warned people not to travel to its distribution points at dark.
“The reported IDF (Israel defence Forces) activity resulting in fatalities occurred hours before our sites opened and our understanding is most of the casualties occurred several kilometres away from the nearest GHF site,” it said.
The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident.
Deaths Near Aid Sites
GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a U.N.-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led terrorists loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the accusation.
The U.N. has called the GHF’s model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which GHF denies.
On Tuesday, the U.N. rights office in Geneva said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza – the majority of them close to GHF distribution points.
Most of those deaths were caused by gunfire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged that civilians were harmed, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions with “lessons learned”.
At least 18 more people were killed in other Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, health officials said. The Israeli military said that it had struck terrorists’ weapon depots and sniping posts in a few locations in the enclave.
The war began when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed around 58,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis, leaving much of the territory in ruins.
Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Qatar aimed at reaching a 60-day ceasefire though there has been no sign of any imminent breakthrough.
(With inputs from Reuters)
One Killed, Six Wounded In Russian Drone Strike On Ukraine’s Odesa
Russian forces launched a large-scale drone attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa early on Saturday, igniting a multi-storey apartment building and killing one resident, authorities said.
In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to sharpen his tone against Russia and to threaten harsher sanctions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack on Odesa injured six people, including a child.
Over 300 Drones Launched
Russia launched over 30 missiles and 300 drones during its overnight assault that affected 10 regions of the country, he added on Telegram, and reiterated the importance of air defence provision.
Ukraine has been asking for additional support from allies to deliver aid and invest in domestic production to repel Russia’s attacks.
Five missiles and 30 drones hit 12 locations, and seven locations were hit by downed aerial objects, Ukraine’s air force said in a statement on Telegram.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched against its smaller neighbour more than three years ago. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
In the northeastern Sumy region, the latest drone attack damaged critical infrastructure, leaving several thousand families without electricity, Zelenskyy said.
Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov earlier said that at least 20 drones had converged on the city, a frequent Russian target, and he said at least one multi-storey apartment building was on fire.
Pictures posted online showed a fire engulfing floors near the top of one building and emergency crews moving extended ladders into place. Smoke billowed from the windows.
Parents were seen carrying children to safety in blankets.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Syrian Government Calls For Truce Compliance In Druze-Majority Sweida Region
Syria’s Islamist-led government announced on Saturday that its security forces were deploying in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, urging all sides to uphold a ceasefire following days of deadly factional violence that claimed hundreds of lives.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a separate speech, said that “Arab and American” mediation had helped bring calm, and criticised Israel for airstrikes against Syrian government forces in the south and Damascus during the week.
Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence, which began with clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions, before Damascus sent in government security forces.
Israel has carried out airstrikes in southern Syria and on the defence ministry in Damascus, saying it is protecting the Druze minority, of whom there are a significant number in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire and urged all parties to end hostilities immediately.
The interior ministry said internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida.
Call For Calm
Sharaa called for calm and said Syria would not be a “testing ground for partition, secession, or sectarian incitement”.
“The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability,” he said in a televised speech.
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbours.
Barrack, who is both U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Washington’s Syria envoy, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons “and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity”.
Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities and weaponry in the seven months since Sharaa’s forces toppled President Bashar al-Assad, and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarised.
On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for the next two days.
(With inputs from Reuters)
NTSB Chief Calls Media Reports On Deadly Air India Crash Premature And Speculative
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said on Friday that recent media reports on the Air India Boeing Dreamliner crash that killed 260 people were premature and speculative.
A preliminary investigation released last week by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found confusion in the cockpit shortly before the June 12 crash, and raised fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches.
A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight supports the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with U.S. officials’ early assessment of evidence.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from Ahmedabad immediately began to lose thrust and sink down, according to the report on the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade released last week by Indian accident investigators.
The report by AAIB about the June 12 crash shortly after takeoff raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches, while suggesting that Boeing and engine maker GE had no apparent responsibility for the accident.
The crash is a challenge for Tata Group’s ambitious campaign to restore Air India’s reputation and revamp its fleet, after taking the carrier over from the government in 2022.
Focus On Fuel Switches
Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, CCTV footage shows a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines.
In the flight’s final moment, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.
It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight’s captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” just before the crash.
The commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience.
The fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The preliminary report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight.
Experts have said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches.
GE Aerospace, Boeing, Air India, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and AAIB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Homendy said investigations of this magnitude take time, and that the NTSB will continue to support AAIB’s ongoing probe.
(With inputs from Reuters)