Minimalist News

Tether's XAUt Gold Token Receives Shariah Certification To Expand Islamic Finance Access Authored by Nate Kostar via CoinTelegraph.com, Tether’s gold-backed token XAUt has received Shariah certification from Amanah Advisors, a move that could expand access to the token among Islamic financial institutions and investors seeking Shariah-compliant exposure to physical gold. The certification found XAUt’s structure complies with key Islamic finance principles, including full backing by physical gold , the absence of interest and leverage, and transparent reserves. Each XAUt token represents one troy ounce of physical gold stored in Swiss vaults, according to Tether. The designation gives Tether a clearer

Powerful Quake Rocks Southern Japan A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Japan on Tuesday afternoon, injuring dozens, sparking fires, and damaging buildings. The Japan Meteorological Agency has since called off a tsunami alert for the coasts of the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea. The quake struck Kyushu Island, in Kumamoto Prefecture, shortly before 4:30 p.m. local time. NHK footage showed severe damage to the Kyushu Expressway, smoke rising from homes, and a partially collapsed wall at Kumamoto Castle. 熊本 宇城市と氷川町で震度7 被害相次ぐ https://t.co/fAoIlTGbTd pic.twitter.com/XUUqaauCBg — NHKニュース (@nhk_news) July 28, 2026 【速報 JUST IN 】【地震】熊本 八代 橋の一部が崩れる 上空からの映像 https://t.co/5yeg6MbbQN #nhk_news —

New British Defense Secretary Says Europe "Shaken Out Of Complacency" By Trump Authored by Guy Birchall via The Epoch Times, Newly appointed British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said on July 26 that Europe will one day thank U.S. President Donald Trump for “shaking us out of our complacency” on defense spending. Speaking to British broadcaster Sky News, Streeting said that he genuinely believes “when this period of history is written, Europe will thank President Trump for shaking us out of our complacency and forcing us to stand on our own two feet and end the period of overreliance on the

Netanyahu Ahead Of Trump Meeting: Iran War Will End Only With Regime Collapse Or Nuclear Halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed from Israel on Monday afternoon for the United States, where he will be hosted in the Oval Office on Tuesday. "This is my eighth meeting with him since he was elected President , more than any other international leader," Netanyahu told reporters ahead of the Trump meeting. He acknowledged that Iran will be top of the agenda, and asserted: "I am setting out on this mission with one clear goal: to ensure the security, strength, and future of our

Trump Ready For 'Strong Military Action' If Talks Fail, With Saudi Aramco Under Houthi Fire Summary Trump pauses strikes: Trump said the US paused attacks to give diplomacy a chance but warned military action will resume if talks fail. Iran denies that it pushed for talks: Tehran denied any direct negotiations with Washington, while saying its response remains "attack for attack." Saudi Aramco targeted: Houthis claimed fresh strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities, with reports of fires at the critical Abqaiq oil processing complex. Fragile pause holds two days: The US-Iran military pause entered a second day as mediators continued backchannel

'I Almost Cried' - Documentary Video Trove Shows Lindsey Graham's Joy At Start Of Iran War Batches of previously unreleased documentary footage give a behind-the-scenes look at the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's work to maneuver the United States into military conflicts on behalf of Israel, and the sheer joy he exuded when President Trump finally brought Graham's long-held dreams of an all-out war on Iran to fruition. The video comes from British documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, whom Graham had granted close, ongoing access from 2023 up until Graham's sudden death on July 11. Holder plans to release a documentary called

Russia Says Fuel Crisis Is Easing As Refineries Restart By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com The fuel crisis in Russia has started to ease in recent days as some refineries have restarted operations, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday. “The situation is gradually stabilizing, a number of oil refineries became operational again. The balance is better now, and the situation at fuel filling stations has considerably improved, including when it comes to supplying agricultural producers,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted the official as saying. “The situation remains quite tense in some regions, especially in some regions in Siberia.

Guess Who? First Foreign Leader Visits Burnham, UK's New Prime Minister Guess who?... None other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has touched down in the UK for his meeting with new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham. " Volodymyr, you are the first head of state or government I have congratulated since taking office as Prime Minister . And that is no coincidence. It is intended to send a very clear message: We stand 100% with Ukraine," said Burnham. The PM only took office last week, and Zelensky marks Burnham's very first international visitor . For Zelensky, Burnham is the fifth

Erdogan's Ottoman Gambit: Turkey Prepares For New Regional Order Authored by Chris Macintosh via InternationalMan.com, Turkey is simultaneously dumping US Treasuries, deepening Russia’s energy embrace, rolling out a tax regime to poach capital fleeing the Gulf… and squaring off against an Israeli political class that now speaks openly of Turkey as an enemy. It’s strategic. Turkey sold nearly all of its US Treasury holdings in March — cutting them from $16 billion to just $1.8 billion in a single month. The official narrative frames this as emergency reserve management amid a weakening lira and inflation running above 32%. But the

Kazakhstan Restarts CPC Oil Exports After Week-Long Black Sea Shutdown Kazakhstan has resumed crude exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) on Monday after the operator reopened its Black Sea marine terminal and resumed accepting crude from producers following a week-long suspension triggered by drone attacks, Kazakhstan’s Astana Times reported. Two tankers were loading crude from the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil project at the Novorossiysk terminal, while producers resumed delivering oil into the CPC pipeline system, Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said according to OilPrice.com . The ministry added that export operations would continue subject to ongoing security assessments. The reopening follows last week’s

The 'Southern Front' Of The Ukrainian Conflict Is Heating Up Authored by Andrew Korybko, The most recent phase of the Ukrainian Conflict has been characterized by the “ war of attrition ” that the US has been waging against Russia through Ukraine after Trump decided to “ escalate to de-escalate ”. This has thus far taken the form of drone strikes against energy infrastructure, online retailers , and maritime shipping in the Black, Azov, and now even the Caspian Seas. It’s this last-mentioned aspect that forms the basis of the present analysis following Ukraine’s weekend strikes on targets in the

How Total Surveillance Conquered The Last Sanctuary Of Human Privacy Authored by Milan Adams via Preppgroup, The following investigation contains verified facts, classified document references, and eyewitness testimony that some readers may find deeply disturbing. We have cross-referenced all statistical claims with official government disclosures, Freedom of Information Act releases, and whistleblower documentation. However, certain programs referenced operate under classifications beyond public scrutiny, and specific capabilities described remain officially denied by the agencies named. The author has chosen to present this material without the sanitizing filter of institutional caution. Reader discretion is advised—not for graphic content, but for the psychological

Awkward: Trump Hails 'Tremendous' Ally Turkey, Knocks Israel Before Hosting Netanyahu Less than 24 hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with the US President at the White House Tuesday, and Trump not-so-subtly put the Israeli leader in his place while fielding questions from reporters aboard Air Force One. Trump was asked about Netanyahu's very public and long-stated opposition to Washington selling F-35s to Turkey. Trump responded by firmly stating, "Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not. Turkey has been a tremendous ally . " He added in the remarks, "Turkey’s not a

Houthi Threats Force Saudi Crude Tanker Onto Suez Route To Asia By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com The Houthi threats to shipping in the Red Sea and its chokepoint, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, have forced at least one oil tanker carrying Saudi crude to Asia to choose the much longer route through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean, and around Africa. The supertanker Olympic Luck, partially laden with Saudi crude at Yanbu on the Red Sea, transited the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean late on Sunday, according to shipping data monitored by Bloomberg . The U-turn from Bab el-Mandeb indicates that some

Feds Charge Atlanta Man Who Gave Border Agents 'Self-Destruct' Password For Phone A federal judge in Atlanta is weighing whether to throw out the evidence in what appears to be the first US prosecution of a traveler over a phone's built-in "duress password" - a privacy feature that erases a device when the wrong code is entered. Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta resident and US citizen, was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a), which makes it a crime to destroy or damage property to prevent the government from seizing it. The offense carries up to five years. He has pleaded not

Utility Profits In The Crosshairs Amid Affordability Concerns By Herman Trabish of UtilityDive , Last month, protesters angry over high electricity costs disrupted a Las Vegas conference of executives for the nation’s biggest investor-owned utilities — a vivid example of growing public outrage that has forced the industry to again defend their legally guaranteed profit margins. As affordability concerns increase political pressure, several states have taken steps to lower utilities’ return on equity, either through regulatory or legislative action. Consumer advocates say these measures are long overdue, while utilities say suppressing their ROE could impact their credit rating, which would

Inside America's Left: Mapping The Five Factions Battling For Power Many transformations are unfolding within America's political left, and its shifting factions can be difficult to track. The Democratic establishment is fighting to preserve its grip on power as progressives and reformist socialists gain ground in local elections, with some openly promoting the dismantling of capitalism and adopting increasingly hostile rhetoric toward America. Fox News has begun publishing explainers to educate its audience about the emerging far left, while Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have declared war on the radical left

Washington Gets A Win After Post-Maduro Venezuela Withdraws From ICC Via Middle East Eye The US has welcomed a decision by the new Venezuelan government to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a post on X , the US State Department hailed the move as marking a "partnership on American-led efforts to dismantle the corrupt and worthless ICC . " It pointed to an investigation by the court into former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who was abducted from the South American country during a US military assault in January 2026, saying it had produced "no result".

Ex-Wife In Korea's $645M "Divorce Of The Century" Gets Iced Out Of AI Boom A Seoul court has ordered SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife 944 billion won ($645 million) , in the largest divorce award in South Korean history. And while the figure is a record, it was calculated against a stock price more than two years old - before it went ballistic in the AI boom. Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group. Lee Young-hwan/Newsis/Associated Press The Seoul High Court's First Family Division, presiding judge Lee Sang-ju, issued the ruling on Friday, nine years after Chey

The Left Is Using Kids As A Trojan Horse For Total Online Surveillance Authored by Lewis Dovland via American Thinker , It is the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook. Anytime a Democrat politician looks into a television camera and declares a new policy is "for the kids," history tells us it is time to do three things: grab your Bill of Rights, lock your wallet, and check your firearms. The political left has mastered the art of semantic camouflage. Because leftists' true intentions - total state control and the systematic dismantling of individual liberty - are entirely unpalatable to

President also blames Brazil and Mexico and says online critics ‘do not want the ideas of freedom to succeed’ More than a week has passed since Ferran Torres scored the extra-time goal that gave Spain its second World Cup, but – at least for Argentina’s president – the tournament is not over. Javier Milei has claimed that a coordinated “anti-Argentina campaign” was behind criticism of the country’s team, accusations of racism among its fans and conspiracy theories alleging that Lionel Messi’s side was secretly being favoured by Fifa. Continue reading...

Nelson Haase Mazzei was sentenced for murdering Jara in 2023, but fled from authorities in Chile More than 50 years after the murder of the Chilean folk singer Víctor Jara , the last man wanted in connection with his death has been tracked down and brought to justice. Nelson Haase Mazzei, a retired colonel, fled from authorities in 2023 after he and six other retired soldiers were sentenced in absentia for murdering Jara and another man. Continue reading...

No one was injured and no suspects have been identified in connection to shooting near Toronto compound, police say Shots were fired near the US consulate in Toronto early on Monday but no one was injured in the second shooting near the diplomatic compound in four months. “Officers heard a firearm being discharged in the area,” and “a white sedan was seen fleeing the scene”, Toronto police said on X. Continue reading...

Exclusive: CSI Aviation and GlobalX accused of violating civil rights as part of Trump immigration crackdown Venezuelan men sent last year to a notorious Salvadorian terrorism prison by the Trump administration are suing the US aviation companies that transported them there. A lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Washington DC accuses the companies CSI Aviation and GlobalX of violating the Venezuelans’ civil rights, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and other violations, for their role in flying the three planes that took the men to El Salvador. Continue reading...

At least 90 active blazes in British Columbia in what PM says is one of the country’s most intense seasons on record How dangerous are wildfires and how can we stop them from getting worse? Fresh wildfires have broken out in western Canada and forests continued to ⁠burn in Ontario as the country ⁠battled what the prime ​minister, Mark Carney, called one of the most intense wildfire seasons on record. Nearly 34,000 lightning strikes over the past week led to a series of fires ⁠and evacuation orders in southern British Columbia. There were 25 evacuation orders and 90 active wildfires

An ⁠earthquake ​with ⁠a ⁠preliminary magnitude ​of ‌7.1 ‌struck ‌the country’s Kumamoto prefecture Kyushu Electric Power said ​48,000 homes had lost power as a result of the latest ​quake, while railway company JR Kyushu said that it had ​suspended services, including its high-speed bullet trains. Kumamoto airport also shut its runway, as airlines diverted and cancelled flights. Continue reading...

From Afghanistan to Taiwan, unprecedented deluge highlights devastating impact of climate breakdown “It rained for 10 days and 10 nights, non-stop – I’d never seen anything like it,” says Anar Gul, a construction worker who lives in the remote district of Dur Baba in eastern Afghanistan. The houses in his village are built from stone and mud, which makes them extremely vulnerable to heavy rains. After days of rain, Gul’s kitchen collapsed and his neighbour, Sayed Afsar Sadat, saw a large part of his house completely destroyed. “Rains like this are coming heavier and earlier each year,” says Sadat. “They

The Houthi threat to Saudi oil exports comes as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are still reeling from the closure of the strait of Hormuz Governments in Asia are scrambling to avoid their second major energy crisis in six months, as another maritime chokepoint in the Middle East faces a violent blockade, leaving only the Suez canal completely open for the free movement of gulf oil. Countries like Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea – which rely on Middle East oil for up to 90% of their imports – are working to secure supplies after Yemen’s Houthis launched

Dunedin will be the focal point, having last experienced such an eclipse in 1163 – before any humans reached New Zealand Hotels are booking out two years in advance in the New Zealand city of Dunedin as it prepares for the region’s first total solar eclipse in more than 850 years. At 4.17pm on 22 July 2028, the moon will pass in front of the sun, casting a roughly 100km-wide shadowy band across parts of southern New Zealand. Everywhere within that band – from tourist hotspot Queenstown in the west to Dunedin city in the east – will be plunged

Isabel Rose, 26, sentenced to six years for blackmail and perverting course of public justice over her allegations against British man A British woman who reported being raped to police in Hong Kong has been sentenced to six years in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of public justice. Isabel Rose, 26, from south-east London, travelled to Hong Kong in early 2024 to visit a British banker she had met while travelling in south-east Asia. Continue reading...

Jacinta Allan steps down from top job before expected spill, saying her deputy has her ‘unqualified support’ Live updates: Jacinta Allan quits as premier of Victoria Who is Ben Carroll? Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Ben Carroll has been sworn in as the premier of Victoria after Jacinta Allan resigned, with his first act as leader to announce a royal commission into alleged corruption in the construction sector. Carroll’s elevation comes just four months before the state election and follows a tumultuous 48 hours for Labor, during which Allan resigned and a surprise

The newly minted premier must convince voters that he doesn’t represent more of the same Will a new premier save Victorian Labor? - Full Story podcast Who is Ben Carroll? Ben Carroll had hoped to quietly rise to the top job. Instead, he became Victoria’s 50th premier after 48 hours of heated confrontations and shouting matches, all as the public watched on. It was his first confrontation against the premier, and he emerged from it relatively unscathed. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed Jacinta Allan resigns as Victorian premier before leadership challenge by Ben Carroll Who is Ben Carroll? Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast ACTU president says now is the ‘right time’ to leave Michele O’Neil, the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said it’s the “right time” to leave after she announced her departure alongside ACTU secretary Sally McManus . We thought about this and we just think that it’s time for renewal. The union movement is in good shape. We’ve seen changes in workers’ rights that have

Federal opposition leader, who is not accused of wrongdoing, says he won’t provide ‘running commentary on matters before commission’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The federal opposition leader has been named as a potential donor to a conservative Liberal group now being investigated by the New South Wales corruption watchdog. Angus Taylor himself is not accused of wrongdoing. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Tuesday held its second day of Operation Rosny hearings into allegations of corruption against people associated with the NSW

Chief executive, Frank Calabria, apologises and advises customers to look out for suspicious activity amid heightened scam risk Origin Energy has admitted it was warned of the hack that accessed 900,000 current and former customers’ personal data three weeks before it first made the data breach public. Australia’s largest energy retailer said a “significant” proportion of the 900,000 had been former customers, with those affected to be notified in the coming days. Continue reading...

Spanish prime minister also says the fires serve as a reminder to plan for the ‘worsening’ climate emergency France and Spain race to contain huge wildfires before fresh heatwave begins Joe Pinner and Jane Clinton Tourists caught up in the wildfires spoke to us about their experiences. “My main memory is how bizarre it was to watch people enjoying holidays on the beach while a major catastrophe was unfolding in full view, not far away. Is this how the world ends?” Continue reading...

Umbrellas, deck chairs and loungers seized in Torre del Greco authorities’ crackdown on people reserving spots overnight Authorities in a coastal suburb of Naples seized umbrellas, loungers and deck chairs during a dawn sweep of a beach aimed at cracking down on the growing trend of people attempting to reserve prime spots overnight. Torre del Greco’s port authority said coastguard staff and local police had together collected 40 items as part of a national beach and lake safety operation that targets people labelled by the Italian press as furbetti dell’ombrellone, or umbrella cheaters. Continue reading...

Coming days are ‘absolutely critical’ for firefighters before temperatures rise again this week, officials say Firefighters in France and Spain are racing to bring huge wildfires under control before another heatwave this week that will complicate efforts to tame the flames. Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said Monday and Tuesday were “absolutely crucial days” before temperatures rise again from Wednesday, prompting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, to warn: “We face difficult hours, complex hours” ahead. Continue reading...

Two women severely wounded before bystanders intervened in incident near Porte de Clichy A man attacked three women with knives in Paris before bystanders pinned him to the ground and an off-duty police officer detained him, the French interior ⁠minister, Laurent Nuñez, has said. The man attacked the three women, aged 19, 24 and 36, with ⁠two kitchen knives, severely wounding two of them, near Porte de Clichy on Monday, Nuñez said. Continue reading...

Residents describe their fear as they were forced to leave their homes because of the ‘extremely intense’ blaze Sitting in their suburban apartment in Mérignac on the outskirts of Bordeaux, Krishma, an interpreter, and her husband, Nassir, first felt a sense of dread when a strange black cloud turned the sky dark in the middle of the day. Then a bitter burning smell filled the air outside. “The sky changed colour. It seemed like a cloud but it was smoke covering the sun – it wasn’t a natural phenomenon. It didn’t seem real,” said Nassir, an English literature graduate from

At least 1,500 protest after six men on drug-related charges put in solitary confinement before possible execution Prisoners at Iran’s largest jail have sewn their lips shut as hundreds of them joined a mass hunger strike amid a surge in executions over drug offences and charges linked to anti-government protests. The hunger strike, involving at least 1,500 death row prisoners at Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, began two weeks ago after six men convicted on drug-related charges were transferred to solitary confinement before their possible execution, according to Iranian rights groups. Continue reading...

In normal times the Mashala shelter founder takes in strays, but in wartime, he is the only lifeline for animals in the area During Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah, Houssein Hamze woke up one night to the sound of barking. Alarmed, he got up to check on the dog – his first rescue pet. Moments later, a bomb dropped next to his home and a piece of shrapnel landed right where he had been sleeping. “I swear to God, he really saved me from death. Animals always possess a sixth sense we don’t have,” Hamze said. Continue reading...

Washington and Tehran issue conflicting messages over the status of talks to end Middle East crisis Donald Trump has once again warned that the US will return to “strong military action” against Iran if diplomatic efforts do not bring a rapid resolution to the crisis in the Middle East. “We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don’t work out, we will go back to very strong military action,” the US president told Axios on Monday. Asked for how long he would allow the talks to proceed, he answered: “Not much time. Either it goes fast or not

Culture Club singer sings ‘I stand with the Jews / I don’t feel brave, I just need to behave like a human’, in song defending Israel’s response to Hamas attack Boy George has released a new song entitled We Will Dance Again, which voices support for Israel’s military action in Palestine. Posted on X and Instagram with the Hebrew title עוד נרקוד alongside its English translation, the song features a pop-reggae backing. The opening lyrics are: “You say genocide, I say war / When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for / Does it get ugly? You bet it does

Refugee family reunions in limbo, despite Foreign Office saying it is ready to get people out of war-torn territory The Home Office is blocking the evacuation of dozens of women and children from Gaza, despite the Foreign Office saying it is ready to get people out of the war-torn region. Last September, the Home Office announced it was suspending refugee family reunion applications and that new, more restrictive rules would be announced in the spring. So far there has been no announcement and the process remains suspended. Continue reading...

Cockroach Janta party says government has broken promise, with detentions in Delhi, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar India’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister , has accused the government of backtracking on its promise not to act against student protesters and has threatened to restart demonstrations. The Cockroach Janta party (CJP), which organised mass protests over exam paper leaks and other irregularities, said it had received reports of hundreds of students being detained or “harassed” by police. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: Across ​the country, a ​younger generation is turning private disillusionment into public defiance​ against a government that once felt untouchable Good morning. As flames engulfed parts of France and Spain this weekend, in India, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was trying to put out a very different kind of fire. Thousands of people arrived in Delhi on Saturday to demand the resignation of his education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. When he stepped down in the early afternoon, the protests turned into a triumphant block party. But the Cockroach protests that have swept through India this summer are about

Ally forced to resign, with opposition parties reinvigorated and strongman leader’s grip over media channels rocked Even the night before Narendra Modi accepted the resignation of his education minister, India’s prime minister appeared confident that the largest mass uprising to take place in his 12 years in power would do little to rattle his government. Addressing his “young friends” in a late-night Instagram selfie reel on Friday, he thanked the people – who were mobilised en masse across the country , shouting anti-government slogans – for their “thoughtful suggestions”. Continue reading...

Dharmendra Pradhan steps down after demonstrations over exam leak scandal, prompting celebrations among thousands of protesters India’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has resigned after a week of mass demonstrations, handing a major victory to a new youth movement that has posed an unprecedented challenge to Narendra Modi’s government. In a statement on Saturday afternoon, Pradhan said he had submitted his letter of resignation to the prime minister after student pressure. Continue reading...

Bollywood stars accused of ‘cowardice’ as hundreds of thousands of young Indians take to the streets to challenge government Bollywood stars and other Indian celebrities have faced fierce criticism for staying silent in the face of some of the biggest protests India has seen in years. Hundreds of thousands of young Indians took to the streets this week as part of a new youth movement that calls itself the Cockroach Janata party (CJP), demanding accountability over exam paper leaks in an unprecedented challenge to prime minister Narendra Modi’s government. Many vented their anger against what they saw as “cowardice” from

Upper tribunal unable to find document cited in case and claims it is ‘analogous to relying on bogus evidence’ UK politics live – latest updates A senior judge has accused the Home Office of relying on “AI hallucinated” information to refuse an asylum claim. The case relates to a Moroccan woman and her child who fled her country after experiencing forced underage marriage and extreme violence, including rape. The woman claimed asylum on the basis of fears that she would be killed by her husband: a powerful, previously convicted criminal. Continue reading...

Figures from YouGov also suggest support for Farage is falling It is not just the Russians firing on Brits in the English Channel ; Chris Philp , the shadow home secretary, has accused a French warship of firing “warning shots” near him while he was on a boat in the Channel monitoring small boat crossings. In a post on social media , he says: On the channel today monitoring illegal migrant crossings … as I was being interviewed by the BBC just now a French warship approached close and fired 17 live rounds behind us. There was no notice or

Chris Philp says patrol vessel may have been trying to stop him highlighting the small boats crisis UK politics live – latest updates A Conservative MP has claimed a French warship fired warning shots near a boat he was on in the Channel in an attempt to stop him covering the small boats crisis. Chris Philp, who is his party’s home affairs spokesperson, was being interviewed by the BBC a couple of miles off Boulogne on Tuesday when the warship Flamant passed by. As it did so, a French navy officer standing at the stern fired 17 shots from a

South Western Railway expected to join operators in east of England in reducing train speeds and changing timetables Business live – latest updates Persistent drought conditions caused by the climate crisis are expected to cause further disruption to trains across southern England, as the lack of rainfall affects the ground supporting railway embankments. South Western Railway is expected to become the latest large rail company to announce timetable changes and reduced speeds to cope with the effects of hot and dry weather, after operators in the east of England said they were going to take similar steps. Continue reading...

Consumer goods group reports strong sales growth, owing in part to World Cup marketing campaigns Business live – latest updates Unilever has warned it will push through further price rises over the coming months, as the Marmite, Dove and Hellmann’s owner tries to recoup its own growing costs. The Anglo-Dutch company said that while the pace of price rises slowed in the second quarter, owing in part to World Cup-related discounts and efforts to stay competitive in Brazil, these were “temporary factors” and would not shield consumers for long. Continue reading...

Controversial move to classify Iran war as two separate campaigns criticised as attempt to minimise casualty figures. Plus, the man who started an animal shelter after a dog saved his life Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. A controversial move by the Pentagon to reclassify casualties in the Iran war as being killed in “overseas 0perations” is being taken by US military veterans as a sign of disrespect for the dead. Michael E Smith, a retired US rear admiral who completed combat tours in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo, said: “It’s such a huge

ICE report reviewed by the Guardian discloses a patient was ‘subject to force feeding, hydration or urinary catheterization’, which experts have described as torture The Trump administration subjected at least one person undertaking a hunger strike in immigrant detention to forcible medical treatment – engaging in medical practice that healthcare associations and international human rights groups have described as torture. A document from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ( ICE ) health service agency, reviewed by the Guardian, confirms for the first time that the administration has used forced treatment on a hunger striker since Donald Trump began his second

Whether in favor of or against the US-Israel war on Iran, people across the country are left holding the bill and wondering on its purpose Five months after the United States and Israel started a historically unpopular war against Iran that was going to supposedly last weeks, the fighting has refused to resolve in victory, defeat or peace. Iran’s Supreme Leader had been killed in the opening strikes, ceasefires broke down, and the strait of Hormuz has been closed and re-opened. For voters interviewed across the country, while the damage may be distant, the residual effects have shown up at

Da’Jon Anthony Hayes-Burr, shot by another teenager, had stopped a 45-year-old man from harassing a 12-year-old girl Kentucky ’s largest city is mourning the recent shooting death of a teenage boy who had earned a municipal commendation months earlier for defending a young girl from sexual harassment – and survived being stabbed in the process. Da’Jon Anthony Hayes-Burr, 15, was shot on Saturday night in Louisville’s Shawnee neighborhood, according to authorities there. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, and police booked a 14-year-old on a count of murder, as the Louisville news outlet WAVE first reported . Continue

Memorials for the Republican senator to start in US Capitol as Israeli and Ukrainian leaders are set to meet with Trump Two days of funeral ceremonies for Lindsey Graham , the late South Carolina Republican senator, will begin in Washington on Tuesday, with mourners set to include Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Both leaders will also meet Donald Trump at the White House. Continue reading...

US diplomats walked out as their French counterparts were speaking at the United Nations on Monday after America’s close European ally criticised the Trump administration’s human rights record. The surprise move during a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine followed US opposition to giving UN human rights chief Volker Turk another four-year term. The reappointment on Friday got overwhelming support, including from France. The US walkout reflects not only the more strained relations between...

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from US President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections. The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now lower court decisions blocking the sweeping changes in nearly half the country. The request comes soon after Trump delivered an address elevating his years-long push to raise doubts about the legitimacy of elections and could...

There were at least three suspects involved in a shoot-out at a crowded food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle over the weekend, police said Monday. One of them was among those killed in the violence. In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case waived his initial appearance Monday, police said they believe there were at least three shooters: the 15-year-old, an acquaintance who died at the scene and “at least one other unknown suspect”....

A judge ruled Monday that there is enough evidence to put D4vd on trial in the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who authorities said had threatened to expose their relationship and crater the indie-pop singer’s rising career just a few days before his debut album dropped. “i will end ur career and ur life,” she told him in a text message sent the night before her death. Los Angeles Judge Charlaine Olmedo decided that evidence presented during a preliminary...

US TV show host Savannah Guthrie has said in a new video that her family is living an unending nightmare nearly six months after her mother’s disappearance and pleads with her kidnappers: “Tell us where to look for her”. The video, released on Monday, is the latest public plea from the Today presenter about 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie since her disappearance on February 1 from her home just outside Tucson, Arizona. Savannah Guthrie said her family will never stop looking for her. “The world can be...

When Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), met Jiang Feng, head of China’s mission to the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in mid-July, the message was practical. They signed a handover certificate that brought Beijing’s direct emergency support for the Ebola response to US$4.5 million. A five-member Chinese medical team was already working in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital of Kinshasa. Kaseya described the contribution as...

Firefighters sought on Monday to take advantage of more favourable weather to subdue massive wildfires threatening the French city and tourist region of Bordeaux and a number of sites in neighbouring Spain. They were racing against the clock as another heatwave is expected to hit both countries later this week in what has been a blisteringly hot and dry summer across western Europe. Authorities have evacuated about 220,000 people, including holidaymakers and ‌local residents, in France, while...

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in prison for at least two more weeks until their next hearing as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge said on Monday. US Magistrate Lauren Louis set a detention hearing for August 13 to determine whether the Tates should stay in jail or be released during what could be a months-long extradition process. The brothers were not in court on Monday or...

Armed officers will be deployed for the UK’s largest Pride festival, police said following the attack on Berlin’s Pride event. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting condemned the “absolutely horrific” van and stabbing attack in the German capital that left one person dead and injured at least 29 others. The suspect – named as Abdul B and said to have links to Islamic State – was shot dead by police on Sunday after being on the run for nearly 24 hours. He was suspected of slamming a van into people...

At least one shot was fired early on Monday at the US consulate in Toronto, Canadian police said, the second shooting near the diplomatic compound in four months. No injuries were reported. An officer guarding the consulate “heard the sound of a gunshot in the vicinity here where he was stationed” at about 4.45am, the city’s deputy police chief Frank Barredo told reporters, adding that the consulate’s facade was struck by a bullet. Toronto police said a white car with no licence plates was seen...

A major new bridge linking Canada and the US at Detroit opened on Monday to trucks, cars and other vehicles, the climax of a years-long project that lately had been bruised a bit by international politics. Descendants of Gordie Howe, the hockey legend whose name is on the bridge, were among the first to cross over the Detroit River, which separates the Motor City from Windsor, Ontario. US Senator Gary Peters rode a motorcycle, while Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer drove a Ford Mustang with...

Former FBI director James Comey urged a judge on Monday to throw out federal charges against him, arguing that a photo of seashells arranged on a beach he posted on social media was not a call to violence against President Donald Trump but protected political speech. Comey’s lawyers argue the government cannot prove the Instagram photo of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47” constituted a “true threat” against the Republican president, who fired Comey in 2017, and has publicly...

UK television personality Bill Oddie, best known for his role in the television comedy series The Goodies and presenter of nature shows, has died aged 85, his agent said on Monday. “Bill was a multitalented celebrity – wildlife presenter, broadcaster, comedian, writer, songwriter, musician and conservationist,” Oddie’s agent, David Foster, said in a statement. “Yet it was never fame that he valued. Instead he encouraged us to respect and protect the environment. “He taught us the wonder of it....

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham held his first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a UK naval base on Monday, pledging new “Stone Cloak” jamming technology to help safeguard Ukraine’s drones on the battlefield. The meeting on the dockside and on board an aircraft carrier in the southern city of Portsmouth was Burnham’s first bilateral with a foreign leader and came ahead of a visit by Zelensky to Washington on Tuesday aimed at ending the four-year war with Russia. “We are...

A British funeral director faced prison on Monday over a scandal that saw bodies left “stored on racks” and uncremated while relatives were handed other people’s ashes, sparking calls for better regulation of the industry. An ex-employee described Robert Bush’s funeral parlour as a “horror scene”, prosecutor Chris Paxton said at the start of a five-day sentencing hearing. Police who searched his premises after a tip-off found 31 bodies in a cold storage area that should have been cremated months...

Iran and the United States held their fire on Monday, handing Gulf shipping and the oil industry a respite from missile strikes as Donald Trump’s UN envoy said the president was “giving talks some space”. Tehran said it had halted retaliatory attacks against Washington’s allies in the Middle East, and US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Fox News Sunday that, while forces remained “locked and loaded”, Trump would give negotiations “a little bit of room”. Fighting over the...

French police detained a man ‌on Monday after he attacked three women with knives near Porte de Clichy in Paris, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters. The man attacked the three women, who were aged 19, 24 and 36, with two kitchen knives, severely wounding two ⁠of them, Nunez said. Video aired on social media and verified by ‌Reuters showed a man with long black hair, wearing a cream tracksuit and wielding one big knife in ‌each hand stabbing and attempting to attack a young woman. ⁠It...

Germany’s drive to compete with Chinese imports is colliding with its long-standing tradition of Sunday rest, with policymakers and retailers now asking whether a century-old consensus still fits an economy struggling to regain its competitiveness. The latest flashpoint came in early July, when the country’s coalition government unveiled a package of measures to boost Germany’s competitiveness, including plans to let bakeries, confectioneries and public libraries operate longer on Sundays from...

A ⁠second suspect ⁠detained in connection ⁠with a deadly car-ramming attack on Berlin’s Pride celebrations over the weekend has been released, ‌the German federal prosecutors’ office said on Monday. “We continue to investigate broadly,” the prosecutors’ office told Reuters and declined to comment ⁠further. Spiegel on Monday cited sources as ‌saying that authorities released the person because initial suspicion that ‌he was a passenger in the ⁠vehicle ⁠at the time of the attack could ‌not be...

Israel will allow a multinational security force to enter Gaza as proposed under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for the enclave, an Israeli official said on Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Sunday approved ‌the legal framework that would allow the force’s entry to Gaza, the official said. Netanyahu was scheduled to depart for Washington on Monday and was expected to meet Trump on Tuesday. The official said that the mission, called the International...

As Israel heads into a fiercely contested general election on October 27, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the principal challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Eisenkot’s rise comes at a pivotal moment in Israeli politics, with the election widely viewed as a referendum on the long-serving premier’s leadership in the violent aftermath of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. A recent Channel 12 poll put Eisenkot’s new party, Yashar (Hebrew for “Straight” or...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. After Apple leak, has India lost ground in its supply chain race with China? In the wake of a cyberattack on a local Apple partner, insiders say India has a long way to go before challenging China as a manufacturer. 2. China wants unique access to minerals with Indonesia offer, analyst says China...

Police arrested one suspect and were looking for another after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival beneath Seattle’s Space Needle, leaving three people dead and four others injured, including a toddler. Investigators believe the two suspects were shooting at each other and, although one remained on the loose, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public. Police did not have a description of the outstanding...

Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Sunday she will not participate in US-backed talks with the de facto government of Delcy Rodriguez that are scheduled for August. In a statement co-signed by Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who ran for president in Venezuela’s 2024 elections, Machado said the opposition would “not participate” in the “design, development and operation” of the talks. In mid-July, Rodriguez’s interim government and a group of former...

US President Donald Trump’s border tsar said on Sunday that the vetting of an immigration officer involved in the deadly shooting of a Colombian native in Maine is under internal review after relatives revealed to Associated Press that he had a history of serious mental health struggles and violent behaviour. Tom Homan said if the allegations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer are true, “I don’t think he should ever have cleared vetting.” “There’s several things under...

Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham will on Monday host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his first foreign leader since taking office a week ago, to underline London’s “unwavering support” for Kyiv. The pair are set to visit a British naval base and hear from both countries’ armed forces personnel involved in training Ukrainian service members for battle, Burnham’s Downing Street office announced late on Sunday. It said Burnham would vow “to continue the unbreakable bond between the...

The four American troops killed during renewed fighting between the US and Iran in recent weeks are no longer listed as part of the Iran war death toll in the Pentagon’s official casualty count but have been placed in a new, separate category. It is raising questions about properly counting the impact to US service members as the Trump administration has escalated strikes on Iran in a bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while providing little indication of how it intends to wind down a conflict...

Cuba held a traditional rally on Sunday to commemorate one of the revolution’s most important anniversaries but former president Raul Castro was conspicuously absent. It was the first time in at least 30 years that 95-year-old Castro had not attended the event, and no explanation was given. President Miguel Diaz-Canel read a congratulatory message from Castro to his compatriots at the rally, held in the eastern city of Pinar del Río. The annual event commemorates the July 26, 1953 assault led by...

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is “fomenting hate” by calling the prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over the war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly. Netanyahu said he intends to be in New York in September to address the annual UN gathering of world leaders, despite the mayor’s suggestion that he is not welcome. Mamdani said last week that while New York City does not have legal authority to...

The suspect in the deadly Berlin Pride attack that left one person dead and 29 injured was shot and killed by police during a confrontation on Sunday in a suburb of the city, authorities said. Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen with Lebanese roots, was killed following a search that lasted nearly 24 hours after the attack in downtown Berlin. Prosecutors said he had previously sought to join the militant Islamic State group. Ballout was suspected of driving a van into a crowd near...

Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv early on Sunday, setting off fires and wounding at least three civilians, while attacks on other parts of Ukraine later killed at least two people, local officials reported. The strikes come as Ukraine’s successful drone attacks have stalled the Russian army’s advances in an expanded campaign inside Russia that has been causing fuel shortages and piling pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin. In Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, Kremlin-installed...

Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez – who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking until President Donald Trump pardoned him last year – returned to his home country on Sunday. After touching down in a private plane near the capital, Tegucigalpa, he travelled to a rally in the town of Comayagua. Speaking at a farm in front of hundreds of supporters, Hernandez thanked Trump for the pardon. “The most well-informed president in the world said: ‘I...

Israeli settlers attacked ⁠Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank early on Sunday, setting fire to two mosques and scrawling graffiti on buildings, Palestinian officials said. The attacks followed an incident on Friday when four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers – one of whom acted as a security coordinator for a nearby Israeli settlement – were killed when a crowd of Israeli settlers, some armed, approached the Palestinian village of Tal, southwest of Nablus. During the incident,...

Each year on July 27, North Korea commemorates “Victory Day”, marking what it presents as its triumph in the Korean war. While few outside the country accept that characterisation, the date underscores a reality: the war never formally ended. The 1953 agreement was an armistice that left the peninsula in a state of suspended conflict. Responsibility for the resulting instability is widely distributed. North Korea’s missile tests, expanding nuclear arsenal and escalatory rhetoric have undermined...

Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham “will always put Britain’s interests first”, he said in an interview when asked whether he was willing to call out US President Donald Trump. Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer, who announced ‌he was stepping down last month, had a fraught relationship with Trump due to differences over the US-Israeli war on Iran, immigration, energy and tech regulation. While Trump initially described Starmer’s successor as “extremely liberal”, he said this week he had...

An ⁠impending ‘super’ El Nino is likely to inflict a combined US$10 billion to US$20 billion of damage ⁠in affected African countries and trigger mass migration from hard-hit areas, the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) top climate expert said. Forecasters are warning that the El Nino weather pattern – which often drives severe droughts, flooding and storms in Africa – could turn into one of the strongest ever seen if current Pacific Ocean warming trends continue. As well as the threat to food...

Iran said on Sunday it had made progress in talks with Oman on management of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway crucial for oil and gas trade that both countries border. The latest talks come after the United States resumed attacks on Iran in an effort to end Tehran’s control of the strait, following a June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war that had briefly eased tensions. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said several rounds of negotiations were held in...

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia has sought an extra 30,000 troops and missile launchers from North Korea to fight his country. Preparations for the extra troops are being made in Russia’s Voronezh region near the frontier with Ukraine, Zelensky said in a social media post late on Saturday. North Korea sent thousands of troops to help Russia fight off a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kursk region in 2024. It has also provided arms to help Russia’s invasion since...

One hundred days before the US midterm elections, President Donald Trump’s Republicans are staring down polling that points to the loss of the House of Representatives and a ferocious battle to retain the Senate. Trump will not appear on the ballot on November 3, but the stakes for his presidency could hardly be higher. A Democratic house would give the party control of powerful committees and subpoena authority, likely subjecting Trump’s administration to two years of investigations and...

European holidaymakers worn down by recurrent heatwaves are currently snubbing Mediterranean destinations for northern climes in hopes of cooler temperatures, but it remains to be seen whether it is just a fad or a durable shift in the tourism market. With temperatures in the European summer regularly climbing up towards 40 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), cool has become cool. This year, visitors “have been telling me that they have escaped the heat in southern parts of Europe”, said...

Nearly three decades after its return to Chinese sovereignty, Hong Kong is once again at an important crossroads. The recent decision by the United States not to renew “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” has once again focused international attention on the city’s future. For some, it represents another chapter in the geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing. For Hong Kong, however, it should also serve as a reminder that its future cannot be defined...

Skirmishes between Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia intensified, as a pause in the nearly two-week run of nightly US strikes on Iran raised fresh questions about President Donald Trump’s strategy in the war. The Houthis, Islamist militants based in Yemen and backed by Iran, said they fired missiles and drones at facilities linked to oil giant Saudi Aramco in the Red Sea port towns of Jizan and Yanbu. There was no immediate confirmation from the Saudi government or Aramco. Saudi authorities briefly...

A van ramming and stabbing near Berlin’s Pride festival that left one person dead and many others injured is believed to have been an Islamic extremist terror attack, Germany’s interior minister said on Sunday. The suspect in Saturday night’s attack remains at large. Authorities issued a wanted notice and warned people against approaching Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, saying that he may be armed and dangerous. Authorities said he is believed to have injured several people...

On July 13, more than 200 leading economists and AI researchers, including 16 Nobel laureates, signed an open letter organised by the Stanford Digital Economy Lab. Its warning was stark: artificial intelligence may drive an economic transformation “larger than the Industrial Revolution” compressed into a fraction of the time, and that we “must act now” to build the institutions to steer it. We agree with every word. Then we scanned the signatory list. Four in five signatories come from the...

The Democratic Party in Maine picked its new candidate for a key US Senate race on Saturday, after the original nominee was pressured to drop out over sexual misconduct allegations. Delegates to a hastily organised nominating convention picked Troy Jackson, a former state senate president, to go up against Republican incumbent Susan Collins. “Thank you, Maine. In 101 days, we will defeat Susan Collins and reclaim our Senate seat. Let’s get to work,” Jackson said on social media. The move comes...

Madrid is booming, culturally and economically, but the wildfires raging within a short drive of the capital have provided a reality check.

One of the largest fires in modern French history is raging near the vineyards of Bordeaux. That is just the latest problem for France’s embattled wine industry.

The area around Bordeaux has many plants that work with sophisticated technologies and hazardous materials.

Faced with unprecedented blazes, firefighters in both countries are using a brief window of opportunity to bring the flames under control before temperatures spike.

A comedian and his friends are transforming a vacant retail space at the West 4th Street station with freebies, art and puppet shows to make commutes more enjoyable.

Closed ceremonies for the Republican senator, a stalwart ally of President Trump, will be held in Washington on Tuesday before a procession and public funeral in South Carolina the next day.

Private entries, released by a Republican senator, have reignited a furious debate over whether Covid-19 leaked from a lab.

South Korea temporarily paused trading on Tuesday as its benchmark stock index led losses across the region, closing more than 10 percent lower.

Shares in semiconductor companies plunged in South Korea and Europe, adding fresh doubts to the durability of the artificial intelligence trade.

The bastion of American conservatism best known for Project 2025 has been consumed by an ideological — and generational — civil war.

At the final debate before next week’s Democratic primary for Senate, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Representative Haley Stevens showcased their wildly different ideological stances and political styles.

After nearly 10 years carrying out Chinese government repression in Xinjiang, a former police officer is now seeking asylum in Germany.

After rising to global pop star status with songs about heartbreak, Smith returns with an album about pointedly queer “requited love,” made exactly how and where made them happiest.

What if Mamdani actually wanted to be a bridge builder between Israelis and Palestinians, a role for which he has the unique capacity and talent?

Ben Wikler, a former state party chair, thinks the Democratic Party needs to reinvent itself.

We look at the state of the island as it struggles with an energy crisis.

“And let’s just say Iran’s not the only thing he bombed,” Seth Meyers said of the president’s performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The vast majority of cases begin in the fallopian tubes — and removing them can reduce the risk by nearly 80 percent.