Two popular Spanish beaches were forced to close after “abnormal” levels of bacteria were detected in the water. Urbanova and San Gabriel beaches in Alicante were closed on Friday over the levels of enterococci in the sea, the General Directorate of Water and the Alicante City Council said. Authorities carried out tests in the water before the beaches were reopened on Saturday when bacteria levels in the water returned to a normal level, according to local media reports. Experts are said to have ruled out that the bacteria levels were caused by river discharge or from the treatment plant in the San Gabriel. It comes after the beaches of Medicalia, Puig Val, Old Fishermen’s Quarter and Els Plans were closed on July 22 after a thick, grainy, white substance was found on the shore. Swimmers were also told to avoid the coast of the holiday hotspot resort of El Puig, near Valencia, as authorities struggled to determine what the substance was. Samples have been taken and experts are still working to identify the substance, but the beaches have since reopened. Meanwhile, tourists were urged to stay vigilant on beaches in France and Spain earlier this month due to a surge of toxic algae, which experts warn could cause skin irritation, gastric disorders, nausea, vomiting, and flu-like symptoms. Climate change has led to warmer semi-tropical seas around Europe, causing higher levels of the poisonous Ostreopsis algae, according to Spain’s Institute of Marine Sciences. “The rising water temperature in the Mediterranean will cause the spread of toxic algae Ostreopsis, which will linger for longer and in greater quantities, possibly posing a threat to tourism in the future,” said Dr Elisa Berdalet, from the Institute of Marine Sciences. Read More Scorched beaches in France and Spain face surge in toxic algae caused by warmer climate Spain holidaymakers warned after 48 beaches hit with ‘Black Flag’ due to pollution and dog poo Headless ‘baby’ body found washed up on Spanish beach

Gail O'Neill, a fashion icon with a glittering career in modelling and broadcast journalism, is dead at 61

Ukraine's Security Service says it has identified a Russian commander who is accused of giving orders to shoot civilians.

By Daina Beth Solomon MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -U.S. labor officials on Friday asked Mexico to investigate alleged worker rights abuses

Legal letters and emails uncovered the negotiations aiming to find a peaceful resolution to their marital issues, avoiding the hassles of divorce

Chinese imports of Russian oil last month hit their highest level since Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, customs data showed Tuesday, as Beijing offers an economic...

Eleven people are missing after a fire broke out in a holiday cottage welcoming disabled people in eastern France, in the town of Wintzenheim, local authorities said on Wednesday. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said there were likely several casualties after the fire ravaged 300 square meters of the 500-square meter building. Rescue operations were still ongoing, he said. Seventeen people were evacuated, one of which was sent to hospital, the local prefecture said, adding that the eleven missing were adults, from a group of people from Nancy, also in eastern France. The fire broke out at 0630 am (0430GMT) and fire brigades quickly put out the fire, the prefecture said. More to follow... Read More Europe wildfires map shows where devastating blazes are sweeping Portugal and Italy Amazon nations seek common voice on climate change, urge action from industrialized world 22% of UK employees report facing discrimination in workplace, survey finds

Mike Pence says Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis do not grasp the broader implications of their call for limited military assistance to Ukraine

Asylum-seekers say joy over the end of the public health restriction known as Title 42 this month is turning into anguish with the realization of how the Biden administration’s new rules affect them

They have known each other for decades, rubbing shoulders at countless international events, but there is little love lost between US President Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu as the Israeli prime minister faces a...

On Saturday (July 15), Elon Musk revealed that Twitter is struggling with a “heavy debt load” due to advertising revenue dropping 50 per cent. Responding to a user seemingly giving financial business advice to Musk, the billionaire replied explaining that the company is “still in negative cash flow, due to ~50 per cent drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.” Back in April, Musk had said Twitter was “roughly breaking even,” as most of its advertisers had returned. However, a New York Times report in early June found that Twitter’s revenue from US advertising was down 59 per cent from the previous year. Since taking over Twitter in October last year, Musk has faced constant scrutiny for his business decisions, cutting roughly 75 per cent of its workforce almost immediately, as well as reinstating users who were previously banned for breaking terms of service. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In May, Musk hired a new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, an ex-NBCUniversal advertising executive. The new hire was supposed to signal a fresh start for the platform under Musk’s ownership, but it clearly hasn’t worked in bringing previous advertisers back. Twitter has also caused new upset by imposing ‘rate limits’ on how many tweets users can view a day. At the time, Musk had said the restrictions were required to “address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation”. Another challenge that faces Twitter is Meta’s Threads, the new app it launched this week to compete with Twitter. Meta saw over 100 million users sign up in the first two weeks, but is yet to allow advertisers to host on the platform, despite interest. In response, Twitter threatened legal action, with Twitter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, accusing Meta for unlawfully using trade secrets and other intellectual property to create a “copycat” app. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The gunman who killed 23 people at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart faces a sentencing hearing in federal court this week, as prosecutors seek to have him serve dozens of consecutive life sentences for the August 2019 shooting.