A netizen cried for help on Facebook after receiving news that a dog was trapped behind the rear wheel of a vehicle at a multistorey car park in Jurong West. User Chiam Zhi Lin wrote in a post on the Dogs Singapore group at around 7pm on Monday (July 1) that her colleague «saw a dog stuck [behind a car's] tyre» at Block 684 Jurong West Street 64. Chiam added that a couple who were passing by had tried to take the dog out, «but it's impossible… because it's a medium-sized dog». In a photo uploaded with the post, a dog with brown fur is seen stuck in the gap of the car's left rear wheel. Some of the netizens, worried about the canine, leapt into action. One user said she reached out to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Singapore Civil Defence Force for help. Someone also called the police. Meanwhile, passers-by did their best to get the dog out. Another photo uploaded by Chiam shows four people crouched around the car, shining their mobile phone torch lights into the gap. Around 15 minutes later, at about 7.30pm, they managed to free the dog, which did not have a collar.

The new statues of Sir Stamford Raffles and Dr Nathaniel Wallich at Fort Canning Park are to acknowledge their contributions to Singapore's botanical heritage, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Tuesday (July 2). It is also an acknowledgement of Singapore's colonial past, and not meant to glorify or celebrate «a phase in our history», he added in a written parliamentary reply. Lee cited examples of Singapore's administrative, judicial and political systems - including Parliament, which is based on the Westminster model - as current institutions which can be traced back to the British. Lee's statement comes after Nominated MP Usha Chandradas asked the minister about the basis for the installation of the two new statues, given recent trends in local and global art and cultural institutions towards decolonisation and the re-examination of colonial histories. The pair of life-size bronze figures were unveiled at Fort Canning Park in May.

For the past three years, a Singaporean woman said she has been tormented by an incident in Taiwan where she was punched by a police officer.  She ended up suing the officer, who was charged with intentional injury. Both parties appeared in a Taipei court on Tuesday (July 2).  The woman, known only as Xu, had gotten into an argument on June 29, 2021 with medical staff at Cheng Hsin General Hospital in Taipei, where her husband was warded, reported Taiwanese media outlet ETtoday. She was subsequently arrested and detained by the police.  The next day, Xu was taken into an interrogation room, where she argued with a police officer surnamed Ding, over the issues of mask wearing and garbage disposal.  As the altercation escalated, Ding punched Xu in the face, causing injury to her lip. In retaliation, she splashed a bottle of water at him and threatened to sue him.  Ding later explained that he had tried to make Xu wear a mask because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He also admitted to hitting her and apologised for his actions.  Xu, however, refused to accept his apology and sued him instead.

The Rotary Club of St Andrew North has targeted a contribution of US$32,000 (J$5,100,000) to Food For The Poor Jamaica as part of a collaborative effort to provide education and shelter for at least four families during the club’s new...

WESTERN BUREAU: Residents of western Hanover have contributed nearly $5 million towards Kendal Primary School’s rehabilitation as an investment in the educational development of its youth. This follows the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF)...

WESTERN BUREAU: Schools within the Ministry of Education’s [MOE] Region 4 zone in western Jamaica are among Jamaica’s various educational institutions which will have their planned examination and graduation schedules moved up in light of the...

THERE WERE so many plusses at the first anniversary of the launch of the Alliance of Yorubas in Jamaica inside the Alfred Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology Jamaica on Saturday, June 29. The entertainment, music and food did not...

WESTERN BUREAU: Ahead of Hurricane Beryl’s expected landfall in Jamaica today, the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) says it has moved to send home patients who do not need in-hospital care, as part of efforts to outfit its hospital...

The Navy chief is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart Admiral M Nazmul Hassan, Chief of the Naval Staff, Bangladesh Navy in Dhaka, and also review the Passing Out Parade scheduled at Bangladesh Naval Academy (BNA) at Chittagong on July 4, the release added.

Samrat Choudhary removes turban in Ayodhya after Nitish Kumar's party switch, dedicating it to Lord Ram. This marks Choudhary's vow fulfillment, emphasizing his commitment and the political shifts in Bihar.

[African Arguments] At 99, the memory of Patrice Lumumba only grows stronger, as a new book uncovers fresh details about his gruesome assassination 64 years ago.

[The New Humanitarian] Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo -- 'They want us to report what they want to hear.'

[UN News] Millions of displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are suffering amid one of the world's most neglected crises, the UN International Organization of Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

Committed to supporting “student-soldiers,” Technion students and alumni have been involved in the development of cutting-edge military technologies used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including unmanned bulldozers and stealth and search-and-hunt unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as the Iron Dome system that was designed to repel Hamas rocket attacks.

«One of them is the settlement with Ukraine,» Andrey Kelin said

She will operate in the Pacific fleet, the United Shipbuilding Corporation said

According to Yury Ushakov, Moscow considers the summit in Astana as an «opportunity to organize bilateral contacts with the county leaders who will attend it»

RIYADH: A resurgence in almond cultivation is taking root along the scenic route between Taif and Baha, signifying the revival of a practice deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of this part of Saudi Arabia. Fahd Al-Zahrani, director of the local branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, said that that almond trees are once again a common sight across the landscape. “Almond cultivation has spread to several areas including Baha, Baljurashi, Al-Mandaq, Bani Hassan, and Al-Qura,” he said.

HELSINKI: In an interview with Arab News, Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen discussed Saudi-Finnish ties, the recognition of the Palestinian state, and the results of the 2024 World Happiness Report which ranked the Nordic country in the top spot for the seventh year in a row. “I think we have had intensifying ties in the trade side for some years now, and we have especially taken notice of the Vision 2030 plans of Saudi Arabia,” Valtonen told Arab News.

RIYADH: Joint efforts between the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, also known as Etidal, and Telegram in combating extremist content led to the removal of 18 million items of extremist content and the closure of 660 extremist channels during the second quarter of 2024. A press release said that the joint teams continued to monitor and combat the propaganda activity of extremist content for three terrorist organizations: Daesh, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and Al-Qaeda.

LONDON: Diriyah Company is bringing a taste of Saudi culture and heritage to upmarket London department store Harrods this month, in the form of an exclusive pop-up exhibition highlighting the $63 billion mega-development project underway in Diriyah, the historic birthplace of the Kingdom.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday reiterated the Kingdom’s tireless efforts alongside its partners at the political and humanitarian levels to halt the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, the Saudi Press Agency reported. For nearly nine months, Israel has been carrying out a devastating ground an air incursion inside the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants attacked Israeli settlements bordering the enclave.

President Joe Biden warned Monday that the US Supreme Court's landmark ruling on presidential immunity sets a «dangerous precedent» that Donald Trump would exploit if elected in November. The conservative-dominated high court ruled that Trump -- and all presidents -- enjoy «absolute immunity» from criminal prosecution for «official acts» taken while in office, but can still face criminal penalties for «unofficial acts.» «For all practical purposes today's decision almost certainly means there are no limits to what a president can do. This is a fundamentally new principle, and it's a dangerous precedent,» Biden said in a speech at the White House. Trump is facing criminal charges over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, but that trial had been put on hold while the Supreme Court considered his immunity claims. The 6-3 ruling on Monday, split along ideological lines, is set to further delay proceedings in that case, almost certainly to sometime after voters head to the polls in November. «The American people must decide if they want to entrust... once again, the presidency to Donald Trump, now knowing he'll be more emboldened to do whatever he pleases, whenever he wants to do it,» Biden said. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, in his majority opinion, said a president is «not above the law» but does have «absolute immunity» from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office. «The president therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers,» Roberts said. «As for a President's unofficial acts, there is no immunity,» the chief justice added, sending the case back to a lower court to determine which of the charges facing Trump involve official or unofficial conduct. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States as well as obstruction of an official proceeding -- when a violent mob of his supporters tried to prevent the January 6, 2021, joint session of Congress held to certify Biden's victory. The 78-year-old former president is also charged with conspiracy to deny Americans the right to vote and to have their votes counted. «The public has a right to know the answer about what happened on January 6, before they're asked to vote again this year,» Biden said. «Now because of today's decision, that is highly, highly unlikely. It's a terrible disservice to the people of this nation.» - Organize a coup? 'Immune' - The three liberal justices dissented from Monday's ruling with Justice Sonia Sotomayor saying she was doing so «with fear for our democracy.» «Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law,» Sotomayor said. «In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.» «Orders the Navy's Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.» Trump, in posts on Truth Social, welcomed the decision calling it a «big win for our Constitution and democracy.» «Today's Historic Decision by the Supreme Court should end all of Crooked Joe Biden's Witch Hunts against me,» he said. - Election case will 'drag on' - Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, said the ruling means the case «is going to drag on more and more, and longer and longer, and well beyond the election.» «To the extent that Trump was trying to drag his feet and extend this beyond the election, he has succeeded wildly,» Schwinn said. The opinion also provides a «roadmap» for a US leader to avoid prosecution for a particular action «simply by intertwining it with official government action,» he added. «That's going to seriously hamstring the prosecution of a former president because the president's official actions and unofficial actions are so often intertwined,» he said. Facing four criminal cases, Trump has been doing everything in his power to delay the trials until after the election. Trump was convicted in New York in May of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal in the final stages of the 2016 campaign, making him the first former US president ever convicted of a crime. His sentencing will take place on July 11, though his lawyers have sent a letter to the judge in that case seeking to set aside the verdict in light of the immunity ruling, US media reported. By filing a blizzard of pre-trial motions, Trump's lawyers have managed to put on hold the three other trials, which deal with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and hoarding top-secret documents at his home in Florida. If reelected, Trump could, once sworn in as president in January 2025, order the federal cases against him closed. © Agence France-Presse

Dozens of passengers were injured Monday when an Air Europa flight from Madrid to Montevideo hit strong turbulence, prompting an emergency landing in Brazil, the airline and government officials said. The plane, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with 325 people on board, was diverted in the early morning hours to the airport of Natal in northeast Brazil, where more than a dozen ambulances waited. Forty passengers were taken to hospitals and clinics in Natal for treatment of «abrasions and minor traumas,» the health secretariat of Brazil's Rio Grande do Norte state told AFP. Eleven remained hospitalized at the Monsenhor Walfredo Gurgel hospital by Monday afternoon. Among the injured were nationals of Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Israel, Bolivia and Germany. Air Europa earlier said seven passengers had been treated for «various injuries» while an undisclosed number received medical attention for bruises. It added a plane was being sent from Madrid to collect the passengers while the stricken Boeing is examined for damage in Natal. They would first be taken to Recife elsewhere in Brazil, from where they will continue the journey to the Uruguayan capital, the company said. X user Mariela Jodal, who said she was among the passengers, wrote on the platform that several people were injured in «very strong turbulence,» but she was spared «thanks to the seat belt.» Images she posted showed broken ceiling panels, with pipes and wires visible, while one photo showed emergency vehicles with flashing lights waiting on the tarmac in Natal. In May, a 73-year-old British man died and several other passengers and crew suffered skull, brain and spine injuries when a Singapore Airlines-operated Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. A week later, 12 people were injured during turbulence on a Qatar Airways Boeing 787-9 flight from Doha to Ireland. - Climate change - Air safety experts say passengers are often too casual about wearing seatbelts, leaving them at risk if the plane hits unexpected turbulence. Scientists also say that so-called clear air turbulence, which is invisible to radar, is getting worse because of climate change. A 2023 study found the annual duration of clear air turbulence increased by 17 percent from 1979 to 2020, with the most severe cases increasing by more than 50 percent. Monday's incident was the latest drama involving a Boeing plane, as the manufacturer faces intense scrutiny following a near-catastrophic event in January, when a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines-operated 737 MAX. That renewed concerns over the company's safety and manufacturing standards which had been raised following two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. In March, the US aviation giant announced the impending departure of CEO Dave Calhoun. © Agence France-Presse