Softball: Vote for the Varsity 845 player of the week

Reuters
How Burkina Faso's junta is conscripting critics to fight Islamist rebels
Arouna Loure, a vocal critic of Burkina Faso's ruling military junta, received a conscription order on Sept. 7 last year requesting that the anaesthesiologist start a month of military service four days later. Days later, on Sept. 13, two armed men intercepted Loure between operating theatres at a hospital in the capital Ouagadougou, forced him into a 4x4, and drove to a military camp near the northern city of Kaya, he told Reuters. Loure, 38, had denounced the violence linked to Burkina's almost decade-long fight against Islamist insurgents in the West African country.
Yahoo Finance
Stock market today: US futures slip back with jobs data front of mind
Investors cautiously weighed the rate-cut odds ahead of crucial June jobs data, with Powell comments on deck.
USA TODAY
Hurricane Beryl remains at Category 5 as it roars toward Jamaica: Live updates
Hurricane Beryl strengthened overnight into a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm as it headed toward Jamaica.
Associated Press
France's far-right National Rally says it will lead a government only with an absolute majority
The star president of France's National Rally will take the helm of government only if the party wins an absolute majority in Sunday's second round of legislative elections, the leading far-right figure Marine Le Pen said Tuesday. The National Rally, under party president Jordan Bardella, secured the most votes in the first round of the surprise legislative elections on June 30 but not enough to claim overall victory.
Reuters
Philippine says to be 'relentless' in protecting interests in South China Sea
The Philippines told China it will be "relentless" in protecting its interests and upholding its sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the South China Sea, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday. But both countries recognised the need to "restore trust, rebuild confidence, and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction," the Philippine foreign ministry said in a statement following the ninth meeting of the China-Philippines Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea in Manila. Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary Theresa Lazaro and Chinese vice-foreign minister Chen Xiaodong "had frank and constructive discussions" on the South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, without elaborating.
Reuters
To migrate or not? Some Venezuelans are pinning that decision on July's election
Daniel Briseno lives in a poor part of Maracaibo, Venezuela's once-rich oil city, where he checks almost daily to see if a letter confirming he has permission to move to the United States has finally arrived in the mail. Briseno, who wants to move to the U.S. with his elderly mother, is fed up of dealing with the challenges of Maracaibo, which has suffered from acute shortages of basic services such as electricity and water for a decade. But the 44-year-old Briseno might change his mind if there is a change of guard following July's presidential election.
AFP
Candidates exit French runoff to block far right from power
French candidates faced a Tuesday deadline to stay in or quit the weekend's runoff election, with over 160 withdrawing so far in an effort to block the far right from winning an absolute majority.The rivals are hoping that putting their differences aside ahead of the runoff with tactical withdrawals will prevent the RN winning an absolute majority of 289 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly.
NBC News
Biden's bad debate slows Trump's rush to reveal his choice for vice president
Donald Trump’s timeline to announce his vice presidential running mate has paused following a shaky debate performance last week by President Joe Biden, sources familiar with the deliberations told NBC News.
Associated Press
UK's landmark postwar elections: When the first coalition government since WWII was formed in 2010
Britain’s upcoming general election is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. When Prime Minister Gordon Brown called an election for May 6, few gave the party much of a chance in extending that period in office. The global financial crisis in 2008, which led to the deepest U.K. recession in a century and the state bailout of some of the country's biggest banks, saw Labour's popularity took a dive.
Reuters
Iran presidential contenders face hurdle of voter apathy
The zealous anti-Westerner and the low-key moderate hoping to become Iran's next president could struggle to mobilise millions of supporters in Friday's run-off election amid voter apathy about a tightly-controlled contest. Over 60% of voters abstained from the June 28 ballot for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, a historic low turnout which critics of the government see as a vote of no confidence in the Islamic Republic. Friday's vote will be a tight race between lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian, the sole moderate in the original field of four candidates, and former Revolutionary Guards member Saeed Jalili.
Associated Press
Hurricane Beryl rips through open waters after devastating the southeast Caribbean
Hurricane Beryl roared through open waters on Tuesday as a monstrous Category 5 storm on a path that would take it near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after earlier making landfall in the southeast Caribbean, killing at least two people. A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane watch for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.
Reuters
Kremlin says Modi visit could deepen Russian trade ties to India
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the final details of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia were being worked out, and that deepening trade and economic cooperation would be one of the key themes of the visit. The Kremlin has yet to announce the dates of the visit by Modi, though a Russian state news agency reported last month that the visit would take place in July. "I can only confirm once again that the visit is in the final stage of preparation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Reuters
Beryl sets precedent for 'very dangerous hurricane season,' world met agency says
Hurricane Beryl, which has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, is setting the tone for a "very dangerous" hurricane season, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday. Beryl swept through Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, leaving many households without power, and is expected to hit Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands later in the week. "It's the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Central American basin," WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis told reporters in Geneva.
AFP
US proposes new safety rules for workers toiling in high heat
The administration of US President Joe Biden on Tuesday proposed new regulations aimed at protecting laborers working in extremely high temperatures, as heat waves intensified by climate change increasingly blanket the nation.The announcement, which comes as summer sets in across the United States, is one of a series of measures unveiled Tuesday by the Biden administration concerning extreme heat.
Reuters
Wife of Pakistan's Imran Khan gets bail in graft case, media say
KARACHI (Reuters) -A special court in Pakistan's city of Rawalpindi granted interim bail on Tuesday to the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a graft case, media outlet ARY News said. Khan, in jail since last August, was convicted in some cases ahead of February's general election, but a U.N. human rights working group said on Monday his arbitrary imprisonment violated international law. "The special accountability court granted bail," ARY News said in a message on X, referring to the interim bail.
CNN
Viktor Orban, Putin’s greatest European ally, makes first trip to Kyiv since start of war
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is paying his first visit to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale war began in February 2022.
Reuters
Futures drop as megacaps retreat ahead of key jobs data
AI chip leader Nvidia also dropped 1.4%, with other semiconductor stocks such as Micron Technology, Marvell Technology and Arm Holdings also slipping nearly 1%. The data would be crucial in determining the state of the U.S. labor market, which remains somewhat resilient even against the backdrop of decades-high interest rates - a key determinant of economic health. The other jobs data that are due throughout the week include ADP National Employment, weekly jobless claims and non-farm Payrolls.
CNN
Israel orders new evacuations in southern Gaza, prompting transfer of hospital patients
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders on Monday for areas in southern Gaza including eastern Khan Younis and Rafah, forcing residents – many of whom were already displaced – to seek shelter elsewhere in what signals the possibility of another ground operation.
Reuters
Central African Republic's children are world's most deprived, UNICEF says
The Central African Republic's three million children are the world's most deprived, with widespread malnutrition, inadequate healthcare access and instability putting the country at high risk of a humanitarian crisis, UNICEF said on Tuesday. Half of the country's children do not have access to health services, and almost 40% suffer from chronic malnutrition, the U.N. children's agency said. With global attention focused on the war in Gaza and other conflicts, the plight of the African nation's children has become "painfully invisible", Meritxell Relano Arana, UNICEF representative in the Central African Republic (CAR), told reporters in Geneva.
AFP
New Dutch PM sworn in with mission to curb asylum
Dutch King Willem-Alexander swore in former spy chief Dick Schoof as new prime minister Tuesday, at the head of a right-wing coalition cabinet with a mission to implement the country's "strictest-ever" immigration policy. Schoof presented his ministers to Willem-Alexander in the ornate "Oranjezaal" in the royal palace, who each stepped forward to swear allegiance to the king and the constitution.

Softball: Vote for the Varsity 845 player of the week

Alyssa Bonilla, Valley Central

Eva Garofalo, Warwick

Katelyn Higgins, Chester

Melanie Merton, Monticello

Katie Mulhare, S.S. Seward

Madison Ringus, Minisink Valley

Danielle Rush, James I. O’Neill

Lacey Schatzel, Saugerties

Brooke Shaefer, Goshen

Olivia Shippee, Monroe-Woodbury

Emma Spanjer, Chapel Field

Maggie Van Valkenburg, Highland

Latest Stories

How Burkina Faso's junta is conscripting critics to fight Islamist rebels

Stock market today: US futures slip back with jobs data front of mind

Hurricane Beryl remains at Category 5 as it roars toward Jamaica: Live updates

France's far-right National Rally says it will lead a government only with an absolute majority

Philippine says to be 'relentless' in protecting interests in South China Sea

To migrate or not? Some Venezuelans are pinning that decision on July's election

Candidates exit French runoff to block far right from power

Biden's bad debate slows Trump's rush to reveal his choice for vice president

UK's landmark postwar elections: When the first coalition government since WWII was formed in 2010

Iran presidential contenders face hurdle of voter apathy

Hurricane Beryl rips through open waters after devastating the southeast Caribbean

Kremlin says Modi visit could deepen Russian trade ties to India

Beryl sets precedent for 'very dangerous hurricane season,' world met agency says

US proposes new safety rules for workers toiling in high heat

Wife of Pakistan's Imran Khan gets bail in graft case, media say

Viktor Orban, Putin’s greatest European ally, makes first trip to Kyiv since start of war

Futures drop as megacaps retreat ahead of key jobs data

Israel orders new evacuations in southern Gaza, prompting transfer of hospital patients

Central African Republic's children are world's most deprived, UNICEF says

New Dutch PM sworn in with mission to curb asylum