MADRID (AFP) – Massive wildfires in Europe on July 24 forced NASA to evacuate one of its three global deep space communications facilities in Spain, impacting the agency’s ability to communicate with space probes. The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) is located in Robledo, about 65km west of central Madrid, a NASA spokesperson told AFP in a statement. “The wildfire has passed through the MDSCC. Any potential damage will be assessed when it is safe to do so,” the U.S. space agency said, adding all personnel were “safely evacuated”.

 

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - India’s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of protests that demanded his removal over alleged leaks in some of the country’s most competitive entrance exams and irregularities in the education system. Pradhan announced the decision in a post on X, handing a major victory to the “Cockroach” movement, which has spearheaded nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes. His resignation also marks the first significant concession by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to one of the most visible waves of public dissent it has faced in recent years.

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz ‌Inacio Lula da Silva maintained his lead over opposition senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a new Datafolha poll released on Friday ahead of Brazil’s October presidential election. Lula would defeat the senator, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in a potential runoff by 48% to 43%, the poll showed. A June survey showed Lula ahead by 47% to 43%. In a first-round scenario Lula would lead with 40% of the votes, followed by Bolsonaro at 32%, Ronaldo Caiado at 4%, and Romeu Zema and Renan Santos each at 3%. In Brazil, if no candidate gets more than 50% ‌of valid votes, the two frontrunners go to a second-round vote.

 

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MOSCOW (AFP) - At least 16 people were killed in Ukrainian and Russian strikes Saturday, in a deadly fifth summer of war as both sides intensify attacks, with diplomacy at a deadlock. Ukrainian drones also targeted a Siberian oil refinery and the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, escalating strikes deep inside Russia — which it says are aimed to weaken Russia’s war effort and force the Kremlin to negotiate. The deaths — in Russian-occupied Ukraine, north-eastern Ukraine and Russian border villages — come as the UN has warned of civilians dying in larger numbers recently in the almost 4.5-year war.

 

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MOSCOW (rt) - The German government has refused to clarify whether it received warnings ahead of the Nord Stream sabotage, Ostdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (OAZ) reported on Friday, citing a written response to an opposition lawmaker. Anna Rathert, an MP from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, asked the chancellor’s office whether it received any information from foreign intelligence agencies before the twin pipelines, which were built to deliver Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, were bombed in September 2022. She also asked why the government had not taken any precautions.

 

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SAN ANTONIO (ap) - A U.S. attorney announced a federal indictment on Friday against 11 people in the smuggling deaths of seven migrants who were hiding inside a sweltering rail cargo container in Texas in May.  Six people were found dead inside the shipping container in a rail yard in Laredo, Texas, and another had been left for dead alongside the tracks by the smugglers when they opened the container in San Antonio, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons. The train is believed to have started in the Texas border city of Del Rio.