Millions without power as outages hit Spain, Portugal and parts of France, Spanish officials say
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(LONDON) — Millions of people in Spain, Portugal and parts of France lost power on Monday due to an unknown grid issue, the Spanish government confirmed to ABC News.
The Spanish government said it called an emergency crisis meeting to fix the situation as soon as possible.
Authorities, meanwhile, asked people to stay at home and to avoid circulating, while emergency generators were also being put in place.
Red Eléctrica, the corporation that operates the national electricity grid in Spain, confirmed power outages across the country.
“Plans to restore the electricity supply have been activated in collaboration with companies in the sector following the zero that occurred in the peninsular system,” it wrote in a post to X. “The causes are being analyzed and all resources are being dedicated to solving it.”
A later post said power was recovered in some areas.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The Venezuelan 2-year-old who was kept in U.S. government custody after her parents were deported has been returned to Venezuela.
In a video posted to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s YouTube page, Maduro is seen greeting the toddler upon the toddler’s return.
The toddler, Maikelys Antonella Espinoza, is seen in the video being carried by Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores before being handed over to the toddler’s mother, Yorley Inciarte, who had been deported two weeks ago from the United States.
Espinoza’s return comes after Maduro and other Venezuelan government officials accused the Trump administration of kidnapping the 2-year old.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security labeled Inciarte and her partner Maiker Espinoza Escalona as “Tren de Aragua parents,” alleging the two are members of the Venezuelan criminal gang.
Escalona was sent to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador on March 30 under Title 8 authorities. Inciarte was deported two weeks ago to Venezuela without her daughter.
“The child’s father, Maiker Espinoza-Escalona is a lieutenant of Tren De Aragua who oversees homicides, drug sales, kidnappings, extortion, sex trafficking and operates a torture house,” DHS said in a statement. “The child’s mother, Yorely Escarleth Bernal Inciarte oversees recruitment of young women for drug smuggling and prostitution.”
“Everything is false,” Inciarte told ABC News in an interview last week. “Here I am waiting for the evidence they have because if they are accusing me, it’s because they have proof of what they are saying — but here I am waiting.”
“When my partner and my daughter arrive here, the only thing I think about is staying here in my country, because the only one who supported me and fought alongside me was my country, no one else,” Inciarte said. “And I will never, ever abandon my homeland. I won’t even mention the United States, it will never come up. Because what I experienced in that country was so horrible, I don’t even want to talk about how bad it is.”
(LONDON) — Over a ton of cocaine worth close to nearly half a billion dollars has been seized from a boat off the coast of Australia, officials have confirmed.
Detectives from the Organised Crime Squad in Australia have charged five people following the seizure of the drugs from a vessel off the New South Wales coast after police there obtained potential intelligence to the drugs following a “suspicious purchase” of a 43-foot-long motor cruiser paid for by just cash in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire on April 28, according to a joint statement from the New South Wales Police Force and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
“On Friday (9 May 2025), as the vessel travelled back to shore – towards South West Rocks – it was intercepted by the Marine Area Command about 9.30am.,” the statement said. “Two men, aged 24 and 26, were arrested on board and escorted to shore by the police vessel. They were taken to Coffs Harbour Police Station.”
Approximately 1,110 blocks of cocaine, weighing 1.039 tons were located on the vessel, police confirmed.
“The seized cocaine equates to over a million individual hits, with an estimated potential street value of $623.4 million,” (more than $400 million U.S. dollars) police said.
Three other people – aged 28, 29 and 35 – were simultaneously arrested on shore after investigators stopped two vehicles attempting to leave the South West Rocks area and they were taken to Taree Police Station.
Forensic specialists are currently examining the seized drugs and will be conducting further testing to determine the exact weight and purity of the drugs.
“The two men at Coffs Harbour were charged with supply prohibited drug – large commercial quantity and participate in criminal group,” Australian officials said. “The three men at Taree were charged with take part in supply prohibited drug – large commercial quantity and participate in criminal group.”
All five of the suspects appeared at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday where they were all formally refused bail and mandated to appear at Coffs Harbour Local Court on July 15, authorities said.
“The AFP and NSW Police Force have a long history of disrupting criminal networks attempting to import drugs that destroy our community. Combining our resources and expertise allows us to get successful outcomes like the one we are announcing today,” AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dametto said. “Australia’s vast coastline is attractive to organised crime groups, who attempt to exploit this by trying to import drugs using boats. The bad news for them is the AFP will continue to work together with our partners to target organised crime syndicates who wrongly believe they can operate with impunity.
NSW Police State Crime Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Jason Weinstein said these arrests are testament to how rapidly our policing resources can coordinate and stop significant amounts of drug coming into NSW.
“Whether on land or sea, NSW Police have the investigative capability to disrupt and undermine criminal enterprise,” Weinstein said. “This seizure shows how our continuous monitoring of known organised crime methodologies with industry partners, can be actioned into a successful multi-agency operation with those involved immediately arrested to prevent illicit drugs entering NSW. Our ability to pivot and protect the community is evident in this week’s actions. Make no mistake these drugs, if allowed to enter our communities, would have had devastating impacts on people’s lives and social cohesion, particularly in regional townships.”
Investigations into the origin of the drugs and the group’s alleged associates remain ongoing.
(LONDON) — Almost 60 people are dead after two incidents near locations where people were trying to get food aid in Gaza Tuesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
Fifty-one people were killed in an incident near a food aid truck that got stuck near Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged the shooting.
“A gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Younis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area,” the IDF said in response to an inquiry from ABC News.
“The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach. The details of the incident are under review,” the IDF added.
The shooting comes as many in Gaza are in the grip of hunger, according to international aid agencies. The United Nations last week said a “very limited” amount of food was being brought into the Strip.
And it comes a day after COGAT, the Israeli organization tasked with bringing aid into Gaza, said that four aid distribution centers in Gaza were being operated simultaneously for the first time.
Humanitarian aid sites and routes in Gaza have becomeflashpoints in recent weeks, according to the Hamas-run ministry.
Some of the injured and dead in Tuesday’s incident were brought to Nasser Hospital Complex in Khan Younis after the incident. In a video published by Reuters, a man can be seen bleeding from a wound in his back while being wheeled into the entrance.
“We went to wait like other people to get food for our children,” the man told Reuters “They told us there is flour in a certain area, so we went and waited. Then we found rockets falling on us.”
In a separate incident, eight people were killed near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday. ABC News has asked IDF for comment on this incident.
