Pro Pickleball: Ben Johns, Pioneers reach semis; Gator great Danny Wuerffel grabs a paddle

Reuters
Lebanese farmers dig for answers on Israel's white phosphorus use
The last time Lebanese farmer Zakaria Farah stepped onto his fields outside the southern town of Qlayaa was in January - but it was not to plant. After bagging up the earth, Farah, 30, sent half-a-dozen samples to a laboratory at the American University of Beirut (AUB) to be tested for residues of white phosphorus from Israeli shelling, hoping he'd learn whether he can plant his fields once hostilities end. Farah told Reuters he fears his fields have been poisoned by the Israeli military's use of white phosphorus since October, when exchanges of fire erupted between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in parallel with the Gaza war.
Reuters
Egypt has agreed long-awaited cabinet reshuffle, local media report
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly's cabinet is set for a long-awaited reshuffle, local media reported, with changes including new finance and foreign ministers expected to be sworn in on Wednesday. State television reported that Ahmed Kouchouk is set to become finance minister and faces perhaps the biggest challenge in managing a stumbling economy and sky-rocketing debt. At the foreign ministry, state TV citing local channel ExtraNews reported that Egypt's ambassador to the European Union Badr Abdelatty would replace Sameh Shoukry, who has steered the country's diplomatic efforts to negotiate between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel in their almost nine-month war.
AFP
Six dead as floods inundate vast swath of India, Bangladesh
Six people have been killed in floods precipitated by torrential rains across northeast India and neighbouring Bangladesh that inundated the homes of more than a million others, officials said Wednesday. In Bangladesh, landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed two people including a Rohingya refugee early on Wednesday, police commander Jahirul Hoque Bhuiyan told AFP. Bhuiyan said authorities in Bangladesh's vast relief camps -- home to around a million Rohingya refugees from neighbourin
AFP
Asia markets track Wall St records as Powell revives rate hopes
Asian stocks rose Wednesday following fresh records on Wall Street after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell fanned hopes of an interest rate cut by saying the battle against inflation had made "progress" and the job market was cooling.Speaking at a forum in Portugal on central banking, Powell said the Fed had "made quite a bit of progress in bringing inflation back down to our (two percent) target, while the labour market has remained strong and growth has continued".
AFP
Terror, 'chaos' as India stampede kills 121
Survivors of India's deadliest stampede in more than a decade recalled on Wednesday the horror of being crushed at a vastly overcrowded Hindu religious gathering where 121 people were killed.It said 121 people had been killed.
AFP
Japan's top court rules forced sterilisation law unconstitutional
Japan's top court ruled on Wednesday that a defunct eugenics law under which thousands of people were forcibly sterilised between 1948 and 1996 was unconstitutional, local media reported.Japan's government acknowledges that around 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised under the eugenics law that was in place between 1948 and 1996.
Associated Press
Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise, boosted by Wall Street records as Tesla zooms
Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after Tesla shares zoomed up more than 10%, helping to drive U.S. benchmarks to new records. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to finish at 40,580.76. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.1% to 17,956.55, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 2,982.38.
CNN
Ukraine says it thwarted a plot to overthrow the government
Ukraine has foiled an alleged plot to overthrow the government that “would have played into Russia’s hands,” security officials in the war-torn country said Monday.
NBC News
Hurricane Beryl reaches record winds of 165 mph as the powerful storm barrels toward Jamaica
Hurricane Beryl, the record-setting powerful storm that has killed at least seven people, weakened slightly Tuesday as it makes its way toward Jamaica, but it is still a major Category 4 hurricane with life-threatening winds and storm surge.
CNN
China coast guard detains Taiwanese fishing boat near frontline islands, Taiwan says
China’s coast guard detained a Taiwanese fishing boat and its five-member crew near the mainland’s southeast coast on Tuesday night, according to Taiwan.
AFP
Chad rangers battle to protect park from poachers, local farmers
Between the orange trunks of the acacia trees in the Chad savannah, a herd of elephants move through Zah Soo National Park, under the watchful eye of one of the only humans allowed to witness the scene.As well as poaching, the park's rangers have to fight against herders illegally taking their herds to graze in Zah Soo.
Reuters
Pakistan has met all requirements for IMF bailout deal, finance official says
KARACHI (Reuters) -Pakistan is looking to clinch a staff level agreement on an International Monetary Fund bailout of more than $6 billion this month after addressing all of the lender's requirements in its annual budget, its junior finance minister told Reuters. The South Asian country has set challenging revenue targets in its annual budget to help it win approval from the IMF for a loan to stave off another economic meltdown, even as domestic anger rises at new taxation measures. "We hope to culminate this (IMF) process in the next three to four weeks," Minister of State for Finance, Revenue and Power Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Wednesday, with the aim of thrashing out a staff level agreement before the IMF board recess.
CNN
Denali National Park has no timeline for reopening as rare wildfire burns outside entrance, officials say
No date has been set for the reopening of a national park in Alaska after a rare active wildfire near the park’s entrance was reported on Sunday, according to officials.
Associated Press
Massive overcrowding, lack of exits and slippery mud contributed to deadly stampede in India
Authorities say massive overcrowding, insufficient exits, and other factors contributed to a deadly stampede at a religious festival in Northern India that killed at least 121 people. Five more people died on Wednesday morning, local official Manish Chaudhry said, and 28 were still being treated in hospital. The stampede happened on Tuesday afternoon in a village in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh state, as large crowds rushed to exit a makeshift tent.
TODAY
Savannah Chrisley shares update on mom Julie Chrisley after her sentence was overturned
Julie Chrisley's sentence was recently vacated and while she waits to get resentenced, her daughter Savannah Chrisley gave an update on her mom.
CNN
Sierra Leone outlaws child marriage with new bill
Sierra Leone officially banned child marriage on Tuesday with President Julius Maada Bio signing into law a bill to end the practice that remains widespread.
Reuters
Nippon Steel's Mori to visit US again next week for talks on US Steel takeover
Nippon Steel's vice chairman plans to return to the United States next week again to discuss its proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday. The planned visit by Takahiro Mori, the Japanese firm's key negotiator for the deal, follows trips to the U.S. in May and June, highlighting the importance of the $15 billion takeover offer to the world's No. 4 steelmaker. U.S. Steel's management has backed the bid but the deal faces resistance from the White House and the powerful United Steelworkers (USW) union.
Reuters
EU governments waver over Chinese EV tariffs as trade spat escalates
EU countries are wavering over whether to back additional tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles, highlighting Brussels' challenge in building support for its largest trade case yet as Beijing threatens wide-ranging retaliation. Germany, whose carmakers made a third of their sales last year in China, wants to stop the tariffs, according to a government source, while France has been among the firmest backers. The issue will be put to members in an advisory vote in the coming weeks, the first official test of support in a landmark case for the Commission.
Associated Press
Malaysian court tosses jailed ex-Prime Minister Najib's bid to serve graft sentence in house arrest
A Malaysian court on Wednesday dismissed a bid by imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve his remaining corruption sentence under house arrest. In an April application, Najib said he had clear information that then-King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah issued an addendum order allowing him to finish his sentence under house arrest. Najib claimed the addendum was issued during a Jan. 29 pardons board meeting chaired by Sultan Abdullah, which also cut his 12-year jail sentence by half and sharply reduced a fine.
NBC News
Hoax bomb threat sent to Tree of Life synagogue, site of deadly 2018 shooting
Pittsburgh police are investigating a hoax bomb threat that was made Tuesday to the Tree of Life synagogue, which was the scene of a hate-fueled attack in 2018 that left 11 people dead, a spokesperson said.

Pro Pickleball: Ben Johns, Pioneers reach semis; Gator great Danny Wuerffel grabs a paddle

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Latest Stories

Lebanese farmers dig for answers on Israel's white phosphorus use

Egypt has agreed long-awaited cabinet reshuffle, local media report

Six dead as floods inundate vast swath of India, Bangladesh

Asia markets track Wall St records as Powell revives rate hopes

Terror, 'chaos' as India stampede kills 121

Japan's top court rules forced sterilisation law unconstitutional

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise, boosted by Wall Street records as Tesla zooms

Ukraine says it thwarted a plot to overthrow the government

Hurricane Beryl reaches record winds of 165 mph as the powerful storm barrels toward Jamaica

China coast guard detains Taiwanese fishing boat near frontline islands, Taiwan says

Chad rangers battle to protect park from poachers, local farmers

Pakistan has met all requirements for IMF bailout deal, finance official says

Denali National Park has no timeline for reopening as rare wildfire burns outside entrance, officials say

Massive overcrowding, lack of exits and slippery mud contributed to deadly stampede in India

Savannah Chrisley shares update on mom Julie Chrisley after her sentence was overturned

Sierra Leone outlaws child marriage with new bill

Nippon Steel's Mori to visit US again next week for talks on US Steel takeover

EU governments waver over Chinese EV tariffs as trade spat escalates

Malaysian court tosses jailed ex-Prime Minister Najib's bid to serve graft sentence in house arrest

Hoax bomb threat sent to Tree of Life synagogue, site of deadly 2018 shooting