Scenes of panic, collapsing buildings and desperate rescues are the scenes described by Venezuelans caught in magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck the country within seconds of each other.

France’s main energy provider yesterday shut down two nuclear reactors as an environmental protection measure to avoid discharging too much hot water into rivers already warming in a record-breaking heatwave.

US President Donald Trump said his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be “very happy” when asked Wednesday about giving Turkey access to F-35 fighter jets.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps yesterday warned shipowners that any new transit route through the Strait of Hormuz established without coordination with Tehran is “unacceptable and dangerous,” threatening actions against vessels that ignore its instructions.

What is the secret to a long life? Three Brazilian sisters with a combined age of 316, who were named by Guinness this month as the oldest living trio of siblings in the world, may help researchers find out.

Desperate Venezuelans battled yesterday to rescue loved ones trapped alive beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings after two major earthquakes killed at least 188 people.

Over 970 injured

Dozens of buildings collapsed, says interim President Rodriguez

Mainland France was again the most impacted, where around 63 million people will see temperatures of more than 30C

Rubio, on his first regional tour since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the Middle East war, said the US wants a peace deal but not "at any price"

A heatwave that has gripped much of Europe and seen temperature records tumble is linkable with 212 deaths in Spain between Sunday and Wednesday, estimations from a public institute showed

France will begin lifting its red alerts from Thursday evening, forecaster Meteo France said

Europe has endured extreme heat this week, with record-breaking temperatures in France, Britain and Spain and other countries issuing high-level heat alerts

Venezuela has been struck by two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5

US said it was in touch with Venezuelan authorities following strong earthquakes and was mobilizing assistance for the South American nation

Initial USGS estimate showed strong chance of death toll topping 10,000

Schools forced to temporarily close

20 aftershocks had followed the earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which struck the same area of Venezuela

A key road named after US President Donald Trump in India’s opposition-ruled tech hub of Hyderabad has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, which dismissed the move as “hypocrisy”.

Nuclear weapons are the “only” bulwark preventing the world from slipping into a global war, the Kremlin said yesterday amid fears of a fresh multi-country arms race.