World Tour - Spying in Spain

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour. Here’s our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Spyware in Spain—Today’s World Tour starts in Europe.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Spanish]

Government officials in Spain admitted on Monday that someone used spyware to hack into mobile phones belonging to the country’s prime minister and defense minister.

Members of the country’s Catalan separatist movement say hackers also targeted their phones.

The Israeli-developed spyware Pegasus is behind the breach. It’s only supposed to be available to government agencies. That has prompted a growing scandal over who might have ordered the hack.

Last month, the European Parliament launched an investigation into Pegasus following alleged cases of spying against Hungary, Poland, and Greece.

Rescue efforts in China—Next we go to Asia.

AUDIO: [Clapping]

Rescuers in central China celebrated after they pulled a woman from the rubble of a building, four days after it collapsed. State media called the rescue a miracle.

The commercial building housed apartments, a hotel, and a cinema. Officials say at least two people died. Nine have been pulled from the rubble, with 14 more trapped but still alive. Thirty-nine others are unaccounted for.

Building collapses in China are often due to weak construction standards and widespread corruption among enforcement agencies. Police arrested nine people following Friday’s collapse, including the building’s owner and several safety inspectors.

Heat wave wilts India and Pakistan—Next to Southeast Asia, where summer has arrived early.

AUDIO: [Sound of splashing, laughing]

Children dove into the muddy canals of Lahore, Pakistan, last week to stay cool during a punishing heatwave. Power outages compounded the sweltering conditions, with city residents facing up to eight hours a day without electricity. Residents of some rural areas only have power for half the day.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Urdu]

This man said swimming in the canals is the only way to cool off.

AUDIO: [Sound of hoses, high spray water]

Meanwhile, firefighters in New Delhi struggled last week to contain a massive fire at a garbage dump. Officials said the blaze ignited spontaneously in the smoldering heat.

March was the hottest month in India in more than a century. April was similarly hot, with temperatures topping 109 degrees in several cities. And forecasters don’t expect the heatwave to ease any time soon.

Qantas announces longest passenger flight—And finally, we’ll land today in Australia.

AUDIO: [Plane noise]

Airline Qantas announced Monday it will soon offer the world's longest non-stop commercial flight from Sydney to London. Alan Joyce is the company’s CEO.

JOYCE: So there is a wellness area in the economy cabin, we could have put more seats into it. The seats were taken out to give this spacious area where people can exercise and hydrate, deliberately to allow people to do that on the long flight.

That room to stretch will be important because passengers will spend nearly an entire day on the plane: 19 hours.

Singapore Airlines currently operates the world's longest non-stop flight. Traveling from Singapore to New York takes just under 19 hours.

Qantas will begin its non-stop service by the end of 2025.

That’s this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

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