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Belgium has flown back six Belgian women and their 16 children born to ISIL fighter fathers from a camp in northeastern Syria, according to officials. The airlift is the largest of its kind by Belgium to bring back the families of ISIL fighters from Syria since the fall of the ISIL (ISIS) armed group in 2019. All the children are under 12 years old.

Source: aljazeera.com

Tens of thousands of staff walked out in a dispute over pay and jobs that could pave the way for widespread industrial action across the economy in coming months. Some of the more than 40,000 rail workers who are due to strike on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday gathered at picket lines from dawn, leaving the network at a standstill and major stations deserted. The London Underground metro was also mostly closed due to a separate strike.

Source: reuters.com

A Japanese city is launching a crowdfunding campaign to help preserve a special spot of woodland: the forest that inspired the animator of beloved movie "My Neighbour Totoro". The city of Tokorozawa outside Tokyo plans to buy the 3.5-hectare "Totoro Forest" for 2.6 billion yen ($19 million), with crowdfunding covering just a small portion of that, a city official told AFP. 

in the country’s second attempt, months after its earlier liftoff failed to place a payload into orbit. The three-stage Nuri rocket carrying what officials call a functioning “performance verification” satellite blasted from South Korea’s only space launch center on a small island off its southern coast at 4 p.m.

Source: apnews.com

The lawsuit was filed late Sunday in Texas by two workers who said they were terminated from Tesla's gigafactory plant in Sparks, Nevada in June. According to the suit, more than 500 employees were terminated at the Nevada factory. The workers allege the company failed to adhere to federal laws on mass layoffs that require a 60-day notification period under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, according to the lawsuit.

Source: reuters.com

A 300kg stingray caught in the Mekong river in Cambodia is the biggest freshwater fish ever documented, scientists say. It unseated the previous record-holder, a 293kg Mekong giant catfish caught in Thailand in 2005. There is no official record-keeping or database of the world's biggest freshwater fish.

Source: bbc.com

The detainees were released on Sunday following a series of meetings between Afghan and British officials, said Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban government, in a statement on Monday. “A number of British nationals were released, who were arrested about six months ago for violating the laws and traditions of the Afghan people,” he said.

Source: aljazeera.com

Eleven government soldiers and two civilians were killed in an attack on a bus in northern Syria on Monday, the defence ministry said, and the Islamic State militant group later claimed responsibiliy for the action. Syrian state news agency SANA said the attack took place in the Jabal al-Bishri region of Raqqa province. Three soldiers were wounded. 

Source: reuters.com

Greece will offer households subsidies to help them replace their old fridges and air conditioners and cut down on soaring power bills, the government said on Monday. Like many other EU countries, Greece has been gripped by soaring energy costs, a trend which has been exacerbated following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its cutting of gas flows to several countries in Europe.

Source: reuters.com

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had an operation on his sinuses under general anaesthetic on Monday, his office said. Johnson’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the prime minister was back at his 10 Downing Street home and resting after the “routine” procedure.

Source: apnews.com

Israel is building a "Middle East Air Defence Alliance" under the leadership of the United States, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said on Monday, adding that the apparatus has already foiled attempted Iranian attacks. The remarks, which appeared in an official transcript of a briefing Gantz gave parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, did not name any other partners in the alliance.

Source: arabnews.com

The fire, which broke out last week during the country's worst mid-June heatwave in over 40 years, would be the largest in terms of surface area damage over the past two decades if estimates are confirmed, according to Environment Ministry data.

Source: reuters.com

18,820 more cases of fever and no new deaths are reported amid North Korea’s first official COVID-19 outbreak, state media said on Monday, as authorities continue to insist infections in the impoverished country are being brought under control. The country has reported more than 4.6 million cases of fever during its first official outbreak, but authorities have not revealed how many of those patients tested positive for the coronavirus.

Source: aljazeera.com

In a turquoise lagoon, just 10 minutes by boat from Male, the Maldivian capital, a floating city, big enough to house 20,000 people, is being constructed. The first units will be unveiled this month, with residents starting to move in early 2024, and the whole city is due to be completed by 2027.

Source: cnn.com

Iran on Monday hanged a Sunni extremist who was sentenced to death for killing two Shiite clerics and wounding another in early April, the judiciary said. A 21-year-old national of Uzbek origin carried out the April 5 stabbing attack at the Imam Reza shrine which honours one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam.

Source: france24.com

At least 59 people are known to have died in lightning strikes and landslides triggered by severe monsoon storms in India and Bangladesh. Millions of people have been stranded while emergency workers have struggled to reach those affected. Forecasters are warning that the flooding is expected to get worse over the next few days.

Source: bbc.com

Germany must reduce natural gas consumption and increase the burning of coal in order to help fill gas storage facilities for next winter, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced Sunday as the country moves away from reduced Russian gas supplies.

Source: cnn.com

World number one Daniil Medvedev lost his second straight ATP grass-court final when he was brushed aside by Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in Halle on Sunday. Medvedev had few answers as he crashed to defeat inside 64 minutes as Hurkacz offered no respite in a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

Source: france24.com