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Paris Landmarks Shutter Early as Quarter of France Swelters Under Heatwave

A sign informs visitors that the Eiffel Tower will close at 16:00 CEST today due to extreme temperatures during a heatwave in Paris, France, July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
A sign informs visitors that the Eiffel Tower will close at 16:00 CEST today due to extreme temperatures during a heatwave in Paris, France, July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Paris Landmarks Shutter Early as Quarter of France Swelters Under Heatwave

A sign informs visitors that the Eiffel Tower will close at 16:00 CEST today due to extreme temperatures during a heatwave in Paris, France, July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
A sign informs visitors that the Eiffel Tower will close at 16:00 CEST today due to extreme temperatures during a heatwave in Paris, France, July 11, 2026. (Reuters)

The Eiffel Tower and other Paris landmarks announced early closures over the weekend as a quarter of mainland France was under the highest heat alert level on Saturday in the third heatwave to hit the country since May.

The operator of the Eiffel Tower said the latticed-steel monument would "exceptionally close" early on Saturday and Sunday at 4 pm (1400 GMT), "due to the high temperatures forecast".

The 324-meter (1,063-foot) tower, which attracts seven million tourists a year, usually stays open past midnight during the high season.

Two of the French capital's most famous museums, the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay, have taken similar measures.

The Louvre, the most visited museum in the world, said on Thursday it would close at 4 pm from Friday through to Monday.

The Musee D'Orsay announced it would also close early, "due to the extreme heat" at 5 pm from Saturday to Wednesday.

Twenty-four departments, home to 22.2 million people according to an AFP calculation, were under the maximum alert level issued by the national weather service Meteo-France on Saturday.

Another 59 departments of 96 in mainland France were under an orange heat warning, a step below the highest, as people flooded trains and highways at the start of a holiday weekend ahead of France's national public holiday on July 14.

Across France, many towns have called off their firework displays for Bastille Day due to increased fires and dry conditions.

Wildfires have scorched twice as much land in France so far this year as in the same period last year, an official said on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for vigilance on Saturday, warning nine out of 10 fires are due to human activity.

"A single second of inattention can put families at risk, endanger those who protect us and destroy our countryside," he wrote on X.

The European nation is facing its third heatwave since May, with a heatwave in June shattering records.

The country recorded more than 2,000 excess deaths during the June heatwave, and 300 during the high temperatures in late May, according to official figures.

The government has faced a barrage of criticism, accused of being "unprepared" for the extreme weather, the increasing frequency of which scientists have linked to man-made climate change.

High temperatures are expected to continue until Bastille Day, according to Meteo-France.

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Varieties

Dangerous Heatwave Is Building, Will Bring Oppressive Temperatures to Much of the US

Visitors use fans as as they wait to enter the Washington Monument, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
Visitors use fans as as they wait to enter the Washington Monument, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
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Dangerous Heatwave Is Building, Will Bring Oppressive Temperatures to Much of the US

Visitors use fans as as they wait to enter the Washington Monument, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP)
Visitors use fans as as they wait to enter the Washington Monument, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

A widespread and dangerous heatwave is building across the US, with triple-digit highs expected in the Southwest and Great Plains this weekend before spreading eastward under a dome of high pressure that meteorologists say could trap oppressive temperatures for a week or more.

Forecasters are advising people to stay hydrated and find places to cool off, warning of temperatures 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night — especially bad for people's health because their bodies won't have a chance to recover. The heat dome is expected to affect as much as two-thirds of the continental United States.

“The heat doesn’t necessarily stop when it’s dark out,” said Josh Adam, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, where temperatures will surpass 100 F (37 C) until Tuesday. That is a dramatic spike for a state where summer temperatures are typically in the 80s, he said.

The National Weather Service predicts that more than 90 US local temperature records will be tied or broken through Wednesday — with two-thirds of those being overnight heat records. Temperatures won’t drop below 80 F (27 C) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina, according to the forecast.

The current heat dome — formed when high pressure traps hot air while blocking cooling winds and rain — is one of the strongest to affect the Dakotas in 25 years, said Chad Merrill, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

Forecasters expect record triple-digit highs this weekend in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Nevada, a state accustomed to hot weather, is even hotter than normal, said Andrew Gorelow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. The temperature in Las Vegas is expected to hit 111 F (48 C) on Saturday, Gorelow said.

Hydrating and finding cool spaces is critical, experts said.

They also warn the heat could spike fire risk to some parts of the country that already are dry, including the Rockies, where Merrill said dry thunderstorms could develop.

Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is causing more intense and longer-lasting heatwaves that cover larger areas, scientists say.

This year's temperatures also are expected to be affected by El Nino, a natural warming of the equatorial Pacific that alters weather patterns and spikes temperatures across the globe.

The current El Nino — which formed last month and is too young to have affected this heatwave much — is expected to rank as among the most intense since the weather service began tracking them in 1950, experts said.

It has an 81% chance of becoming “very strong” — the top category — by fall, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

Varieties

Charles Hosted Prince Harry and Family for First Time in Years as They Try to Repair a Family Rift

Britain's Prince Harry speaks at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), the primary venue for the 2027 Invictus Games, as it marks one year until the event, in Marston Green, near Birmingham, Britain, July 10, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool via Reuters)
Britain's Prince Harry speaks at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), the primary venue for the 2027 Invictus Games, as it marks one year until the event, in Marston Green, near Birmingham, Britain, July 10, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool via Reuters)
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Charles Hosted Prince Harry and Family for First Time in Years as They Try to Repair a Family Rift

Britain's Prince Harry speaks at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), the primary venue for the 2027 Invictus Games, as it marks one year until the event, in Marston Green, near Birmingham, Britain, July 10, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool via Reuters)
Britain's Prince Harry speaks at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), the primary venue for the 2027 Invictus Games, as it marks one year until the event, in Marston Green, near Birmingham, Britain, July 10, 2026. (Aaron Chown/Pool via Reuters)

King Charles III hosted Prince Harry and met with his family for the first time in years Friday as they try to repair a rift that has persisted since his youngest son and wife quit royal life and moved to America six years ago.

Harry, Meghan and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, met with the king and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

The Duke of Sussex had arrived Monday in his homeland for a number of charity events that were overshadowed by speculation of whether he would meet with his father.

British tabloids and news broadcasts were filled with speculation about whether Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would accompany him and, more importantly, whether they would bring their two children so they can finally get to know Grandpa Charles.

However, the monarch’s schedule is often years in the making, with events penciled in long before they take place. An opportunity to hold such a meeting would have been fleeting, particularly because the children would need to return to school in the fall and because they live in California.

The wish to seize the moment fueled tensions between Harry and royal officials earlier this week. That was highlighted by embarrassing scenes when royal officials first invited Harry to stay at Buckingham Palace, then rescinded the offer after the prince didn’t accept it in a timely manner.

Harry’s visit also coincided with him losing his final lawsuit in his quest to tame the British tabloids. A judge ruled that he failed to prove his privacy invasion claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

His legal battles have been a source of friction with his family, however. Harry has said he wants to reconcile with his 77-year-old father, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Harry and Charles met briefly for a cup of tea in September during a short visit in London, the first time they’d seen each other in well over a year.

But the prince has also wanted his children to see the monarch, whom they first met during celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

The royal children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, are now old enough to remember meeting their grandfather, and will certainly hope for pictures with the king, though the event was deemed private and no images will be publicly released.

Tensions within the House of Windsor have heightened ever since Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California to pursue lucrative media deals, free from the pressures of royal life in London.

They reached a new low after Harry published an explosive memoir that included unflattering depictions of the royal family and damning allegations of a toxic relationship between the monarchy and the press.

Harry’s description of royals leaking information about other family members in exchange for positive coverage of themselves is just one of the tawdry allegations in his book, “Spare.” The prince was especially scathing about Camilla, accusing her of feeding private conversations to the media as she sought to rehabilitate her image after her longtime affair with Charles when he was heir to the throne.

After losing a court battle over his security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family, even as he suggested that the royals had sought to prevent him from receiving police protection to punish him for walking away from royal duties.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”

The visit Friday is a step toward mending those fences.

Varieties

Japan Successfully Launches, Lands Reusable Rocket

The Reusable Vehicle eXperiment, known as RV-X, is seen in a test launch at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Noshiro, northern Japan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Naoki Kawano/Kyodo News via AP)
The Reusable Vehicle eXperiment, known as RV-X, is seen in a test launch at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Noshiro, northern Japan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Naoki Kawano/Kyodo News via AP)
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Japan Successfully Launches, Lands Reusable Rocket

The Reusable Vehicle eXperiment, known as RV-X, is seen in a test launch at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Noshiro, northern Japan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Naoki Kawano/Kyodo News via AP)
The Reusable Vehicle eXperiment, known as RV-X, is seen in a test launch at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Noshiro, northern Japan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Naoki Kawano/Kyodo News via AP)

Japan's space agency said on Saturday its prototype reusable rocket successfully completed the first lift-off and landing test, marking a step forward in the cost-cutting technology dominated by SpaceX.

The prototype, launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s test site in Noshiro, Akita region, reached a height of about 10 meters (33 feet), and then landed.

The flight lasted about 40 seconds, according to JAXA.

"I feel we have put a great deal of time and effort into this, and now that the prototype has taken off and landed without problem, I must say I feel a great sense of relief," JAXA's Takashi Ito, who led the launch, told reporters.

Ito said the agency will review data to fully determine the success of the test, but he is "confident" that it "obtained very useful data."

Most rockets are designed for single use, with components falling into the sea, burning up in the atmosphere or remaining in orbit as debris. The first launch stage is considered the most expensive component.

But the deployment of partially reusable rockets would slash launch costs.

SpaceX has been operating its reusable Falcon 9 rocket since 2017.

China, however, achieved its first successful reusable rocket landing on Friday, a breakthrough that could challenge US dominance in the field.

In June last year, a subsidiary of Honda became the first Japanese company to successfully launch and land a reusable rocket.

Japan is racing to boost the international competitiveness of the country's rocket industry.

Its flagship H3 rocket was launched successfully in June, months after a previous mission to put a satellite into orbit ended in failure.