Death toll from Venezuela earthquakes climbs over 3,600
General view of a demolished building at Caraballeda after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 27, 2026, in La Guaira, Venezuela.(Photo by Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images)
(VENEZUELA) — The death toll in Venezuela has climbed to at least 3,685 in the wake of the two powerful earthquakes that devastated the country, Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said.
The pair of earthquakes struck on June 24, knocking down buildings, sending residents fleeing for safety and trapping some survivors under the rubble for days. Thousands were injured and more than 26,000 people were impacted, including those who lost homes or saw serious damage to their homes, officials said.
Nine Americans are among the dead, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Fox News on Tuesday.
John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires of the American embassy in Caracas, said Tuesday that the U.S. was “assisting the Venezuelans in terms of storing and caring for the deceased remains that are being pulled out of the rubble.”
“The government reports that they have accounted and identified the vast majority of bodies received, but they’re continuing to go through that process, and as I understand it, are collecting DNA fingerprints, dental records from those bodies that they’re in the process of still waiting to identify in coordination with family members,” he said.
Barrett said the four U.S. urban search and rescue teams sent to Venezuela have “completed their mission and returned home.”
“We are deeply grateful for their service. These highly skilled men and women helped save six lives and brought hope to countless families during Venezuela’s darkest hours,” he said. “The Department of State Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) remains on the ground, working alongside partners to deliver food, water, medical care, shelter, and other critical assistance to affected communities.”
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ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.
A European heat wave continues, July 8, 2026, sending temperatures into triple digits across France and increasing fire danger. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — As hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires that have ignited across France and other parts of western Europe, climate scientists released a report this week showing the region experienced its warmest June on record.
Sweltering temperatures in Western Europe in June, including a heat wave that broke records across several countries, are now extending into July, with a heat wave returning amidst multiple wildfires in France and other parts of Western Europe.
Last month’s deadly western European heat wave occurred not only during the hottest June on record for Western Europe, but it was the second warmest globally, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union scientific Earth observation program.
“June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing. Western Europe recorded its warmest June on record, and continued record warmth in the global ocean,” Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said in the report.
She noted that the record-breaking heat reflects “a climate system continuing to accumulate heat.”
“The result is increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure across Europe and beyond,” Burgess said.
The report comes as wildfires have broken out in parts of Western Europe amid a severe drought.
Wildfires have broken out in Spain, Portugal and Greece.
The biggest wildfire in Western Europe is raging in the Pyrénées of France, prompting organizers of the famed Tour de France road cycling race, which started on Saturday in Barcelona, Spain, to ban spectators from lining the route in the mountainous region.
“The exceptionally large wildfire currently raging in the Pyrénées-Orientales is requiring a massive mobilization of wildfire-fighting resources, internal security forces, and all government agencies,” race organizers said in a statement. “The top priority remains the protection of people, property, and natural areas, as well as bringing the fire under control.”
Race organizers said only cyclists participating in the Tour de France and their supporting teams are authorized to travel the race route, which officials are trying to keep clear for emergency traffic.
The blaze in southwestern France near the Spanish border has burned 4,936 hectares, or a little over 12,000 acres, French officials said in a social media post on Wednesday.
At least 12,000 people had been evacuated from 27 municipalities across the Pyrénées-Orientales, although some have been allowed to return home as flames have subsided in some areas, authorities said.
The Pyrénées town of Vinça, which has a population of about 2,200, remained evacuated on Wednesday along with 11 other villages in the region.
Video from the region showed homes and vehicles burned, and huge swaths of forestland blackened. Firefighting aircraft were also filmed swooping down on burning areas, dropping fire retardant.
Earlier this week, the European Union announced it was sending such aircraft to France from Sweden and Cyprus.
About 450 firefighters are battling the fire in the Pyrénées from the ground and the air, but are struggling to gain control of the wildfire amid triple-digit temperatures in the area and wind gusts of up to 30 mph, officials said. Another 170 gendarmes, or law enforcement officers, have also been dispatched to the region to support the firefighting effort.
Firefighters appeared to make progress in battling the fire, reporting Wednesday that the conflagration did not expand overnight.
Temperatures in parts of southwestern France are forecast to reach 105 degrees on Wednesday, with temperatures climbing to 95 degrees and above across three-quarters of the country.
Most of the country is under an “elevated” fire alert.
High to very high fire danger warnings remained in effect on Wednesday in at least 54 departments — or local regional areas, including the Pyrénées-Orientales department, officials said.
Before the current wildfire outbreak, the highest number of departments under high or very high fire danger warnings at the same time was 29 in 2025, authorities noted.
Officials and experts have noted the fire season has begun weeks earlier than usual in France amid the unseasonal extreme heat wave that hit Europe in June. The heat wave has returned this week.
Scientists have said the record temperatures are being pushed up by climate change.
A 22-year-old firefighter was killed while battling a blaze in the Savoie region in the French Alps on Tuesday night, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said in a social media post on Wednesday.
Fire danger warnings have also been issued in the Rhône Valley in southeast France, and across the central and western regions of the country.
The danger is expected to remain at a high level through this week across most of the country, given the lack of rain, scorching temperature and low humidity, authorities said.
ABC News’ Matthew Glasser contributed to this report.
A teacher from Gurukul school of art paints a poster of US President Donald Trump (L) and Supreme Leader of Iran Mojtaba Khamenei (R) with a message welcoming two weeks of ceasefire between US and Iran outside their art school in Mumbai. (Ashish Vaishnav/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(PARIS and LONDON) — Foreign leaders expressed hope for a full peace deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in their reactions to Tuesday’s two-week ceasefire, which was first announced by President Donald Trump and later confirmed by Iranian officials.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post to X that the ceasefire agreement “will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world. Together with our partners we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and re-open the Strait of Hormuz.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani likewise suggested the ceasefire was “a very positive development” which “moves us toward a peace agreement — for the civilian population, for the region, and for Israel — but also for our economy.”
German Friedrich Merz thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts, adding in a post to X, “The aim now is to negotiate a lasting end to the war. We are in close coordination with our partners on this matter.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the ceasefire brought “much-needed de-escalation” and said that further negotiations are “crucial.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has been a prominent European critic of the war, said in a post to X that the ceasefire was “welcome news,” but added, “Momentary relief must not make us forget the chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost.”
“The Spanish government will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket,” Sanchez added. “What is needed now: diplomacy, international law, and PEACE.”
French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that the situation in Lebanon — another theater of the conflict in which Israel is fighting against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia — is “critical.”
Macron said the ceasefire extended to Lebanon, as did Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said overnight that Lebanon was not included in the agreement. Israel continued intense strikes in Lebanon, including on Beirut, on Wednesday.
Macron called the ceasefire “a very good thing” and said the question of Lebanon is “one of the most delicate.” Hezbollah, Macron said, made a “strategic error” by attacking Israel and dragging Lebanon into the regional crisis, but said Israel’s strikes and occupation of southern Lebanon “cannot be a long-term response.”
Persian Gulf and other regional nations also welcomed the ceasefire in Iran, though several reported fresh Iranian drone and missile attacks on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry expressed its support for the pause in a statement posted to X, while Qatar’s Foreign Ministry described the ceasefire as “an initial step toward de-escalation.” Doha also stressed “the necessity for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take the initiative to immediately cease all hostile acts and practices.”
Oman — traditionally a mediator of U.S.-Iranian talks — said in a Foreign Ministry statement that it affirmed “the importance of intensifying efforts now to find solutions capable of ending the crisis at its roots and achieving a permanent cessation of the state of war and hostile acts in the region.”
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry in a post to X “emphasized the importance of opening the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring freedom of international navigation without restrictions in accordance with international law.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in a post to X that the news “undoubtedly brought relief to the hearts of millions of peace-loving people across all corners of the earth,” adding that Cairo valued Trump’s “decision to heed the voice of reason.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement expressing its backing for the peace process, adding, “We will continue to extend all necessary support for the successful conclusion of the negotiations to be held in Islamabad,” referring to Friday’s planned talks.
A Police forensic team carry out investigations at a location near to the scene after four Hatzola ambulances were set on fire overnight next to Machzike Hadath Synagogue, on March 23, 2026 in the Golders Green area of London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Two men who were arrested as part of an investigation into an arson attack on a Jewish charity’s ambulances in the north London neighborhood of Golders Green have been released on bail, British police said on Thursday.
The men, both British nationals, were taken into custody Wednesday morning at separate addresses in northwest and central London.
They were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and both were taken to a London police station before being released on bail, according to London’s Metropolitan Police Service.
Four ambulances used by Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service in north London, were set on fire at about 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning, police said. Three masked or hooded individuals were seen setting the fires, police said. Investigators said that they were combing through hours of CCTV footage related to the case, in part to “trace the suspects’ movements.”
Police said on Thursday that the investigation was ongoing and searches were carried out at both the addresses in northwest and central London, as well as at two other addresses in northwest London on Wednesday.
Cmdr. Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation, said they are continuing “to work to try and identify all of those involved in this appalling attack and the investigation team is working around the clock to do this.”
“Although the two men have been released from police custody, there are strict bail conditions in place while we continue to investigate their suspected involvement in this incident,” she added. “I can reassure the public that we will be closely monitoring these while we carry out further enquiries.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in northwest London, said “an enhanced, bespoke policing plan and activity, which is particularly focused around vulnerable areas right across London, will continue over coming days and weeks.”
“This includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers to help protect certain locations and will also involve highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm,” Williams noted. “I must stress that these are precautionary and not in response to any specific threat, and we continue to work alongside our colleagues in Counter Terrorism policing to support their investigation. We will also continue to work closely with local communities and our partners to listen to their concerns and respond to these.”
