World News Roundup — June 24, 2026 (PM)

PM edition of the world-news roundup for June 24, 2026. Heatwave, public-health, and Ukraine-war headlines dominate the non-Iran-conflict feed today.

Europe

• Heatwave sends Paris past 40°C — hotter than Mecca. A punishing early-summer heatwave is breaking records across western Europe, with Paris and other French cities crossing the 40°C (104°F) mark — temperatures more typical of the Middle East. Italy declared a red heatwave alert in 16 cities including Rome, and the UK prepared for its highest-ever June temperatures. France suffered a major power outage as demand for cooling spiked, and schools across the continent are caught in a debate over whether to close during extreme heat. [Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera] [NYT] [Al Jazeera] [CNBC]

• France reports first Ebola case — doctor returning from DR Congo. French health authorities confirmed the country’s first Ebola case in the current outbreak after a doctor who had been on a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo tested positive on return. The patient has been isolated and contact-tracing is underway; the case is not linked to community transmission inside France. [Sky News] [NYT] [Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera]

Russia / Ukraine

• Ukraine destroys key Crimea rail bridge to ‘isolate’ the peninsula. Ukrainian forces destroyed a strategic railway bridge in Russian-occupied Crimea, part of a campaign to cut the peninsula off from mainland supply lines. The strike triggered power cuts in Sevastopol and signals an escalation of long-range Ukrainian targeting of Crimean infrastructure. [Sky News] [Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera]

• Ukraine’s recovery conference opens in Poland — without Zelenskyy. A high-level conference on Ukraine’s post-war recovery is being held in Poland, but President Zelenskyy is skipping the event amid a fresh Kyiv-Warsaw spat that is testing the alliance. Separately, an NYT feature follows Ukrainian war amputees embracing wakeboarding and jiu-jitsu as the casualty count drives a community of adaptive athletes. [Al Jazeera] [NYT]

Asia-Pacific

• North Korea commissions its largest-ever warship. Kim Jong Un oversaw the commissioning of North Korea’s largest warship to date, with state media framing it as a step toward a “nuclear navy” — a doctrine that ties conventional warship build-up to the country’s nuclear deterrent. The vessel is the largest surface combatant ever launched by the North. [Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera]

Americas

• Mamdani-backed candidates sweep NYC Democratic primaries. Democratic-socialist candidates backed by New York City’s mayor swept key Democratic primaries, ousting two sitting congressmen in contests that signal the durability of the Mamdani coalition beyond the mayoral race. [Al Jazeera]

• Democrats see midterm hope in red Iowa as Trump approval sags. With Trump’s approval ratings slipping, the Democratic campaign committee is identifying unexpectedly competitive races in reliably-red states like Iowa, where rural outreach is being recalibrated for the 2026 midterms. [CNBC]

• Mexico extends birthright citizenship. Mexico has joined the U.S. in extending birthright citizenship to children born on its soil, a move that closes a long-standing loophole and aligns the two neighbours’ citizenship-by-birth rules. [Al Jazeera]

Africa

• Kenya braces for return of Gen Z protests. Kenyan authorities are on alert for the next round of Gen Z-led protests, marking the anniversary of last year’s youth-driven demonstrations that forced a U-turn on a controversial finance bill. [Al Jazeera]

• South Africa’s migrant blame won’t solve its crises. An Al Jazeera op-ed argues that South Africa’s economic and service-delivery crises cannot be laid at the door of migrants, warning that xenophobic scapegoating is deepening an already strained social contract. [Al Jazeera]

Economy

• Treasury’s Bessent says U.S. GDP can return to 3% this year. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his “3-3-3” plan — 3% growth, a 3% deficit-to-GDP ratio, and 3 million barrels per day of added oil production — remains within reach, citing post-deal energy stability and a thaw in Gulf shipping as tailwinds. [CNBC]

• JPMorgan lifts 2026 S&P 500 target but warns of hurdles. JPMorgan raised its year-end S&P 500 target, citing resilient earnings — but flagged valuation, Fed policy uncertainty, and geopolitics as obstacles to further upside. [CNBC]

• OpenAI and Broadcom unveil first joint AI chip — ‘Jalapeño’. Eight months after announcing a custom-chip partnership, OpenAI and Broadcom revealed their first joint project, a training/inference accelerator codenamed Jalapeño, as OpenAI pushes to “build the full stack” in-house. [CNBC]

• Qualcomm buys AI-startup Modular; SK Hynix eyes $29B Nasdaq listing. Qualcomm announced a deal to acquire Modular, an AI-software startup, as it deepens its data-center footprint against Nvidia and Broadcom. Separately, SK Hynix plans to raise $29 billion via a Nasdaq listing to fund AI memory-chip capacity. [CNBC] [CNBC]

UAE

• Central Bank fines foreign bank branch AED 20M over AML failures. The Central Bank of the UAE imposed an AED 20 million penalty on a branch of a licensed foreign bank after inspections found “repeated and serious deficiencies” in anti-money-laundering, counter-terrorism-financing and compliance controls. [Emirates247]

• Dubai Airports unveils new ATC tower design at DXB. Dubai Airports revealed the design for a new air-traffic-control tower at Dubai International, part of a multi-year capacity expansion aimed at keeping DXB among the world’s top international hubs. [Emirates247]

• Mohammed bin Rashid forms Dubai Real Estate Corporation board. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued a decree forming the board of directors of the Dubai Real Estate Corporation, formalising the new entity’s governance as Dubai consolidates its public property holdings. [Emirates247]

In Brief

• World Cup 2026 group-stage schedule + third-round matches to watch. Al Jazeera’s full group schedule and the marquee third-round fixtures as the tournament enters its decisive group phase in North America. [Al Jazeera]
• Messi, Mbappé, Haaland in Golden Boot race of the century? A deep dive on whether this World Cup’s striker crop produces the most competitive Golden Boot in tournament history. [Al Jazeera]

• Key takeaways from the second round of World Cup group matches. The viral moments, on-field controversies, standout players and biggest goals from the tournament’s second round. [Al Jazeera]
• Brazil vs Scotland preview. Brazil face Scotland in the next round of group play — team news, lineups and a prediction. [Al Jazeera]
• Could Brazil’s next big soccer star be scouted by AI? The NYT profiles how AI-driven scouting is reaching South America’s youth academies and reshaping recruitment pipelines. [NYT]
• Adams chief-of-staff arrested in federal bribery probe. The chief of staff to former New York City mayor Eric Adams was arrested in a federal bribery investigation, according to AP sources. [CNBC]
• Slate Auto’s $24,950 electric pickup ‘will be profitable from day one’. The EV startup says each unit of its low-cost electric pickup will be profitable as it targets a cash-flow-positive 2026. [CNBC]
• Kalshi CEO mulls IPO — but not for 2026. The CEO of the regulated US prediction-market platform said an IPO is on the radar but won’t happen this year. [CNBC]
• Wendy’s shares surge 30% as meme traders target another turnaround. Wendy’s stock jumped 30% as retail traders rotated into a new turnaround meme-stock pick. [CNBC]
• ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ still on track for 2026, BTIG tells clients. BTIG is telling clients to buy Take-Two Interactive, citing confidence that GTA VI will ship in 2026. [CNBC]
• Tech firms would pay AI-data-center energy costs under Congressional bill. A bill advancing in Congress would require large tech companies to contribute to the energy-grid costs of their AI data centers. [CNBC]
• BlackBerry pivots to ‘mission critical’ tech, Stifel says buy. Stifel upgraded BlackBerry, arguing the company has successfully pivoted into a “mission critical” tech-services role. [CNBC]
• Emirates SkyCargo expands freighter network across East and Southeast Asia. Emirates’ cargo arm announced new scheduled freighter routes linking Dubai to East and Southeast Asia. [Emirates247]
• Dubai launches ‘Dubai-it Award’ for exceptional projects. Dubai has launched a new award recognising exceptional and high-impact projects across the emirate. [Emirates247]
• Sharjah extends paid parking until midnight across all cities. Sharjah’s municipality extended paid-parking hours to midnight in all its cities as part of a parking-management reform. [Emirates247]
• Abu Dhabi regulates private accommodation for inmates. Abu Dhabi’s new regulation sets standards for private facilities housing inmates, formalising oversight of the sector. [Emirates247]
• ATM 2026 to showcase Dubai’s tourism resilience. Arabian Travel Market 2026 will highlight Dubai’s tourism-sector resilience and growth pipeline. [Emirates247]
• Structuring capital in emerging markets. A piece on why legal architecture is increasingly the deciding factor for institutional capital in emerging markets. [Emirates247]
• ‘Donald Trump Avenue’ in Hyderabad sparks political backlash. A Hyderabad street named after Donald Trump is drawing political pushback amid strained US-India relations. [Emirates247]

Roundup compiled from the TTRSS NEWS feed. 200 articles fetched, 144 excluded (Iran-conflict topic), 55 processed across 7 outlets and clustered into ~10 sections.