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  • Billie Eilish, Shakira & More Stars React

    Billie Eilish, Shakira & More Stars React

    Billie Eilish, Shakira and more stars are speaking out amid the deadly floods in Texas.

    Starting on the Fourth of July, natural disaster swept through much of central Texas as torrential rains caused catastrophic damage across multiple counties. At press time, CNN reports that at least 89 people — including 27 young girls and counselors belonging to the Camp Mystic summer camp along the Guadalupe River — have died as a result, while others are missing.

    In response, Eilish shared a video capturing some of the flood damage and wrote Sunday (July 6) on her Instagram Story, “this is so sad.”

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    “sending love to Texas,” she added, following it up with a reshared video of a meteorologist warning how budget cuts to the National Weather Service under Donald Trump’s administration would inhibit its ability to properly warn people of disastrous weather crises such as the floods.

    Shakira encouraged fans to join her in donating to Texans in need, sharing a link to a local crisis response charity and revealing that a portion of the proceeds from her July 5 concert in San Antonio would go toward the cause. “Our hearts and prayers are with those affected by the flood in Central Texas,” she wrote on X. “Your help is important and appreciated.”

    Miranda Lambert also sprung into action, sharing posts on Instagram about how her pet charity, Mutt Nation, would be assisting displaced animals in her home state. “I can’t even come up with the words for the loss everyone is suffering,” the country star says of the floods in a video posted on her Instagram, after which she shared resources about fostering pets, dropping off supplies and donating on her Story.

    Other Texas natives who posted about the disaster were Maren Morris and Hilary Duff. Sharing old photos of herself performing in the Lone Star State, the former wrote on Instagram that she was “thinking of my home state right now.”

    “the floods are devastating and people are still missing,” she added in her post. “there are several places to donate but i’ll be donating to an incredibly impactful fund called the Texas Hill Country Community Foundation.”

    The Lizzy McGuire actress shared a statement decorated with bluebonnets — the state flower of Texas — on Instagram. “Heartbroken doesn’t begin to cover it,” she wrote. “Praying for even a shred of a miracle — to find a child alive in the wake of this boundless disaster … I’m just so deeply, absolutely sorry. Your loss is felt across the world.”

    Lana Del Rey mourned the loss of lives in both the Texas floods and the ongoing conflict in Gaza, sharing in a statement on Instagram, “We’ve been thinking of you every day since the floods … May all the angels be with you as you search for even more lost loved ones.”

    “And yes of course we pray for Palestine every day,” Del Rey added in a comment on the post. “There is never a good way of wording things that will make all people happy but that is my personal truth. Politically I do keep up and have been very much hoping for cease fire.”

    The musicians’ posts come as responders are still searching for survivors on rescue missions across the impacted areas in Texas. Even days after the disaster began, active flood warnings are currently still in place across the state.

    State representatives are also now grappling with how they could have better protected citizens amid the crisis. Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters Monday (July 7) that “if we could go back and do it again, we would evacuate,” while Mayor Joe Herring Jr. of the heavily affected Kerrville, Texas, revealed in an interview with CNN that he hadn’t even received an alert before the floods hit seemingly out of nowhere.

    “It all happened upriver at the worst possible place,” he told the news network. “And I think everyone in Kerrville, everyone in Kerr County, wishes to God we had some way to warn them. To warn those people … Everyone here, if we could’ve warned them we would have done so. And we didn’t even have a warning. We did not know.”


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  • BRICS nations resist ‘anti-American’ label after Trump tariff threat

    BRICS nations resist ‘anti-American’ label after Trump tariff threat

    RIO DE JANEIRO, July 7 (Reuters) — Developing nations participating in the BRICS summit on Monday brushed away an accusation from U.S. President Donald Trump that the bloc is “anti-American,” as he threatened them with additional 10% tariffs.

    Trump’s threat on Sunday night came as the U.S. government prepared to finalize dozens of trade deals with a range of countries before his July 9 deadline for the imposition of significant “retaliatory tariffs.”

    “Tariffs should not be used as a tool for coercion and pressuring,” Mao Ning, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing. The BRICS advocates for “win-win cooperation,” she added, and “does not target any country.”

    South Africa, which was slapped with 30% tariffs that were later suspended pending trade talks, reaffirmed that it is “not anti-American,” trade ministry spokesman Kaamil Alli said, adding that talks with the U.S. government “remain constructive and fruitful.”

    A Kremlin spokesman said Russia’s cooperation with the BRICS was based on a “common world view” and “will never be directed against third countries.”

    India and Brazil, which is hosting the BRICS gathering, did not immediately provide an official response to Trump.

    Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told reporters that he would only comment after wrapping up the summit. His opening remarks to BRICS leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Monday focused on the environmental and public health issues on the summit’s official agenda.

    A Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to comment officially said Trump’s threat underscored the importance of the BRICS group to give developing nations a way to argue for fair and effective global ground rules on topics such as trade.

    Many BRICS members and many of the group’s partner nations are highly dependent on trade with the United States.

    New member Indonesia’s senior economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, who is in Brazil for the BRICS summit, is to the U.S. on Monday to oversee tariff talks, an official told Reuters.

    Malaysia, which was attending as a partner country and was slapped with 24% tariffs that were later suspended, said that it maintains independent economic policies and is not focused on ideological alignment.

    Multilateral diplomacy

    With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and Trump’s disruptive, opens new tab “America First” approach, the BRICS group has presented itself as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars.

    In a joint statement released on Sunday afternoon, leaders at the summit condemned the recent bombing of member nation Iran and warned that the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism, opens new tab of Trump’s tariff policies.

    Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join the group.

    The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as members.

    Saudi Arabia formally accepting an invitation to full membership, but is participating as a partner country. More than 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners.

    Reuters reporting by Manuela Andreoni and Lisandra Paraguassu Editing by Brad Haynes and Hugh Lawson

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  • Intel May Unveil Refreshed Arrow Lake with Better Performance Before the Year is Out – extremetech.com

    1. Intel May Unveil Refreshed Arrow Lake with Better Performance Before the Year is Out  extremetech.com
    2. Intel Plans “Arrow Lake Refresh” for H2 2025 with Higher Clocks and Upgraded NPU  TechPowerUp
    3. The Intel Arrow Lake refresh is expected this year  Instant Gaming News
    4. Intel Arrow Lake Refresh Is Reportedly Launching In The Second Half Of 2025, Featuring “Slightly” Higher Performance  Wccftech
    5. Intel Arrow Lake Refresh with higher clocks coming this half of the year  VideoCardz.com

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  • Wimbledon blames human error for glaring mistake by electronic system that replaced officials

    Wimbledon blames human error for glaring mistake by electronic system that replaced officials

    LONDON (AP) — The All England Club, somewhat ironically, is blaming “human error” for a glaring mistake by the electronic system that replaced human line judges this year at Wimbledon.

    The CEO of the club, Sally Bolton, said Monday that the technology was “inadvertently deactivated” by someone for three points at Centre Court during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s three-set victory over Sonay Kartal a day earlier in the fourth round. On one point, a shot by Kartal clearly landed past the baseline but wasn’t called out by the automated setup — called Hawk-Eye — because it had been shut off.

    Hours after Bolton spoke with reporters, the club issued a statement to announce that it “removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking,” meaning “this error cannot now be repeated due to the system changes we have made.”

    Bolton declined to say who made the mistake on Sunday or how, exactly, it occurred or whether that person would face any consequences or be re-trained. She did note that there were other people at fault: the chair umpire, Nico Helwerth, and two who should have let him know the system was temporarily down — the review official and the Hawk-Eye official.

    “We didn’t need to put line judges back on the court again,” Bolton said. “We needed the system to be active.”

    Is Wimbledon using AI for line calls this year?

    No. But like most big tennis tournaments nowadays — the French Open is one notable exception — Wimbledon has replaced its line judges with cameras that are supposed to follow the balls on every shot to determine whether they land in or out.

    There are those, particularly in the British media, who keep referring to this as part of the ever-increasing creep of artificial intelligence into day-to-day life, but Bolton objected to the use of that term in this case.

    “The point I would want to emphasize — and perhaps contrary to some of the reporting we’ve seen — is it’s not an artificial intelligence system. And it is electronic in the sense that the camera-tracking technology is set up to call the lines automatically, but it requires a human element to ensure that the system is functional,” Bolton said. “So it is not AI. There are some humans involved. And in this instance, it was a human error.”

    What happened on the missed call at Wimbledon?

    Russia’s Pavlyuchenkova was one point from winning a game for a 5-4 lead in the first set against Britain’s Kartal on Sunday when a shot by Kartal landed long. But there was no ruling from Hawk-Eye.

    After a delay, Helwerth decided the point should be replayed, which Pavlyuchenkova thought showed bias toward an opponent competing in her home country. With Hawk-Eye back up and running after a delay, Kartal won that game, but Pavlyuchenkova took that set and the match.

    WATCH: Sports betting surge leads to rise in online harassment of elite college athletes

    The All England Club looked into what happened and found that the line-calling system actually was off for three points before anyone noticed.

    The system itself worked “optimally,” Bolton said repeatedly.

    “In this instance, sadly,” she said, “it was the human part of the operation that made a mistake.”

    Why was the Hawk-Eye system accidentally turned off during a match?

    Bolton said the system is shut down between matches — “and the humans are the people that need to do the activating and deactivating” — and someone accidentally did so during Pavlyuchenkova vs. Kartal.

    Asked why, Bolton responded: “Well, I don’t know. It was a mistake, obviously. … I wasn’t sat there, so I don’t know what happened.”

    She said Helwerth could have made a ruling himself on the controversial non-call, the way he did on the prior pair of points, but instead just decided to pause the match.

    “I’m assuming,” Bolton said, “he felt he had not seen it properly.”

    Pavlyuchenkova said after the match the official told her he thought the ball was out.

    What do players think about the use of technology at Wimbledon?

    Players are divided on whether there even should be electronic rulings during matches — unless it is fool-proof — or whether there should be a return to Wimbledon’s old way of doing things.

    Since 2007 through last year, there was a combination of the human touch and technology: There were line judges on court to make calls, but players were allowed to challenge and ask for a video replay of a point if they thought there was a mistake.

    “It’s such a big match, big event,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “Since we have already automatic line-calling and so much invested into this, we should probably look into something else to have better decisions.”

    Associated Press writer Mattias Karén contributed to this report.

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  • Cough medicine may help slow down Parkinson’s dementia

    Cough medicine may help slow down Parkinson’s dementia

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    A cough medicine may help slow down dementia progression in people with Parkinson’s disease. Image credit: DEV IMAGES/Getty Images.
    • Parkinson’s disease dementia develops in people who have a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
    • Experts are interested in finding the best ways to address and prevent Parkinson’s disease dementia.
    • A randomized clinical trial found that the drug Ambroxol may help stabilize the neuropsychiatric symptoms of Parkinson’s disease dementia, and confirmed the safety of the drug’s use among participants.

    Dementia is a common problem that remains a critical focus of clinical research. One subtype of dementia is Parkinson’s disease dementia, which has to do with the mental changes that occur in some people who already have Parkinson’s disease.

    A study published in JAMA Neurology compared the outcome of the expectorant Ambroxol with a placebo among participants with Parkinson’s disease dementia.

    While primary and secondary outcomes were similar, participants on the placebo experienced worsening neuropsychiatric symptoms compared to symptoms remaining the same in the intervention group.

    The results also showed a possible improvement in cognitive symptoms for people with variants of a particular gene.

    The authors of the current study note the need for disease-modifying interventions for Parkinson’s disease dementia. They note that focusing on a particular enzyme, beta-glucocerebrosidase, has potential, with an increase in this enzyme possibly making things better. They also note that the medication Ambroxol affects this enzyme.

    This study involved examining the safety of Ambroxol, how well participants tolerated the medication, and how it affected cognitive symptoms.

    There were 55 participants in total. All participants were over 50 years old and had confirmed Parkinson’s disease for 1 year or more before developing dementia. All participants also had a study partner, someone who was in contact with them “at least 4 days per week.”

    Participants took either Ambroxol or the placebo for 1 year. Researchers had trouble with recruitment for a low-dose Ambroxol group, so this group was not included in the statistical analyses of primary and secondary outcomes. Overall, there were 22 participants in the high-dose Ambroxol group and 24 participants in the placebo group.

    As a primary outcome, researchers evaluated participants’ conditions using two evaluations: the Clinician’s Global Impression of Change and the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale version 13.

    They also used other evaluation tools for secondary outcomes, including the Parkinson’s Disease Cognitive Rating Scale, the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale, and the neuropsychiatric inventory. Researchers were able to look at cerebral spinal fluid and plasma biomarkers in some participants as well.

    Throughout the study, some participants withdrew due to adverse events. Eight participants in the Ambroxol group withdrew, and three in the placebo group withdrew.

    Participants in the Ambroxol group saw more gastrointestinal adverse events. The placebo group experienced more psychiatric adverse events and falls than the intervention group.

    In the statistical analyses, the primary and secondary outcomes between the two groups were about the same. Thus, Ambroxol did not appear to have a significant impact on cognition.

    However, researchers did observe that the neuropsychiatric inventory stayed the same for the Ambroxol group, but the placebo group got worse in this area, indicating the placebo group experienced worsening behavioral functioning.

    The authors of the study note that GBA1 gene variants can increase the risk for cognitive decline in people who have Parkinson’s disease, and that “homozygous disease-causing variants in GBA1” can increase the risk for Parkinson’s disease.

    In participants with GBA1 gene variants, those taking the high-dose Ambroxol had decreases in neuropsychiatric inventory scores, three to a level of “clinically meaningful improvement,” and three also had clinically important improved cognitive scores.

    Researchers also observed increased beta-glucocerebrosidase levels among Ambroxol participants at the 26-week mark.

    Study author Stephen H. Pasternak, MD, PhD, FRCPC, a specialist in neurology, explained the following about the study to Medical News Today:

    “Our goal was to test the safety and tolerability of Ambroxol and to assess its effect on cognition. We randomized 55 patients to Ambroxol 1,050 mg/day [milligrams per day] or placebo for 1 year. Ambroxol was well tolerated; we only saw stomach upset as a side effect, and it was mostly mild. Patients on Ambroxol had fewer psychiatric symptoms. Patients on placebo had a worsening of plasma GFAP, a marker of neurodegeneration. A subgroup of patients (with GBA1 mutations) appeared to have improved cognition.”

    Pasternak told MNT that: “We hope that Ambroxol, or drugs like Ambroxol, will be able to prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease and dementia if it is given early enough.”

    While more research is needed, this study sets up the possibility of using Ambroxol in the future to help people with Parkinson’s disease dementia.

    Daniel Truong, MD, a neurologist, medical director of the Truong Neuroscience Institute at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, who was not involved in this research, explained that with future research this could lead to “a new class of disease-modifying therapy for [Parkinson’s disease dementia].

    Hypothesising on the potential mechanisms of action, Truong explained that:

    “Ambroxol, by enhancing lysosomal function via GCase [beta-glucocerebrosidase], may slow underlying neurodegeneration, especially in GBA1-related PDD [Parkinson’s disease dementia] — marking a shift toward targeted disease modification rather than purely symptomatic treatment.”

    He also noted that this could lead to “repurposing an established drug” as “Ambroxol is already widely used as a mucolytic agent with a known safety profile.”

    “This reduces development time, regulatory barriers, and cost, making it more feasible for rapid clinical adoption — especially in resource-limited settings,” Truong added.

    Still, should the current study findings be confirmed by further research, Pasternak hopes experts may see the drug in a new light.

    “Current therapies for Parkinson’s disease and dementia address symptoms but do not stop the underlying disease. These [new] findings suggest Ambroxol may protect brain function, especially in those genetically at risk. It offers a promising new treatment avenue where few currently exist,” he noted in a press release.

    The study does have a few limitations. It was a fairly small study with mostly white male participants that only went on for one year. It is possible that 1 year was not long enough to evaluate changes in cognitive symptoms since the placebo group did not see declines in cognitive symptoms.

    Researchers also note that the study was limited since it was a phase 2 trial out of a single center.

    They also acknowledge difficulties in recruitment and retention, and note that participants had “limited ability to tolerate the long cognitive assessments.”

    The researchers did not get to conduct statistical analyses to look at differences between high and low doses of Ambroxol. They also note that the low-dose group appeared to have worse cognition. They suggest that future studies should possibly stratify participants by cognitive severity.

    They also acknowledge that it is possible that the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale version 13 might not have been sensitive enough to detect changes in 1 year in participants who had mild Parkinson’s disease dementia. All participants in this study only had mild to moderate dementia.

    Finally, only eight participants total had GBA1 gene variants, so more research is needed to see if people in this group could experience distinct benefits from Ambroxol. Only three participants with GBA1 gene variants had the minimal clinically important difference in cognitive scores, and researchers acknowledge that “this sample is too small to support any conclusion.”

    Pasternak and his colleagues are planning to conduct a follow-up clinical trial later in 2025. The current research received funding from the Garfield Weston Foundation, a grant-giving nongovernmental organisation in the United Kingdom.

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  • Microsoft’s latest operating system claims majority market share after nearly four years, driven by Windows 10’s approaching end-of-support deadline

    Microsoft’s latest operating system claims majority market share after nearly four years, driven by Windows 10’s approaching end-of-support deadline

    Windows 11 has officially surpassed Windows 10 to become the world’s most widely used desktop operating system, according to new data from Stat Counter. The milestone comes nearly four years after Windows 11’s controversial debut and just months before Windows 10’s support cutoff.As of July 2025, Windows 11 now commands 52% of the global Windows market share, while Windows 10 has dropped to 44.6%. This represents a dramatic shift from December 2024, when Windows 10 still dominated with 62% compared to Windows 11’s 35%.The surge in Windows 11 adoption appears directly tied to Microsoft‘s announcement that Windows 10 support will end on October 14, 2025. The company has been aggressively pushing users to upgrade, sometimes displaying full-screen prompts encouraging hardware upgrades for incompatible machines.

    Strict hardware requirements slowed initial adoption

    Windows 11’s rise to prominence wasn’t immediate. The operating system faced significant headwinds due to Microsoft’s decision to implement stricter hardware requirements, including mandatory TPM 2.0 security chips. These requirements left millions of Windows 10 machines ineligible for the free upgrade, forcing users to either purchase new computers or remain on the older system.The adoption pace proved notably slower than Windows 10’s launch. While Windows 10 reached 400 million devices within just over a year, Windows 11 took two full years to achieve the same milestone, according to leaked Microsoft data from October 2023.Microsoft has offered some relief for Windows 10 holdouts, recently announcing a free one-year extension of security updates for users willing to enable Windows Backup and sync their Documents folder to OneDrive. Users can alternatively pay $30 for extended support or redeem 1,000 Microsoft Reward points.The transition marks a significant victory for Microsoft’s strategy to modernize its user base, though the company’s heavy-handed approach and controversial features like mandatory Microsoft accounts have drawn criticism from users preferring Windows 10’s familiar interface.


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  • ‘Keep pumping’: The new dance inspiring Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-equaling Wimbledon title

    ‘Keep pumping’: The new dance inspiring Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-equaling Wimbledon title


    London
    CNN
     — 

    If ever there was a time for Novak Djokovic to shake off his troubles and share a dance with his son and daughter, it was after being tested to his limit against Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday.

    The Serb battled through a four-set fight against the Australian 11th seed on Centre Court, eventually finding a way to secure a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win after more than three hours of play.

    But despite looking both physically and mentally exhausted after match point, Djokovic still had the energy to perform a new celebratory dance with his children who were watching on from the stands. Son Stefan was seen joining him in the movement after outlasting de Minaur.

    The dance – reportedly inspired by a 2004 song by Danzel – has found new popularity during this year’s Wimbledon, with the 24-time grand slam champion performing it with his children after winning his matches.

    The moves involve Djokovic pumping his fists down, then to the left, then the right, and finally up to the sky.

    His daughter Tara stole the show after her dad’s third-round win on Saturday, pushing herself to the front of the stands to perform the “pump it up” dance moves while Djokovic was being interviewed.

    “It’s called ‘pumpa’ in our language and ‘pump it up’ in English. There’s a song with my kids,” Djokovic explained on Saturday.

    “And look, my daughter is doing it right now,” Djokovic continued, as the camera turned to Tara. “You want to show it, darling? You want to show how it goes?”

    Tara gave a shrug with a smile and proceeded to demonstrate, drawing delight from the crowd.

    “She’s the master,” Djokovic said. “It’s a little tradition we have right now so hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon.”

    Danzel, the artist behind the song, posted a video of Djokovic explaining the dance on Instagram, saying it was an “honor” to have inspired the new celebration.

    There were plenty of times during Monday’s match when it looked as though Djokovic would be unable to perform his new dance craze.

    Djokovic looked way off his best in the opening exchanges and struggled initially to get to grips with the gusty conditions on court.

    The first set was particularly puzzling, with de Minaur breaking Djokovic’s serve three times to take a one-set lead in the match.

    The start of the second was equally erratic, with both players breaking each other’s serve in quick succession – the set also involved an energy-depleting game that lasted 24 minutes alone.

    The 38-year-old Djokovic started to grow frustrated by the close of the second set after the net seemed to help de Minaur on several occasions, but all that angst and tension flew out of Djokovic in an almighty roar to his team after he wrapped up the second set.

    It then looked as though the seven-time Wimbledon champion had found his form, winning the third set and taking a huge step toward the next round. But de Minaur came racing back at the start of the fourth to break Djokovic’s serve early on.

    With many expecting the match to go into a deciding set, Djokovic upped his level and broke back twice to fight his way into the quarterfinals.

    “(De Minaur) is so good,” Djokovic said during his post-match interview on court. “He’s one of the quickest, if not the quickest player we have on the tour and on the grass, where the ball bounces very low. It’s extremely difficult to play someone like him if you’re not feeling the ball.

    “I was just very pleased to hang tough in the right moments and win this one.”

    Djokovic also had the added pressure of playing in front of tennis legend Roger Federer, who was the special guest in the Royal Box.

    The 43-year-old smiled as Djokovic gave him a special shoutout during his interview – the Serb is bidding to equal Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles in this year’s tournament.

    Roger Federer waved from the Royal Box as Djokovic celebrates his victory.

    “I think this is probably the first time he’s watched me and I’ve won the match,” Djokovic joked.

    “The last couple I’ve lost but it’s great to have Roger here. A huge champion and someone I admire and respect a lot.”

    Djokovic will now look to recover from Monday’s grueling encounter before facing Flavio Cobolli in the next round.


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  • Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti, Ukraine

    Today’s top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti, Ukraine

    #Occupied Palestinian Territory

    Civilians in Gaza face deadly violence, starvation as critical supplies run low

    OCHA warns that amid ongoing hostilities and attacks, more Palestinians in Gaza were reportedly killed over the weekend while attempting to access food. Partners report that several hospitals are overwhelmed, as they saw a surge in patients injured while seeking aid.

    A recent assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) shows that nearly one in three people is not eating for days, placing more people at risk of starvation.

    WFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Carl Skau, visited Gaza city last week to speak with families and assess the humanitarian situation. Skau described the situation as the worst he has ever seen.

    “It’s hard to find words to describe the level of desperation I have witnessed,” he said. “People are dying just trying to get food.” One mother told him she had gone to a kitchen hoping to find a hot meal and fainted there – there was nothing to eat, and she went home without anything for her children. Another father he met had lost 25 kilos in the past two months.

    OCHA reiterates that in the face of massive and ever-increasing humanitarian needs, the Israeli authorities must open all available crossings, fully facilitate humanitarian access inside Gaza, and protect civilians – in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law. 

    Meanwhile, for the fourth straight month, the Israeli authorities have not allowed any fuel to enter Gaza. Virtually all of the UN’s remaining fuel has been allocated to life-saving efforts. Service providers such as hospitals have been rationing supplies, but this cannot sustain critical operations for much longer.

    The absence of accessible fuel means no ambulances, no electricity for hospitals, and no clean water. Fuel is a lifeline in Gaza, and Israeli authorities must allow this commodity to enter without further delay.

    Today, the UN and partners working in telecommunications warned that Gaza could suffer from an Internet blackout imminently due to the shortage of fuel.

    Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities issued another displacement order yesterday for parts of Khan Younis – for the second time in two days. More than 50,000 people were estimated to be in the areas slated for displacement, which also include more than a dozen displacement sites, hospitals, ambulance centres, water wells, reservoirs and other life-saving operations.

    Since the ceasefire ended in March, more than 700,000 people have been displaced – often more than once, with no safe place to go. Overcrowding is particularly acute in Al Mawasi and other coastal areas.

    Yesterday, the UN Population Fund said that amid food scarcity and soaring malnutrition, women continue to bear an immense burden of finding food to feed their families. Most women report depression or suffer from nightmares and anxiety. 

    Meanwhile, inside Gaza, humanitarian teams continue their efforts to coordinate movements with the Israeli authorities. Yesterday, Israeli authorities denied three out of eight coordination attempts, hindering these teams’ ability to carry out critical operations. 

    The UN calls for immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access so that aid can reach people across Gaza, including in the north.

    #Syria

    UN, humanitarian partners committed to support Lattakia wildfires response 

    OCHA says that following devastating wildfires in the governorate of Lattakia on Syria’s west coast, the UN and its humanitarian partners are ready to support the response led by the interim authorities.

    In a statement yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Adam Abdelmoula, commended the extraordinary courage and dedication of firefighters and first responders. “We are steadfast in our commitment to support local authorities and provide timely, principled assistance to all affected communities, ensuring that urgent needs are addressed swiftly and effectively,” he said.

    UN teams are on the ground conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs.

    In the past week, wildfires have scorched wide swathes of forested and agricultural land across 60 communities in northern rural Lattakia, damaging civilian infrastructure and disrupting essential services. Hundreds of families have been forced to flee their homes.

    Though efforts to contain the fires continue, progress is being hindered by high winds, droughts, rugged terrain, and the presence of unexploded ordnance.

    #Sudan

    UN Relief Chief stresses urgent need to access besieged El Fasher

    The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said on Friday that he held a series of calls last week on an urgent humanitarian pause for besieged El Fasher, in Sudan’s North Darfur state.

    In a social media post, Fletcher warned that civilians there are cut off from aid and at risk of starvation, stressing that every day without access costs lives. “Let us work,” he called. 

    OCHA warns that those who remain in El Fasher face extreme shortages of food and clean water, while markets have been repeatedly disrupted. Most water infrastructure in the area has either been destroyed or rendered non-functional due to lack of maintenance and fuel to run generators.

    An assessment by humanitarian partners and local authorities found that 38 per cent of children under 5 at displacement sites in El Fasher are suffering from acute malnutrition – including 11 per cent with severe acute malnutrition. The breakdown of water and sanitation services, combined with low vaccination coverage, has sharply increased the risk of disease outbreaks.

    North Darfur has been an epicentre of clashes since the onset of Sudan’s conflict more than two years ago. Since April 2023, an estimated 782,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher town and the nearby Zamzam displacement camp, according to the International Organization for Migration. Just in April and May of this year, nearly 500,000 people were displaced from El Fasher town and Zamzam. About three quarters of the camp’s population fled to locations across Tawila, where the UN and partners have scaled up humanitarian assistance.

    Elsewhere in Darfur, cholera is on the rise. Last week, humanitarian partners reported more than 300 suspected cases, including over two dozen deaths, in South Darfur state alone. So far this year, more than 32,000 suspected cases have been reported across Sudan by local authorities. Conflict and collapsing infrastructure continue to drive the spread of the disease and impede response efforts. More resources are urgently needed to curb the outbreak.

    The humanitarian situation in other parts of the country also remains critical, with increased insecurity in the Kordofan region and West Darfur state.

    Humanitarian needs continue to far outpace available resources. The 2025 response plan seeking US$4.2 billion to assist 21 million of the most vulnerable people across Sudan is just over 21 per cent funded, with $896 million received to date. The reprioritized plan – which targets the most critical needs of 18 million people – requires $3 billion.

    OCHA once again calls on all parties to protect civilians and enable safe and sustained humanitarian access. We also urge donors to step up their support. Without additional and timely funding, the lives of millions of people in Sudan will continue to hang in the balance. 

    #Myanmar

    Earthquake survivors need sustained support

    Communities in Myanmar remain in crisis just over 100 days since two powerful earthquakes struck the country on 28 March. The earthquakes were the latest in a cascade of shocks – including ongoing conflict and seasonal flooding – that have shattered lives, destroyed homes and eroded any sense of safety.

    On the earthquake response, humanitarian partners have delivered aid to 1 million people, reaching 57 per cent of the target population so far. While the response is transitioning from emergency response to early recovery, significant humanitarian needs remain unmet, and sustained assistance is critical.

    Relief efforts for the earthquakes are hampered by funding shortfalls and access constraints. Of the $275 million required for the response, only half of that has been received to date. For the shelter response, the consequences have been especially devastating: Less than 5 per cent of shelter needs have been met due to lack of funding.

    Access limitations further limit the ability of aid workers to reach those in need. Humanitarian partners must be granted safe and sustained access to affected communities – wherever and whoever they are.

    With communities still struggling to recover from the earthquakes, monsoon rains have started, and the risk of renewed flooding threatens to push already vulnerable communities deeper into crisis. In 2024 alone, an estimated 1 million people were affected by floods in Myanmar – many in the same regions now reeling from earthquake damage. Without urgent investment in preparedness and action to mitigate the risks, the window to prevent further suffering could soon close.

    At the same time, the unilateral ceasefires announced during the earthquake expired on 30 June without renewal, resulting in a further escalation of violence. Attacks in multiple states and regions have resulted in reports of death, injury and displacement. The UN continues to call for all parties to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.

    #Haiti

    New arrivals put mounting pressure on critical services in Belladère

    OCHA warns that essential services in the Haitian town of Belladère – on the border with the Dominican Republic – are coming under growing strain as more people seek shelter there, including displaced families and deported migrants.

    Nearly half of the more than 121,000 Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic in 2025 have crossed through the town of Belladère – placing severe pressure on already overstretched reception facilities on the Haitian side of the border.

    During a joint mission led by OCHA late last month, alongside UN agencies and their partners working in protection, teams witnessed the growing challenges that families and unaccompanied children are facing as they arrive at the border.

    The situation remains particularly dire for vulnerable groups. OCHA met a pregnant 14-year-old who has been trying to reconnect with her family for the past three months while staying in an overcrowded facility for unaccompanied children.

    Belladère is also hosting families displaced by violence in the nearby commune of Mirebalais. The UN and its humanitarian partners are providing hot meals, cash assistance, protection services, and medical supplies, but the scale of needs continues to outpace available resources.

    Immediate priorities include expanding capacity at reception sites, ensuring the protection of unaccompanied and separated children, and strengthening support for vulnerable deported migrants and displaced families.

    Severe underfunding continues to hamper the humanitarian response. Haiti’s 2025 humanitarian response plan is the least funded humanitarian plan globally: More than halfway through the year, less than $75 million has been received – just 8 per cent of the $908 million needed. This severely limits humanitarian partners’ efforts to scale up life-saving assistance in high-risk areas like Belladère.*

    OCHA continues to work closely with national authorities, UN agencies and humanitarian partners to protect and assist vulnerable communities at the border, ensuring that even in the most difficult circumstances, the right to safety and dignity remains central to the humanitarian response in Haiti.

    *Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Haiti with urgent support.

    #Ukraine

    Humanitarians rush aid to survivors of latest attacks

    OCHA says that drones and strikes have killed and injured dozens of civilians in both urban and front-line areas of Ukraine in recent days.

    Authorities report that 30 civilians were killed and another 175 injured following strikes across Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, as well as front-line locations. At least seven children are among the casualties. Homes and schools were also damaged.

    Humanitarian organizations provided immediate assistance, including hot meals and emergency shelter material. They also distributed hygiene items and shelter kits, and offered mental health and psychosocial support.

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  • Corticosteroids may reduce effectiveness of immunotherapy in lung cancer

    Corticosteroids may reduce effectiveness of immunotherapy in lung cancer

    Corticosteroids, a commonly prescribed medication to alleviate cancer-related symptoms for non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immunotherapy, are the main reason certain immunotherapies may fail in treating the disease, according to new research by Keck Medicine of USC. 

    The study, published today in Cancer Research Communications, showed that high doses of steroids, when given before and/or during a specific type of immunotherapy, caused patients’ tumors to shrink less than those of patients not on steroids. Those patients also did not live as long. 

    Steroids were the biggest predictor of why certain immunotherapies may not be effective, even when considering multiple other factors such as stage and progression of the disease.”


    Fumito Ito, MD, PhD, Keck Medicine oncologist and immunologist, lead author of the research

    Additionally, researchers believe they have found the mechanism behind why steroids and some immunotherapies may not mix. 

    “Our findings reveal that steroids stop the body’s natural cancer-fighting cells, T-cells, from maturing. This makes them unable to attack the cancer as vigorously as they usually would, leading to worse outcomes for patients,” said Ito, who is also a member and co-leader of the translational and clinical sciences research program at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. “While other research has indicated steroids may negatively impact immunotherapy’s efficacy, we are one of the first to pinpoint a probable cause and effect.” 

    Ito and his colleagues also discovered that steroids blocked circulating biomarkers in the body – bits of cells in the bloodstream that signal when cancer is progressing so oncologists can adjust the patient’s treatment. 

    “Without the presence of circulating biomarkers to inform our decisions, oncologists cannot treat the cancer as effectively and patients may miss out on the best treatment for their cancer,” said Ito. 

    Two competing medications 

    The study examined the effect of steroids on a type of immunotherapy known as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). ICIs help the body’s immune system fight cancer by blocking proteins that prevent T-cells from attacking cancer cells. ICIs are often used to treat non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer. 

    Steroids are often prescribed to alleviate symptoms of the cancer or treatments given for a variety of reasons, such as fatigue and vomiting, or more serious side effects like brain swelling and lung inflammation. Steroids suppress the immune system, which reduces the inflammation that can cause these conditions. 

    How the studies were conducted 

    Ito and fellow researchers retrospectively studied the medical records of 277 patients with Stage II-IV non-small cell lung cancer who were treated with ICIs alone or in combination with other therapies. They compared outcomes (tumor shrinkage and survival rate) between patients prescribed steroids and those who were not at three centers, including USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

    They analyzed up to eight years of data to determine that steroids were the sole factor impeding the effectiveness of the immunotherapy. 

    They also determined that the T-cells of significant numbers of patients on steroids were not fully matured and launched a preclinical study using mice to observe the effects of steroids on ICI therapy in real time. This mouse model study led to the discovery that steroids given before/during immunotherapy inhibit T-cells from fully maturing. 

    The future of steroids 

    While the Keck Medicine research indicates steroids can interfere with ICIs, Ito acknowledges that for some patients, steroids may be necessary to manage their cancer-related symptoms. 

    “We know that steroids will continue to play an important role in lung cancer care, but it is important to understand their potential limitations,” said Ito. “Each patient should talk to their oncologist to make sure they have the best possible care plan tailored to their specific needs.” 

    He hopes this research will lead to more studies examining the effect of steroids on immunotherapy so oncologists can make fully informed decisions that will best benefit their patients. 

    Other study authors include Keck Medicine medical oncologists Jorge Nieva, MD and Robert Hsu, MD. 

    The study was supported with grants from the National Cancer Institute, P30CA016056 (RPCCC), P30CA014089 (USC), K08CA197966, R01CA255240, R01CA272827 (F. Ito), R01CA188900, R01CA267690 (B.H. Segal) as well as the Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program and the Uehara Memorial Foundation. 

    Source:

    University of Southern California – Health Sciences

    Journal reference:

    Polyakov, L., et al. (2025). Impact of Glucocorticoids on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy and Circulating Biomarkers in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients. Cancer Research Communications. doi.org/10.1158/2767-9764.crc-25-0051.

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  • Is this the ‘best version’ of Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas?

    Is this the ‘best version’ of Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas?

    Alexia Putellas: I am the best version of myself

    After missing out on this competition three years ago, Alexia Putellas is well and truly making up for lost time in Switzerland.

    She arrived at EURO 2025 on the back of her best individual campaign since an ACL injury that kept her sidelined for a lengthy spell.

    In fact, her 16 goals and 11 assist return in 24/25 is the second-best outing of her career in the Primera Division overall.

    Evidently, this is a player who is no stranger to stepping up in the big moments.

    In Spain’s opening two games of Group B she has done exactly that, registering three goals and two assists in victories over Portugal and Belgium.

    The second of these outings came with some difficulty, the tournament favourites pegged back twice by their Belgian counterparts before eventually cruising to all three points.

    Alexia’s performances have gone far beyond being clinical in front of goal, grabbing each game by the scruff of its neck and leading the charge for a title she is eager to win.

    It therefore begs the question: Is this the best version of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Putellas?

    She certainly thinks so.

    “For me, without a doubt, I am the best Alexia,” she said at Spain’s pre-Euros camp.

    “I know myself much better, I know what my qualities are, I know what those are in my work.

    “All the suffering [injuries] at the end make you evolve as a person and as an athlete; I know how to manager bad moments better and I know to savour the good moments too.”

    Putellas is playing with the confidence and fluidity that propelled her to stardom prior to that knee injury, with Spain the biggest beneficiaries.

    A potential third Ballon d’Or could be on the horizon for the midfielder, who played talk of it down in the media.

    For right now, her focus remains on fighting for the collective cause: EURO 2025.

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