The first plane set to take off late Tuesday from the UK carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda in a controversial scheme will not take place, according to local reports. 

The reported cancellation came after a last-minute intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the cases of a number of asylum seekers scheduled to be on the flight.

The plane, which has been waiting on the tarmac at a military airbase in Boscombe Down in Amesbury most of the day, will now not go to Kigali tonight.

A Home Office official is quoted to have confirmed the cancellation according to Sky News.

The flight, as of Tuesday morning, was to take seven asylum seekers to Rwanda, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss earlier today said it would go ahead even with a small number of passengers.

Truss described the now-grounded flight as a "key part of our strategy for tackling the appalling people smugglers who are trading in people's hopes and dreams."

The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda while their applications are processed has been criticized widely by many international organizations, pro-refugee NGOs and human rights groups.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government "will not be deterred from doing the right thing and delivering our plans to control our nation's borders" after the first flight was stopped.

"I have always said this policy will not be easy to deliver and am disappointed that a legal challenge and last-minute claims have meant today's flight was unable to depart," she said.

Patel said she was surprised that the ECHR has intervened and "these repeated legal barriers are similar to those we experience with other removals flights and many of those removed from this flight will be placed on the next."

"We will not be deterred from doing the right thing and delivering our plans to control our nation's borders. Our legal team is reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now."/aa

Extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change erupted across the US this week, bringing excessive heat, flooding and fires to various parts of the country.

Authorities were forced to shutter and evacuate Yellowstone National Park, one of the country's most heavily visited nature reserves, after heavy rain led to mass flooding and rockslides.

That included the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs rising by nearly 6 feet (182 cm) from Sunday through Monday, according to the US Geological Survey.

A video posted online by the National Park Service showed the North Entrance Road being overtaken by an adjacent river at several points, with parts of the roadway completely washed out.

The park is expected to remain closed through Wednesday "at a minimum," the park said on Twitter.

Some towns near the park were isolated and tourists were stranded there, The Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, a pair of fires erupted in Arizona near Flagstaff, darkening skies with dense smoke. The Pipeline Fire has consumed roughly 20,100 acres while the Haywire/Double Fire has burned 4,000 acres, according to the state's Department of Environmental Quality.

"With strong gusty winds and low relative humidity yesterday (Monday), both fires were very active with smoke moving toward the northeast throughout the day," it said.

Wildfires were also reported in the state of California, including the Sheep Fire northeast of Los Angeles, which has consumed nearly 1,000 acres.

Excessive heat continues to be recorded across much of the country with the National Weather Service reporting excessive heat warnings or heat advisories in at least two dozen states.

"'Heat' is the word of the day for much of the country east of the Rockies," it said on Twitter. "Widespread heat indicies of 100+ degrees are dangerous for those working or playing outdoors for long periods."/agencies

A service of remembrance and a 72-second silence were observed on Tuesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Fire, a tragedy in which 72 people were killed in a housing tower fire.

The incident took place on June 14, 2017, and saw 72 people die in a housing tower used mainly by working-class and minority ethnic people located in one of London’s richest neighborhoods.

The service of remembrance was held at Westminster Abbey in central London, and the 72-second moment of silence was held at Westfield shopping center, close to the location of the housing block.

The names of the 72 victims were read out loud both at Westminster Abbey as well as the Westfield shopping center.

The Westminster Abbey service was attended by Theresa May, who was prime minister at the time of the tragedy, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

This evening, a second vigil will take place outside the tower block.

The tower block, which still stands but whose charred exterior has been covered, will be lit in green, the color used by victims’ families to remember their lost ones.

A silent walk that takes place every year in commemoration of the tragedy will also take place this year, with firefighters forming a guard of honor.

Half a decade after the tragedy, justice has yet to be done, with victims’ families still campaigning for accountability and reform.

Victims’ families have called for the recommendations of a public inquiry to be implemented, as well as criminal prosecutions against those responsible./aa

Organizers of the 2022 US Open said Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to participate in the tournament under a neutral flag.

All eligible players will be allowed to compete in the Grand Slam, regardless of their nationality, according to a statement on the official website.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) -- organizers behind the tournament – said it, alongside the International Tennis Federation (ITF), Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), previously condemned and continues to condemn Russia's unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine.

"Tennis has done much through Tennis Plays for Peace for humanitarian support of Ukraine. Unfortunately, the need for help only continues to grow," said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Mike McNulty. "The USTA will be responding very soon with a broad set of initiatives that will include significant financial assistance and other programs to further support humanitarian relief and the people of Ukraine.”

Nearly 4,400 civilians have been killed and 5,390 injured in Ukraine since the war started on Feb. 24.

More than 14 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including over 7.3 million who have fled to other countries, according to UN figures.

The US Open, one of the four Grand Slams in tennis, will be held from Aug. 29 to Sept. 11./aa

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to replace the UK as the top global attractor of foreign wealth as Russian and Ukrainian capital seek safe haven from war, according to a report on Tuesday by a London-based investment migration consultancy.

"A tsunami of private capital has left Russia and the Ukraine, the UK has lost its wealth hub crown, and the US is fading fast as a magnet for the world’s wealthy, with the UAE expected to overtake it by attracting the largest net inflows of millionaires globally in 2022," said the report by Henley & Partners, which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends worldwide.

"As expected, Russia has suffered the biggest emigration of millionaires over the past six months, with forecast net outflows of 15,000 by the end of 2022," said the report, adding that Ukraine, too, is predicted to suffer its highest net losses in history -- 2,800 millionaires.

Henley & Partners' analysis focuses only on individuals with wealth of $1 million or more who stay in their new country more than half of the year.

As war spurs capital flight, the UAE stands to receive the greatest net influx of millionaires globally this with 4,000, a sharp increase of 208% versus 2019's net inflows of 1,300 and one of its largest on record.

"Affluent individuals are extremely mobile, and their movements can provide an early warning signal into future country trends," said Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, a wealth intelligence firm based in South Africa.

"Countries that draw wealthy individuals and families to migrate to their shores tend to be robust, with low crime rates, competitive tax rates, and attractive business opportunities," he was quoted in the report as saying.

The UAE is followed by Australia, Singapore, Israel, Switzerland, the US, Portugal, Greece, Canada, and New Zealand as a destination of millionaires fleeing the war in Ukraine and its reverberations in Russia.

Long focused on attracting tourism and trade, the country has been adapting its immigration regulations to pull in private wealth, capital, and talent.

The report also drew attention to the effects of millionaires trying to escape Western sanctions on Russia. "Net inflows are on the rise in Israel, with a figure of 2,500 forecast for 2022 -- a significant increase of 79% since 2019."/aa

Russia's Finance Ministry announced Tuesday that the publication of budget data was restricted to protect the country from new Western sanctions.

It said Western countries continue to create pressure by imposing sanctions on Russia and the decision would reduce the risks of new sanctions.

After the beginning of the Russian war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, Western countries, especially EU members and the US, have imposed several sanctions on Russia.

Numerous major companies, from automotive to textile and food, decided to stop or suspend activities in the country./aa

An alleged financier of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group in Rwanda is fit to stand trial at The Hague, a UN tribunal said in a decision that was welcomed by genocide survivors.

The tribunal said the trial must begin “as soon as possible,” dismissing a plea by Felicien Kabuga’s lawyers to halt proceedings on health grounds.

“The defense has not established that Kabuga is presently unfit for trial,” said the ruling of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) on Monday.

Naphtal Ahishakiye, the executive secretary of the umbrella body of Rwanda genocide survivors’ organizations, IBUKA, said there is a need to expedite the trial because of the gravity of the charges.

“Kabuga is in his advanced age and probably has health conditions but it is good for his trial to be expedited in the interest of justice during his lifetime,” said Ahishakiye.

Ahishakiye, talking to Anadolu Agency, cited key former Rwanda genocide fugitive Protais Mpiranya, who reportedly died in Zimbabwe in October 2006 before facing justice.

The remains of the former commander of the Rwandan presidential guard during the genocide were exhumed at the Granville Cemetery in Harare following a request by UN investigators to the Zimbabwean government to take DNA samples.

His identity was confirmed by DNA analysis in May, the tribunal said last month.

UN investigators had reportedly tracked down and identified Mpiranya’s grave with the help of a critical lead -- -- the hand-drawn design of Mpiranya’s tombstone that was found on a confiscated computer.

Kabuga is accused of having a role in establishing the notorious hate Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines which incited people to kill the Tutsi population.

He was indicted in August 1998 by the now-defunct Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and an international arrest warrant was issued for him the following year.

He was charged on multiple counts, including genocide, complicity in genocide, and crimes against humanity following an amended indictment filed in March 2021.

The 87-year-old is currently held at The Hague awaiting trial before the MICT that replaced the ICTR.

The tribunal said Kabuga needs “24-hour nursing care” and resides in a prison hospital.

The judges admitted that it had not been easy to determine Kabuga's fitness to stand trial and recommended continuous monitoring of his condition by independent medical experts.

Kabuga was arrested in Paris in May 2020 after 26 years of a manhunt.

The genocide, in which more than 1 million people were killed, targeted minority Tutsis by Hutu extremists after the death of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira in a plane crash on April 6, 1994./aa

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFCR) is mobilizing branches and partners in more than 50 cities around the world Tuesday to raise awareness about ways to reduce the severe effects of extreme heat.

The IFRC is partnering with C40 Cities to launch its first global Heat Action Day to urge city officials, urban planners and residents in every region to prepare for more dangerous and deadly heat waves ahead of the summer months.

C40 Cities is a network of nearly 100 mayors who are collaborating to bring action to confront climate change.

“Cities that are used to hot weather need to prepare for even longer periods of sweltering heat and cooler cities need to prepare for levels of extreme heat that they are not accustomed to,” said Executive Director of C40 Cities Mark Watts in a joint statement. “From Miami to Mumbai and Athens to Abidjan, mayors in our network are increasing green spaces, expanding cool roof programmes and collaborating on heat actions to improve resilience to rising urban heat. But far more work is needed to reduce and manage risks as the climate crisis worsens.”

The statement cited that between 2015 and 2021, the hottest period has been recorded and 2022 is already proving to be punishing.

“The life-threatening temperature spikes seen in recent months across India, Pakistan, East Asia and southern Europe and this week’s unusually intense, early-season heatwave gripping parts of the United States are an ominous sign of what is to come as the world gets warmer,” it said.

Regarding the threat posed by increasingly scorching temperatures, it said: “Those most at risk are already vulnerable–the elderly and isolated, infants, pregnant women, those with pre-existing ailments and the urban poor, who often work outdoors or live and work in buildings without air conditioning or adequate ventilation.”

It added that deaths from heatwaves are not inevitable, stressing “Five billion people live in places that are prone to heat waves and where early warning systems can predict them before they happen.”​​​​​​​/aa

PKK terror group supporters held an anti-Türkiye demonstration in the Greek capital.

Police did not intervene in the demonstration late Monday which was attended by about 20 members of the Rouvikonas anarchist group around the Turkish Consulate General Athens-Piraeus in the neighborhood of Neo Psychiko.

Demonstrators left the site after throwing anti-Türkiye leaflets onto the yard of the consulate.

The Turkish Embassy in Athens took the case to the Greek diplomatic corps and police authorities and asked that the perpetrators be found.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.​​​​​​​/aa

Myanmar's military coup has crippled the country's economy, leaving people "trapped in a cycle of poverty, displacement, rights violations, and abuses," the UN rights chief said on Tuesday.

Michelle Bachelet made the remarks while giving an update on Myanmar to the 50th meeting of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, which is in session till July 8.

"The military coup has crippled Myanmar’s economy, with millions losing their jobs or sources of income in the last year. The value of the national currency has plummeted, and prices of essential goods have surged," she said.

"What we are witnessing today is the systematic and widespread use of tactics against civilians, in respect of which there are reasonable grounds to believe the commission of crimes against humanity and war crimes."

Since February 2021 when the military took power, she said, at least 1,900 people have been killed, 1 million have been registered by the UN as internally displaced, while some 14 million remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Bachelet said internet shutdowns, and the harassment and prosecution of journalists and individuals reporting on human rights have "severely limited information flows and civic space."

The UN high commissioner, who is not seeking a second term after her four-year term expires in August, said ASEAN's five-point plan to handle the political crisis "seems to have produced limited results" since its adoption in April 2021.

"I urge ASEAN and its members to continue engaging with all relevant national stakeholders, including representatives of the National Unity Government and of civil society," Bachelet said.

She called call for "sustained" and "concrete" action by all parties to stem the violence.

"The targeting of civilians and the burning of villages must stop now. The protection of civilians is an absolute imperative, and access must be granted for vital humanitarian assistance to reach all communities," she said.

"Any solution to this crisis has to be built on broad-based consultation with all stakeholders in the democratic movement and with ethnic minority groups. A climate in which productive political discussions can take place to advance this priority is urgently required."/aa