Powerful earthquakes rock Venezuela as death toll reaches 164 | First Thing

Earthquakes Strike Venezuela, Killing at Least 164 People and Causing Widespread Damage

Good morning. Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has declared a state of emergency after the country was struck by two powerful earthquakes, causing dozens of buildings to collapse. At least 164 people were killed and a further 971 injured. Experts warned the death toll was likely to rise.

The quakes – among the largest in Venezuela’s history – struck in quick succession and were felt across much of the country. The worst damage was in and around the capital, Caracas, where videos on social media showed panicked passengers running through the corridors of Simón Bolívar airport to escape falling debris.

The US Geological Survey said Venezuela had been hit by a magnitude 7.5 “mainshock” and a 7.2 “foreshock” 39 seconds earlier. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it stated. Rodríguez, who confirmed the death toll, said the airport had been closed after sustaining “severe damage” and that metro and rail services had been suspended. A Guardian reporter saw at least three buildings that had collapsed in Altamira, an affluent district in Caracas that is home to many foreign embassies, after the quakes struck shortly after 6pm on Wednesday.

This is a developing story. Follow our live blog here.

Apartment Renter Fees Under Scrutiny at Greystar Properties

Renters at apartment buildings operated by Greystar say they have been deluged by additional fees. These add-ons include “boiler management fees”, “variable refrigerant flow fees”, “solar rebill” fees, and “lifestyle fees”. Tenants and lawsuits in several states claim many of these fees are inflated, illegal, predatory and overwhelming. The Guardian counted at least 125 different named fees in leases, court documents and rental listings for apartments managed by Greystar.

Greystar told the Guardian it disagreed with the allegations in the court actions and was “actively defending” the cases. In various court filings, the company has called tenants’ legal complaints factually deficient, implausible and “futile”. The company maintains that the fees are disclosed in lease agreements and reflect operational costs. Tenants in multiple states continue to pursue legal challenges, while Greystar has stated it will continue to contest the claims in court.

In other housing news: On Wednesday, Donald Trump abruptly cancelled his plan to sign a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the cost of housing, holding the bill – which passed the House and Senate – until Congress passes the Save America Act, which would impose new identification requirements on voters and curtail mail-in voting.

Israeli Former Leaders Threaten Legal Action Over West Bank Violence

Dozens of Israelis from the security, political and cultural elite have threatened legal action against their government over support for what the letter describes as Jewish terrorism and an “ideology of ethnic cleansing” in the occupied West Bank, according to a leaked letter seen by the Guardian. The letter demands immediate action to “eradicate Jewish terrorism”, cataloguing years of attacks including murder, sexual assault, theft, arson and desecration of dead people, by civilian and military perpetrators who act with “almost complete impunity”.

Since 2020, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, at least a quarter of them children, UN data shows. No one has been charged over any of these deaths. The letter also drew parallels with historical attacks on Jewish communities in Europe and said recent condemnations of violence by political and military leaders were not credible without action.

Two former prime ministers, former heads of all Israeli security services, former judges, a Nobel laureate and the country’s most revered living novelist were among the signatories to a “final warning” over violence against Palestinians. The letter comes amid a broader pattern of violence in the West Bank, where Palestinian groups have also carried out attacks resulting in Israeli civilian and military deaths, according to Israeli government reports. Legal proceedings in the region involve documented challenges for both Israeli and Palestinian victims, with investigations and prosecutions occurring at varying rates depending on the incident.

In other news: Campaigners have sounded the alarm after leftist zines were used to convict anti-ICE protesters of terrorism charges, with the pamphlets helping to sentence protesters outside a Texas ICE facility to decades in prison. Photos of the zines entered as evidence to convict protesters of terrorism charges.

Oil prices have fallen below levels last seen before the Iran war started in late February, as more oil tankers exited the strait of Hormuz. France confirmed its first case related to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a doctor who had returned from the area. French authorities said the risk to the European public was very low.

Stat of the day: More than 60m stars light up largest and most detailed shot of Milky Way’s centre

Astronomers used the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope to capture more than 60m stars at the heart of Earth’s galaxy, in the largest and most detailed image yet. “This data fires the starting pistol in a new age of exoplanet discovery,” one astrophysicist said. An area of stars in the galactic bulge was highlighted in the release.

The Filter Recommends: The Guardian tested clothing rental services. Here’s the verdict

“Can clothing rentals truly solve the dreaded realization that you have nothing to wear?” asks the Guardian’s Filter US team. They spent weeks testing different clothing rental services to rank the best companies, and found one with a “nightmare” returns process.

Don’t miss this: ‘How USMNT’s magnificent mess became its strength’

For years, USMNT sought a single soccer identity. Instead, at this year’s World Cup, its best team appears to be emerging from a patchwork of backgrounds, cultures and development paths, Leander Schaerlaeckens writes. “The men’s soccer team that represents this nation is defiantly diverse, in every way, and all the better for it,” he writes. Folarin Balogun and Chris Richards were among players noted in coverage of a match against Paraguay.

Climate check: ‘A super El Niño threatens disaster. Trump is handling it recklessly’

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this month confirmed the formation of El Niño in the tropical Pacific. “In the face of this evolving threat, the Trump administration has sought to cripple our forecasting capabilities,” Terry Garcia, Noaa’s former deputy administrator, writes. “But turning off the alarm does not put out the fire.” A fruit vendor pushes her cart on the Brooklyn Bridge during a heatwave last summer.

Last Thing: ‘No one believed it’ – how a YouTube video accidentally proved Libya’s sand cat really exists

In 2017, the photographer Mohammed Almuntasir uploaded a video to YouTube of a small cat digging in the Libyan sand. Almuntasir’s video was the first material evidence that the sand cat existed in the country. Now there is increasing evidence that south-western Libya may represent a stronghold for the species. Sand cat seen in Libya.

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