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BBC News with Neil Nunes.
Democratic Party lawmakers in the United States have expressed serious concern about conditions on board an aircraft carrier that's on an extended deployment in the Middle East. They say reports of supply shortages, broken plumbing and other problems on the USS Abraham Lincoln are simply unacceptable. They also highlighted extreme fatigue and burnout with reports some service members have tried to jump overboard. The Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was dismissive of the criticism. "... completely misrepresented. Listen, we make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. And so to that crew and to all those crews, we're gonna do everything we can for you and we are so grateful for their dedication." The U.N. special envoy for Yemen has warned the country could return to large-scale civil war as it gets drawn into the confrontation between the United States and Iran. Hans Grundberg told the Security Council military activity had intensified along the front lines between the Houthis and forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government. "Yemen today faces a more serious risk of return to large-scale conflict than at any point since the 2022 U.N.-mediated truce. There has been an intensification of military activity along front lines with recent attacks by Ansar Allah in Marib, Hadramawt, Mokha and beyond, causing casualties among both military personnel and civilians." Clashes have escalated since the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month in an apparent support of Iran. The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned an attack on two oil vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was an act of "piracy." The UAE accused Iran of carrying out the attack on two ships of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. No details were given about the extent of the damage. European governments are warning that extreme temperatures and a lack of rainfall are causing major economic damage as the continent endures the fifth heatwave of the year. It's forced the closure of a nuclear power plant that generates about 20 percent of Romania's electricity, as Nick Thorpe reports. The second reactor at Cernavodă was disconnected from the Romanian electricity grid just before midday local time. The total shutdown of both reactors deprives Romania of about 20 percent of its power. The shortfall is covered by solar and wind during the hot, windy day times, but traditional coal and gas-powered generation will have to be supplemented by imports. Romania also has huge hydropower capacity, but that's been heavily cut by the same low river levels. World news from the BBC. Ballots are being counted after polls closed in Zambia's general elections. Voters have been choosing a president, members of parliament and local councils in a contest dominated by the economy and living costs. The artificial intelligence giant Anthropic says autonomous AI agents frequently engage in destructive turf wars when confronted with each other. During one experiment where flawed agents were given instructions on the same software project, each assumed the other was deliberately sabotaging them. What followed would often be aggressive self-replicating malware responses. However, the researchers say some tests yielded positive results as the agents would sometimes invent mechanisms to resolve their conflicts. Votes are being counted after a parliamentary by-election in Clacton in eastern England where the Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage is facing dozens of French candidates including a comedian dressed as a rubbish bin. Mr. Farage triggered the vote by resigning the parliamentary seat in response to an investigation into his finances. Builders for a groundworks company in Belgium working on a renovation project have found a chest filled with gold bars and gold coins bricked in the wall of a cellar. The treasure is estimated to be worth more than $10 million. More from Ion Skippers. The builders literally struck gold when they were drilling in a cellar wall to lay new waste pipes. The discovery was made in the town of Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde in East Flanders and the owners of the building were immediately notified. They in turn called the police who seized the gold and brought it to a safe location. It is unclear how long the chest had been hidden there and why and whom it belonged to. Police are investigating whether there are rightful owners of the treasure or if it's linked to illegal activity. BBC News. |