- Friday, 22 August 2025
BBC
US guitarist Carlos Santana collapses on stage
Legendary US guitarist Carlos Santana collapsed on stage during an open-air concert near Detroit, Michigan. Medical personnel treated the 74-year-old in Clarkston on Tuesday, and he was taken to a local hospital's emergency department for observation.
Environmentalists sue KLM for 'greenwashing'
Environmental groups are suing Dutch airline KLM, alleging that adverts promoting the company's sustainability initiative are misleading. The groups say it's the first lawsuit to challenge the so-called airline industry "greenwashing".
Heavy rains bring Indian city to a standstill
It's that time of the year again when heavy rains in the Indian city of Mumbai and nearby areas have disrupted the lives of millions of people in the country's financial capital.
Climate change: 'Sand battery' could solve green energy's big problem
Using low-grade sand, the device is charged up with heat made from cheap electricity from solar or wind.
Sri Lanka warns petrol stocks about to run dry
Sri Lanka's energy minister has issued a stark warning over the country's fuel stocks as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years. Kanchana Wijesekera said the nation only had enough petrol left for less than a day under regular demand.
US stocks see worst first half drop since 1970
US stocks have seen their worst first half of a year since 1970, as concerns grow over how steps to curb inflation will affect economic growth. In the last six months, the benchmark S&P 500 index fell 20.6%, while other major US indexes also dropped sharply.
Japan swelters in worst heatwave since 1875
Japan is sweltering under the hottest day yet of its worst heatwave for almost 150 years. The blistering heat has drawn official warnings of a looming power shortage and led to calls for people to conserve energy where possible.
Philippines orders critical news site to shut down
By Howard Johnson & Frances Mao, Manila, June 29: Philippines authorities have again ordered the shutdown of an investigative news site founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa.Rappler is one of the few Philippines media outlets critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's government.The regulator's ruling comes just before Duterte leaves office and is succeeded by his ally Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who won the election in May.Rappler said it wouldn't be closing and would challenge the order in court."We will continue to work and to do business as usual," Ressa told reporters on Wednesday. "We will follow the legal process and continue to stand up for our rights. We will hold the line."She said the ruling had come after highly irregular proceedings, and that the site couldn't count on rule of law anymore.The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement that a decision to revoke the company's licence to operate had been upheld following an appeal - because it and the courts had concluded that Rappler's funding model was unconstitutional.The regulator first issued an order against Rappler in 2018, invalidating the news organisation's credentials because - it said - the company had sold control of itself to a foreign entity in breach of foreign ownership restrictions in Philippines media.Rappler has been fighting the ruling ever since. It denies its US investor funding and breaks the law.In 2015 Rappler received funding from the Omiydar network - a philanthropic investment company set up by Pierre Omiydar, the billionaire founder of Ebay - but denied it ceded foreign control. Three years later it donated the investment to the Filipino staff of Rappler to prove it had no controlling stake in the business.Ressa said on Wednesday the SEC's ruling was the latest blow in a six-year campaign from authorities in response to Rappler's hard-hitting reporting."We have been harassed, this is intimidation, these are political tactics and we refuse to succumb to them," she said.Human Rights Watch said the "spurious" move from the SEC was an effort to "shut up Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, and shut down Rappler, by hook or by crook."Rappler has published extensively on President Duterte's deadly war on drugs, as well as taking a critical look at issues of misogyny, human rights violations and corruption.Ressa, who co-founded the site in 2012, faces at least seven criminal and civil cases which she says are politically challenged. She is appealing her conviction in 2020 for libel - a case seen as a test of Philippine press freedom.She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year - along with a Russian journalist - for her journalistic work with Rappler. She was commended for using freedom of expression to "expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines".The order against Rappler comes amid growing concerns about what the new Marcos government will be like.Marcos Jr. is the son of the nation's former dictator who persecuted journalists, human rights activists and political opposition during his decades in power.Activists have already raised concerns about media suppression and free speech.Just this month, Philippines officials advised internet providers to block websites supporting left-wing activists.Journalists critical of the government are also routinely abused in the country. Several whistle-blower accounts have emerged of 'troll farms' set up to harass and intimidate journalists and political opponentsReporters without Borders (RSF) ranks the Philippines 147 out of 180 countries on its Press Freedom Index, down 9 places from 2021.
Fossils: Cave woman one million years older than thought
Modern testing methods now suggest the group of early humans roamed the earth between 3.4 and 3.7 million years ago.
Petrol sales banned in crisis-hit Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has suspended sales of fuel for non-essential vehicles as it faces its worst economic crisis in decades. For the next two weeks, only buses, trains and vehicles used for medical services and transporting food will be allowed to fill up with fuel.
Nasa makes history with rocket launch in Australia
unassuming patch of red dirt in remote Australia has made history as the site of Nasa's first rocket launch from a commercial spaceport outside the US.
Japan urges 37 million people to switch off lights
Japan's government has urged people in Tokyo and its surrounding area to use less electricity on Monday, as it warned that supplies will be strained as the country faces a heatwave.
At least 17 found dead in South Africa nightclub
At least 17 people have been found dead in a nightclub in South Africa's East London city, local media report.
Toyota recalls electric cars over concerns about loose wheels
Motor industry giant Toyota is recalling 2,700 of its first mass-produced all-electric vehicles over concerns their wheels may fall off. A spokesperson told the BBC that bolts on the bZ4X's wheels "can loosen to the point where the wheel can detach from the vehicle" after "low-mileage use".
In pictures: Afghanistan after devastating earthquake
Afghanistan's Taliban government has appealed for more international help to cope with the devastating earthquake that's feared to have killed at least 1,000 people.
