Author: News Desk

Paris: More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from southwestern France as firefighters continue battling large wildfires that have scorched thousands of hectares of land. The evacuations come just days after two firefighters lost their lives near Bordeaux Airport, with authorities maintaining strict emergency measures across affected areas. According to officials in the Gironde region, more than 2,000 hectares of land have been destroyed by the fires. Authorities have banned the use of both internal combustion and electric engines in heavily forested areas to reduce the risk of new fires, while several roads have been closed. No injuries were reported…

Dunedin: Hotels in Dunedin, New Zealand, are already receiving strong demand and booking out nearly two years in advance as the city prepares for a rare total solar eclipse on 22 July 2028, the first of its kind to be visible from the region in more than 850 years. At 4:17 pm on July 22, 2028, the Moon will move directly in front of the Sun, casting a shadow approximately 100 kilometres wide across parts of southern New Zealand. Areas within the eclipse path, stretching from Queenstown to Dunedin, will experience 2 minutes and 51 seconds of daytime darkness. Despite…

Paris: The French Open has become the first Grand Slam tournament to propose a revenue-sharing model for player prize money, marking a significant development in ongoing discussions over player compensation. Tournament officials from Roland Garros presented the proposal to players’ representative Larry Scott during meetings held at Wimbledon two weeks ago. Although no agreement has yet been finalised, the willingness to adopt a revenue-sharing approach distinguishes the French Open from the other three Grand Slam events and is expected to increase pressure on the US Open, which is due to announce its prize money for this year’s tournament early next…

London: OpenAI has disclosed that one of its autonomous artificial intelligence agents accessed the open internet and hacked AI platform Hugging Face during an internal cybersecurity evaluation, describing the event as an ‘unprecedented cyber incident.’ The company said the attack was quickly detected and contained by Hugging Face’s security team before any wider impact occurred. According to OpenAI, the incident involved an AI agent designed to complete tasks without human intervention. During testing inside a secure digital sandbox created to assess the model’s hacking capabilities, the system identified a previously unknown software vulnerability that allowed it to gain access to…

East Rutherford, New Jersey: Lionel Messi has shared an emotional message following what could prove to be his final FIFA World Cup appearance, thanking Argentina’s supporters and congratulating Spain after the team’s 1-0 defeat in the final on June 20. The Argentine captain was visibly emotional after the match in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where Argentina missed the opportunity to win back-to-back World Cup titles. Although Messi did not confirm whether he has played his last World Cup, he reflected on the team’s journey in a heartfelt Instagram post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by…

Miami: Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to bring heavy rainfall, dangerous flooding, and a potentially life-threatening storm surge to parts of the US Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). As of July 2010 pmLouisiana Gulf Coast, the storm was located about 105 miles (165km) south of Panama City, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 40mph (65km/h). The Miami-based NHC said that Bertha is forecast to move near or along the northern Gulf Coast over the coming days. Forecasters warned that the storm could bring flooding, storm surges and severe weather to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi as…

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has announced a revised eligibility policy requiring players to undergo a one-time genetic screening to compete on the women’s professional tour. The new rules, which come into effect on July 21, require testing for the SRY gene, a genetic marker associated with biological sex. The organisation said testing will begin with strict confidentiality and data privacy measures in place, alongside a comprehensive player engagement programme. Under the previous policy, transgender women were eligible to compete if they declared their gender as female and maintained testosterone levels below the required threshold for at least two years…

Los Angeles: Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ has made a powerful box office debut, earning $264.1 million worldwide during its opening weekend, including $124.5 million from the United States and Canada, according to Universal Pictures. The film stars Matt Damon as the legendary Greek hero Odysseus, following his dangerous journey home after the Trojan War. It marks Nolan’s first feature since the Oscar-winning ‘Oppenheimer’ (2023), which secured Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Universal’s President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution, Jim Orr, said that the audiences showed tremendous enthusiasm for the film, describing the excitement across…

London: Users of X are being warned about a convincing phishing scam in which cybercriminals send fake login alert emails that closely resemble genuine security notifications from the platform. The fraudulent email claims that a new device has accessed the recipient’s X account from an unfamiliar location, prompting concern about unauthorized activity. It urges users to act immediately by clicking links to reset their password or review third-party app access to secure their account. Although the advice in the email mirrors X’s official security recommendations, the embedded links redirect users to fraudulent websites designed to steal login credentials or trick…

New York: England wrapped up third place at the FIFA World Cup with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France in the bronze medal match, delivering their highest finish at the men’s tournament since lifting the trophy in 1966. The remarkable contest featured 10 goals, making it the highest-scoring third-place play-off in World Cup history and surpassing the previous record of France’s 6-3 win over West Germany in 1958. Bukayo Saka was the star of the evening, becoming only the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match after Sir Geoff Hurst’s famous treble in the…