About this Episode
Venezuela declared a state of emergency after two powerful earthquakes struck yesterday: a 7.2 foreshock followed 39 seconds later by a 7.5 mainshock — the strongest to hit the country since 1900 — leaving at least 164 people dead, hundreds injured and widespread building collapses around Caracas and La Guaira. The international airport was closed after sustaining severe damage, the metro and trains were halted, thousands were evacuated amid dozens of aftershocks whilst authorities warned casualties could rise. Countries, including the US, Spain and France offered search‑and‑rescue and humanitarian support.
The US Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that the Trump administration could terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, overturning lower‑court orders that had blocked the moves and signalling possible effects for TPS holders from other countries. In an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, the court held that the TPS statute limits judicial review and found plaintiffs unlikely to prove a constitutional equal‑protection claim. In a separate 6–3 decision the justices held that migrants stopped on the Mexican side of the border could not seek asylum until they had set foot in the United States, effectively reviving a border‑control policy used in 2016.
The EU transferred €3.2 billion to Ukraine as the first disbursement under a €90 billion joint‑debt support loan, Ursula von der Leyen announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk. A second tranche of about €6 billion, earmarked for drone production, was expected in the coming days. The package had been agreed in December after alternative plans faltered, and overcame a later veto by Hungary that was lifted following its April election. For 2026 Brussels allocated €45 billion, with further payments to follow through year‑end and €45 billion reserved for 2027; disbursements were made conditional on reforms in Kyiv and safeguards on corruption, and military spending carried “buy‑European” conditions except the €6 billion drone tranche, which was exempt because components had to be sourced from China.
Europe’s heatwave has pushed household costs higher and cut incomes, hitting poorest families hardest: power prices spiked to record levels as air‑conditioning demand soared and thermal stress reduced renewable and gas‑plant output, while school closures and shortened outdoor work hours forced parents (largely mothers) into unpaid care and seasonal/agricultural workers lost pay; Climate Analytics estimated compound heat‑and‑drought events already cut average household income by nearly 3% (the poorest 20% losing about 4%), warned of far larger losses under higher warming scenarios, and urged stronger adaptation as outages, transport disruptions and cascading economic impacts threaten low‑income and regionally vulnerable populations.
