WASHINGTON (AP) — As Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited a natural gas drilling site in northeast Ohio to promote House Republicans’ plan to sharply increase domestic production of energy from fossil fuels last month, the signs of rising global temperatures could not be ignored. Smoke from Canadian wildfires hung in the air.

When the speaker was asked about climate change and forest fires, he was ready with a response: Plant a trillion trees.

SEOUL, Jul 18 (NNN-YONHAP) – The death toll from heavy rain in recent days in South Korea rose to 40, while nine others remained missing, relevant authorities said.

A total of 40 people had been found dead, in south-eastern North Gyeongsang province and central Chungcheong province, according to the central disaster and safety countermeasure headquarters.

Heavy rain warnings were issued for the provinces, some areas of which recorded an accumulated precipitation of more than 500 mm since last Thursday.

New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on July 21 an appeal of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court's verdict which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Mishra agreed to hear the plea after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, sought listing of the appeal on July 21 or July 24.

SAN SALVADOR, July 17 (Reuters) - Salvadoran police arrested more than a hundred Colombians for their alleged involvement in operating a microfinancing scheme that laundered money from drug running and gang activities, security officials said on Monday.

The criminal group reportedly made loans, using funds obtained illegally, to individuals and small businesses with 20% interest, according to the officials.

SEOUL, July 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. national has crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea without authorization while on a tour and is likely to be in the North's custody, the United Nations Command that oversees the demilitarised zone area at the border said on Tuesday.

The person was taking part in a tour to the Joint Security Area on the demilitarised zone (DMZ) border separating the two Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War where soldiers from both sides stand guard.

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/: Russia no longer intends to trust any promises by Western countries and the UN regarding the Black Sea grain deal, and could consider returning to the deal only after seeing concrete results, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on air during a Channel One television broadcast.

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s general election on Sunday could make the country the latest European Union member swing to the populist right, a shift that would represent a major upheaval after five years under a left-wing government.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and its small far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos (“United We Can”), took a beating in local and regional elections.

ALGIERS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Despite the blistering sunshine in July, the construction site of the East-West Highway in Algeria's easternmost province of El Tarf is buzzing with activity.

Chinese and Algerian workers are braving the extreme heat, busy laying asphalt and making final preparations for the opening of the road to traffic.

COLOMBO, Jul 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – Over 3,000 people have visited the artificial beach, built in the Port City Colombo, in the first two days since its opening on Saturday, state media reported, today.

This is the first artificial beach built in Sri Lanka, and visitors can enter the beach free of charge, the state-owned Daily News reported.

Food stalls with local and foreign cuisine and facilities for swimming and water sports on the artificial beach are available, the Daily News reported.

17 July 2023; MEMO: Iran and Pakistan have agreed to enhance defence cooperation and coordinate on border security following a meeting on Saturday in Tehran between the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), General Hossein Salami, and Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir.

Singapore, Jul 18 (PTI) An Indian origin Singaporean rapper on Tuesday was found guilty by a court here of attempting to promote ill will among racial and religious groups in the multi-national city-state.

Subhas Govin Prabhakar Nair, 31, was convicted of four such charges over incidents that occurred between July 2019 and March 2021. Sentencing arguments will be heard at a later date, the Channel News Asia reported.

Islamabad, Jul 18 (PTI) Cash-strapped Pakistan has received a rollover of an additional USD 600 million loan from its all-weather ally China to help shore up the country's foreign exchange reserves on the back of an IMF deal, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday.

It is in addition to the over USD 5 billion in loans that Beijing has rolled over for Pakistan in the last three months, helping the debt-ridden nation avert a default as negotiations to secure the IMF bailout dragged on, the Dawn newspaper reported.