Watch a live view of St Peter’s Square in Vatican City, as temperatures reach 38C. Sizzling temperatures have swept across Europe in recent days, and the heatwave has taken hold across many popular holiday hotspots in the Mediterranean, such as Spain, Italy and Greece. Much of southern Europe has been in the high 30s, while some parts of southern Italy and areas in Greece have been in the low-to-mid 40s, which is eight to 12 degrees above the seasonal average for the region. The hottest temperature recorded was around 45C and the heatwave has caused health issues, leading to a strain on local medical services during a busy tourist period. Fifteen cities in Italy, most of them in the country’s centre and south, were under heat advisories due to a high level of risk for older adults, children and other vulnerable people. Last week, a 44-year-old man, who was painting a zebra crossing in 40C heat in the northern town of Lodi, lost consciousness and later died in hospital, local media reported. Read More The pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to Washington with the plight of children top of his agenda The Vatican's next doctrinal guardian defends the book on kissing he wrote as a young priest A wave of political turbulence is rolling through Guatemala and other Central American countries

Russia has seized the local assets of yogurt maker Danone and brewer Carlsberg A/S after its invasion of

The heat wave engulfing the Mediterranean is set to intensify as another Saharan anticyclone threatens record temperatures from

European natural gas prices slumped as supplies from Norway soared due to the completion of major maintenance. The

Russia ended the Ukraine grain-export deal nearly a year into the agreement, heightening uncertainty over global food supplies

Nigeria’s central bank slashed the mandatory cash reserve requirement for banks that lend exclusively to companies in a

Russia said two Ukrainian drones caused explosions that damaged its flagship bridge to Crimea, killing two people and

Russia is set to ban iPhones for government officials and state employees after accusing Apple of helping the US government conduct espionage operations. Government officials at Russia’s trade ministry will be banned from using iPhones and other Apple products for “work purposes” from July 17, the Financial Times reported. The trade ministry’s ban includes emailed correspondence relating to work activities, said its deputy head Vasily Osmako. The digital development ministry said it will follow suit, while state-owned company Rostec, which is under Western sanctions, said it has already introduced a ban on Apple products. It comes after the Kremlin told officials to stop using Apple products in March, citing fears they were vulnerable to US hacking. “Officials truly believe that Americans can use their equipment for wiretapping,” Andrey Soldatov, a Russia security and intelligence services expert, told the Financial Times. Russia’s Federal Security Service claimed in June it had uncovered a “spying operation by US intelligence agencies using Apple devices”. However, the FSB provided no evidence. The security service claimed several thousand iPhones with Russian SIM cards or registered with Moscow diplomatic missions in Nato countries were “infected” with monitoring software that indicated Apple’s “close co-operation” with the US National Security Agency. “Everyone in the presidential administration is aware that the iPhone is a completely transparent device and its use for official purposes is unacceptable and prohibited,” Dmitry Peskov, president Putin’s spokesperson, said last month. Apple has denied working with US intelligence services. The tech company said it “has never worked with any government to build a backdoor into any Apple product, and never will”. The ban will not impact regular consumers. Apple pulled out of Russia following last year’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Apple products continue to be imported to Russia from other countries. Read More Calls for security review after Briton arrested in Germany accused of spying for Russia Huawei: Why are western governments worried about China's technology powerhouse? Privacy: Why the iPhone battery spying trick shows that everyone needs to care about being snooped on

Donald Trump is considering his Republican 2024 rivals as potential running mates should he win the GOP nomination. The former president told Fox News on Sunday that his running mate could “possibly” be among those in the 2024 field saying there are “some very talented people” in the race. He said that Vivek Ramaswamy has “done a very good job” and Senator Tim Scott is a “very good guy” but stopped short of saying who he would pick if the time came. Over the weekend, Mr Trump headlined the first of a two-day conference hosted by right-wing political activist group Turning Point USA alongside far-right lawmakers, candidates and pundits, including Tucker Carlson and Matt Gaetz. In his rambling Saturday night address condemned investigations and criminal indictments against him while telling Ron DeSantis to “get home to Florida,” accusing his rival for the Republican nomination for president of neglecting the governor’s office. The campaign for Mr DeSantis, meanwhile, reported raising more than $20m in the first six weeks of his campaign, but roughly a dozen staffers were recently fired in a shakeup as his polling numbers trail the former president’s. Read More Donald Trump brands US a ‘third-world hellhole’ run by ‘perverts’ and ‘thugs’ Ron DeSantis campaign fires staff as Florida governor trails Trump in the polls Fundraising takeaways: Trump and DeSantis in their own tier as Pence and other Republicans struggle RFK Jr revives antisemitic conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jewish people

Leaders of the European Union are seeking to reboot relations with Latin America in a competition for influence

Long Island police have been searching a storage unit in connection to suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann following his bombshell arrest on Thursday. Suffolk Police Officers executed a search warrant at a single unit at Omega Self Storage in Amityville late on Sunday night, according to News 12 Long Island. Over the weekend, investigators combed through the married father-of-two’s home in Massapequa Park in connection to the unsolved murders looking for evidence and possible trophies from the killings. At one point, a trove of firearms was seized from the family property. Mr Heuermann, a 59-year-old Long Island native, was taken into custody on Thursday night and charged with three of the murders which have haunted Gilgo Beach for more than a decade. Court records show the Manhattan architect was linked to the killings with the help of a discarded pizza box, a trove of burner phones, and his wife’s hair which was found on a victim’s body. He was charged with three counts of murder in the first degree and three in the second degree over the deaths of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello. He pleaded not guilty in court on Friday. Read More Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect arrested on suspicion of murders of 10 women on Long Island Police release haunting 911 call from woman later found dead as possible serial killer probe continues: ‘There’s somebody after me’ New police chief vows to close the case on Long Island’s unsolved Gilgo Beach murders

Thai politician Pita Limjaroenrat, who fell short in his bid to secure the country’s top political office last