Minimalist News

US SPR Falls Below 300 Million Operational Limit As Oil Drain Unexpectedly Surges To 6.1MM Barrels, Most In 2 Months As negotiations between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz go nowhere, oil prices continue to slide lower on some naive hope that a resolution to the conflict will magically emerge. Meanwhile, both commercial and strategic stocks continue to be drained at a historic pace, and one day virtually every tank bottom will be hit, sparking a historic surge in commodity prices as the market realizes that physical always wins the war with paper oil. That day

Trump Finally Responds To Iran's Demands, Counters US Is Owed "Compensation," Stops Short Of New Threats Summary Trump demands Iran compensate the US and families of fallen soldiers, but issues no new military threats . US again pivots to economic warfare : Trump says Washington is "low-keying it" and betting Iran's economic weakness will force concessions. Iran digs in on Hormuz : Tehran says the Strait will not return to pre-war conditions without major concessions. Hardliners gain influence : Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei is set to take Iran's top security post. Deal remains elusive: Tehran appears intent on prolonging

Race To Reopen Hormuz Intensifies As Global Supply Chain Stress Remains At COVID Levels The latest Bloomberg data show that shipping transits through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely disrupted Monday morning, even as Iran and Oman reportedly moved closer to a deal . Brent crude futures traded near $85 a barrel as markets priced in the possibility that a deal to reopen the maritime chokepoint could be imminent. Yet global supply-chain stress remains near its highest level since the pandemic, and any normalization could take months, even if shipping traffic resumes. UBS senior international economist Pierre Lafourcade highlighted the

Game Over? GameStop CEO May Pull $56 Billion eBay Bid Anyone who took GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's bid for eBay seriously should have reconsidered after his CNBC interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin in early May. When Sorkin pressed him on the basic math , Cohen failed to clearly explain how GameStop could finance the $56 billion deal or make the proposed cash-and-stock structure work. The interview raised more questions than it answered and pointed to the inevitable conclusion: the deal was never likely to happen from the start . Here's the most contentious part of Ryan Cohen's CNBC Squawk Box

If They Were Human, They'd Be Arrested. Experts Respond To Rogue AI Breaches Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times, What if an artificial intelligence model is given a task and uses every conceivable resource at its disposal to complete it, even at the detriment of humanity itself? That is what some are now fearing after an OpenAI model broke out of a testing sandbox and used zero-day exploits to hack into Hugging Face, an open-source community for AI and machine learning, to crack a problem it was instructed to solve. “This is some of the clearest evidence yet

IRS To Propose Retirement Regulations Impacting Millions Of Taxpayers Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times , The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury plan to propose regulations for a federal retirement savings incentive program , including eligibility criteria and income thresholds for qualifying for such benefits. IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano (L) speaks as President Donald Trump looks on prior to signing a presidential proclamation honoring the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act in the Oval Office on Aug. 14, 2025. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Aimed at low- and moderate-income

Meta Releases Muse Glimmer, A 30B Model That Runs On A Single Consumer GPU Meta released Muse Glimmer on Monday, a 30-billion-parameter model built for agent work that fits on a laptop. The company published the model's weights - the trained numbers that make up the model itself, meaning anyone can download it and run it on their own machine - on the model repository Hugging Face, under an Apache 2.0 license that is genuinely permissive, without the usage restrictions Meta attached to its Llama releases. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and

NORAD Jets Intercept 2 Planes Over Restricted Airspace Near Trump's Golf Club Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 fighter jets intercepted two general aviation aircraft that flew into restricted airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, on Aug. 9, the command said. President Donald Trump was at his golf club in Bedminster for the weekend, arriving the evening of Aug. 7 and departing for Washington on Aug. 9, according to his public schedule. The club hosted the LIV Golf New York tournament from Aug. 6 to Aug. 9. Both aircraft were escorted out

Key Events This Week: CPI, PPI, Retail Sales Most traders may be out on the beach soaking up the mid-summer sun, but the relentless market and geopolitical newsflow continues for another week. Following Friday's payrolls report, which was far more dovish than hawkish at face value, attention this week will be firmly on July US CPI (Wednesday), which could go a long way towards further tipping the balance for September FOMC pricing. Futures pricing fell by around 10 percentage points immediately after the release on Friday, leaving the implied probability at 44%. Then we get US PPI (Thursday ), which

Give Them An Inch... By Bas van Geffen, senior macro strategist at Rabobank Talks between Iran and Oman on the reopening of Hormuz are reportedly inching ahead, as Iran continues to give the US the silent treatment. Negotiators said that a deal to establish a safe shipping route was close, but Iran may now be exploring just how much it can extract from the US in return. Last week, Iran had already said that any deal with Oman would be contingent on the US lifting its blockade of Iranian ports. On Friday, a US official told Reuters that the administration

Ukrainian Drones Launched 750-Miles Deep Into Central Russia Kill 13 Ukraine's military has conducted a rare, mass casualty attack deep into central Russia. Long-range drones reached Tatarstan, which lies some 1,200km (or about 750 miles) east of the Ukrainian border. The strikes killed 13 people and wounded at least 75 in what's widely being called one of the most deadly single attacks launched on Russian territory by Ukraine throughout the war. via Reuters "According to the latest information, 13 people have been killed and 75 wounded as a result of the drone attack," on the city of Nizhnekamsk, the Tatarstan

Boeing Sells Flying-Taxi Venture To Rival Archer Aviation, Takes Near 20% Stake Archer Aviation shares surged in premarket trading after The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing had agreed to take a nearly 20% stake in the eVTOL startup as part of a deal that transfers control of its autonomous flying-taxi venture, Wisk Aero, to Archer. Archer will acquire Wisk, air-traffic software provider SkyGrid, and drone manufacturer Insitu. The 737 maker will receive warrants, gain the right to nominate a director to Archer's board, and retain access to Wisk's autonomous-flight technology. The transaction is expected to close later this year.

Intel Selling $15 Billion In Stock To Fund AI Boom With AI capital expenditures exploding to $1 trillion this year, the financing mix is beginning to shift from free cash flow and debt toward equity. Among the megacap hyperscalers, Alphabet has been the most aggressive in tapping the equity market ( read report ), while Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta continue to rely primarily on cash flow, debt , leases, and structured financing. Intel is set to join the broader AI infrastructure complex in tapping equity markets, announcing in a press release Monday morning that it plans a $15 billion underwritten

Futures Erase Overnight Gains As Oil Hits One-Week High, Yen Slides US equity futures start the new week barely higher, having erased almost all of their overnight gains, yet still trading at all time highs, led by Tech with small caps starting the week in the red. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are fractionally in the green as traders look to the next big data print from the US this week in the form of CPI and PPI updates, as bets on September rate hikes tumbled after Friday's jobs debacle; Nasdaq futures rise 0.1%. In premarket trading, both Mag7

'The Financial Equivalent Of All Out Nuclear War': Jim Rickards Says 'Yentervention' Is The Biggest Story In The World Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com , Eight-time, best-selling financial author Jim Rickards is warning of a financial calamity already underway that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is trying to contain. It is the Japanese yen carry trade where the US Treasury is propping up the yen’s value. Is the yen carry trade coming to a halt and can it blow up things? Rickards says, “The answer is yes and yes..." "Somebody wrote me and asked if the yen carry trade is a big

The Fed Is Failing Its Mandate, But It Could Change Soon Authored by Daniel Lacalle, The Federal Reserve’s legal mandate is clear. It must focus on stable prices and maximum employment. In the past five years, the Fed has failed on both. Inflation remains materially above the 2 percent target, reaching a decade-high 25% cumulative inflation in the 2021-2025 period, while restrictive monetary conditions have been limited to rate hikes, which weigh most heavily on the small and medium-sized firms that generate most of net employment growth. This failure was not merely a matter of missing a forecast but a

These Restaurant Chains Won The Social Media War For Gen Z's Attention Millennials and Generation Z spend a disproportionate amount of time on social media, swiping left, right, up, and down, making growth in interactions an increasingly important measure of brand relevance. For restaurant chains seeking to attract younger consumers, social media platforms have become critical advertising tools for building brand awareness and, ultimately, converting that attention into restaurant visits or online orders through viral campaigns. In a review of which U.S. restaurant chains won over younger generations in the second-quarter social media wars, UBS equity research analyst Dennis Geiger,

Bitcoin 'Red Team' Says AI Is Finding 100s Of Critical Exploits Across Core Projects Authored by Jason Nelson via Decrypto.co, A volunteer security initiative says it used frontier AI models to scan 150 Bitcoin repositories and found more than a dozen vulnerabilities as developers increasingly use artificial intelligence to audit blockchains. In a post on X earlier this week, AnchorWatch CEO Rob Hamilton said the group has spent about $20,000 on AI services while building a "Bitcoin red team" platform. “We have been working around the clock, with ~$20,000 of spend up to this point across different services,” he wrote.

"We're Here To Destroy The White Race": Democratic Socialist Of America Hero Declares War On West Marxist streamer Hasan Piker has emerged as an increasingly visible, if unofficial, spokesman for the Democratic Socialists of America's rapidly expanding political action network. He campaigned for Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong while cultivating close ties with socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. From an electoral-risk perspective, Piker is becoming a liability for Democrats . His far-left, anti-American rhetoric provides Republicans with what we called " a gift " last week. Even Hillary Clinton warned on

"Chuds" Rejoice As Woke Video Game Studio Bethesda Crushed By Mass Layoffs From around 2014 through 2023 nearly every aspect of western pop culture from movies to television to comic books to video games to marketing was invaded by what seemed like a highly coordinated horde of far-left activists. This subversive coup in entertainment launched what many now refer to as the "woke era" in western politics, giving birth to the infamous concepts of "cancel culture" and "DEI". The movement was incredibly well supported with billions in funding through ESG lending and government subsidies. Politicians protected them from legal consequences

More than a dozen buildings collapsed in aftermath of earthquake, which has also prompted evacuations People remain trapped in Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, ​after more than two dozen structures ‌collapsed, mayor Alejandro Eder said. ‌ He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams ‌to support rescue efforts. Continue reading...

Quake of 7.4 magnitude collapses and severely damages buildings in several major cities, including Cali and Pereira Colombia earthquake live – latest updates More than 100 people have died after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia, collapsing and severely damaging scores of buildings in major cities including Cali and Pereira. The US and Colombian geological surveys reported that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 7.34am local time (13.34 BST) on Monday, with its epicentre in the western department of Chocó. It was also felt in neighbouring Venezuela, which is still reeling from a deadly double earthquake on 24 June. Continue reading...

Gabar Choli tells of how, for months, he was shackled, pinned and forcibly fed – and the physical and emotional scars the ordeal has left In June 2025, a sluggish and thin Gabar Choli, with sunken temples and bones visible under his skin, braced himself for the immigration detention center guards to charge into his cell once again. Choli was in a solitary confinement medical cell inside the Port Isabel service processing center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) detention facility in south Texas where immigrants arrested in Donald Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown are detained. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Film-maker Gabar Choli describes how he endured coercive treatment over eight months in detention in Texas A Kurdish man who was force fed over the course of eight months while on hunger strike in US immigration detention has spoken out about it for the first time, describing how much the process harmed him physically and psychologically. Gabar Choli, a film-maker and activist now living in Canada after being deported, described how he endured the coercive treatment – a practice widely considered torture by international human rights groups – often twice a day after being detained by US Immigration and

British Columbia battling 102 fires day and night across province, as breakneck speed hampers firefighters’ efforts Canada’s federal government has announced it will provide urgent assistance to British Columbia after an onslaught of unprecedented fast-moving wildfires that killed one person and forced about 22,000 people to flee their homes in frantic evacuations. A total of 102 wildfires were raging across the province on Sunday, of which nearly half were categorised as “out of control”, according to the BC Wildfire Service. Of those fires, 78 ignited during the past week. Continue reading...

Drought and wildfires intensify across continent, while tropical storms bring heavy rain and disruption to east Asia High pressure has dominated central and eastern Europe in early August, breaking temperature records across the region. Austria recorded a high of 41.2C (106.2F), while Slovakia reached 42.2C. Hungary hit a peak of 41.8C, surpassing a record set in 1905, while overnight temperatures remained above 28C in some areas, marking it as a tropical night. The extreme temperatures have been driven by a heat dome beneath the high-pressure system, which traps warm air close to the surface. Continue reading...

Authorities warn that days of intense rain could trigger widespread flooding and landslides as storm moves north and further inland More than a million people were moved to safety across eastern China by Sunday evening as powerful Typhoon Dolphin made landfall amid fears torrential rain would cause flooding and landslides. Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, said it relocated more than 900,000 people and opened more than 1,500 emergency shelters. In neighbouring Fujian, 98,900 people were moved from high-risk areas. Continue reading...

Observatory says 36.9C posted on Sunday is city’s highest official temperature since its records began 142 years ago, with storm driving intense heat in region Hong Kong has officially recorded its highest ever temperature as Typhoon Dolphin swept warm air over the city, the meteorological service said. The city’s weather observatory posted a temperature of 36.9C on Sunday, the highest recorded since records began in 1884, the Hong Kong Observatory said in the afternoon. Continue reading...

Tropical cyclone brings torrential rain and high winds to east coast after hitting Japan’s southern Okinawa province Typhoon Dolphin, the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit China this year, has made landfall on the country’s east coast, bringing torrential rain and strong ⁠winds and triggering warnings ​of flooding and landslides. The storm has already swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings. Continue reading...

Imports this year now account for 14% of the market amid claims vehicles are being dumped in the EU and UK Chinese electric car sales have risen across Europe to a record high driven by strong demand and low tariffs in the UK and a surge in buyers in Italy. Against a backdrop of claims that Chinese carmakers are “dumping” state-subsidised vehicles in the EU and UK to gain market share, the figures will give impetus to calls for quotas and higher tariffs to protect European manufacturers. Continue reading...

The RBA’s governor, Michele Bullock, has made it clear that the ‘easing’ property market is on her mind Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast It’s the silver lining that’s not making headlines: falling home prices means another Reserve Bank rate hike is less likely. RBA board members will not be sitting on Monday and Tuesday discussing ways to prop up Sydney house values . Continue reading...

Regulator finds many insurers raising premiums faster than inflation and advises customers to ask for better deals Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Car owners should challenge motor insurers over steep premium hikes, the corporate regulator advises, after finding many companies were raising prices faster than inflation. In a report released on Tuesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) found that none of the eight insurers it reviewed adequately explained the reasons behind premium calculations to customers or why prices had changed in quote or renewal documents. Continue reading...

Melissa Donnelly, the national secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, will replace the outgoing ACTU head Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Melissa Donnelly, the national secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, will take on the role as the next head of the trade movement in Australia, after the resignation of Sally McManus . The Australian Council of Trade Unions’ secretary and its president, Michele O’Neil, revealed last month they would be stepping down after eight years together as the first all-female leadership team in the ACTU’s 99-year history, playing

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Police say the remains found in a suitcase near Goulburn are not human. Supt Linda Bradbury with NSW police said: Some good news here that we don’t have a suspicious death of a human on our hands. … We are still undertaking more forensic work to identify what they are. But we can identify that they’re not human. But we’ve confirmed by other means that they are not. The undersupply of housing combined with population growth is expected to partially offset the impact

If opposition wins November’s state election, leader Jess Wilson vows households will not pay more under the change Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Victorian Liberals have vowed to restore weekly rubbish collections if they win November’s state election, with leader Jess Wilson describing the current fortnightly system in her local area as “disgusting”. Thirty-three Victorian councils have switched general rubbish collections from weekly to fortnightly, with a similar shift occurring in other states. Continue reading...

Attack hundreds of miles from border would be among deadliest of war as Kyiv aims to strangle Russian economy A Ukrainian drone strike on an industrial city deep inside Russia has killed at least 13 people, according to the local mayor, as Kyiv steps up its campaign of long-range strikes on targets far from the frontline. Kyiv said it hit the Taneco refinery in the city of Nizhnekamsk, about 750 miles (1,200km) from the Ukrainian border. Footage circulating online appeared to show smoke rising from the refinery. Continue reading...

German government talks of a ‘new level of danger’ but declines to say who it thinks was responsible for device American intelligence experts believe Russia was behind an attack on a German airport last week with a drone laden with explosives , US media have reported, as Berlin remained silent on the likely culprit. Last week’s security emergency prompted the interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, to break off his summer holiday in Italy and rush to the scene in the eastern city of Leipzig, as he spoke of a “new level of danger” for Germany. Continue reading...

Researchers analysed activity in regions of brain when dogs were shown images of different facial expressions While dogs are known to turn the puppy eyes on their owners , it seems our pets are keeping a close eye on us too: research has revealed dog brains can distinguish different types of unhappy human faces. Dr Laura Cuaya, a co-author of the study from the University of Vienna, said previous behavioural studies had shown dogs could tell apart some human facial expressions, but such studies tended to only test two at a time, one positive and one negative. As a result,

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that strikes on such facilities were directly linked with putting more pressure on Moscow A fire ⁠broke ⁠out ​at an ⁠industrial facility in ⁠Russia’s ​Tyumen ‌region ‌in Siberia ‌after several drones fell on it, ‌ Tyumen region ​governor Alexander Moor ⁠said ​on his Telegram ​channel. This is reported by Reuters. Continue reading...

Only spending outlet for man accused of helping to control a third of Europe’s cocaine supply will be prison tuck shop It sounds like the penal equivalent of five stars: a private gym and library, daily outings to the exercise yard and a landing cleared of other prisoners. Daniel Kinahan’s first full day inside the walls of Portlaoise prison on Monday, however, marked a drastic change from his luxury lifestyle in the United Arab Emirates. Continue reading...

Israeli prime minister’s unexpected comments blindsided IDF commanders and could alienate Trump, his main ally Benjamin Netanyahu’s public rejection of a US-backed deal for Gaza drew scepticism in Israel, amid reports he was personally hammering out details of a pilot military withdrawal days earlier. The Israeli prime minister is struggling to balance incompatible demands on Gaza policy from his key domestic and international allies. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: ​Jerusalem’s most volatile site has again become a flashpoint, with Arab states and former Israeli officials sounding the alarm over Benjamin Netanyahu’s complicity Good morning. In late July, Itamar Ben-Gvir, West Bank settler and far-right extremist minister of security in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, joined a group of more than 2,000 Jewish extremists to storm al-Aqsa mosque compound, Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. The far-right group has been doing this for years. Ben-Gvir has made series of visits to the site over the last three years, eroding norms and inflaming tensions. Jordanian officials have recently warned that it

Israeli PM says IDF will not withdraw until Hamas is disarmed and rebukes US pressure to end wars without his country’s buy-in Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza in a rare public break with Donald Trump. In a statement on Sunday, Netanyahu said that he was confronting a “wave of rumours about Israeli weakness and Israeli withdrawals on all fronts” and rebuked US pressure to end wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran without Israel’s buy-in. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Israel rejects US-led 15-point Gaza peace plan, says Netanyahu Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Gaza plan hailed by US president Donald Trump, vowing no military pullout of Gaza until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed. The Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting. Here are the other key updates from today: The US must pressure Israel to accept the next phase of the Gaza plan, a Hamas official said, after

Drone strike comes after Riyadh signs defence pact and Tehran issues tough demands to reopen strait of Hormuz Yemen’s Tehran-aligned Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, two days after the kingdom signed ⁠a defence pact with Turkey ⁠and Pakistan in response to ​growing regional instability caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. The attack early on Sunday came after Iran said tough new demands would have to be met before it would reopen the strait of Hormuz , and after the United Arab Emirates said one of its ships had been targeted by

Demonstrators accuse authorities of failing to tackle irregularities in exams for sought-after civil service jobs Thousands of angry young job-seekers clashed with police in Jharkhand, one of India’s poorest states, on Monday as a weeks-long protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment drives for coveted government jobs escalated into a march on the state legislature. Police fired water cannon and teargas and swung batons as they tried to stop flag-waving demonstrators from clambering over barricades and surging towards the assembly in Ranchi, the state capital. Some of the protesters responded by dancing and cheering as jets of water drenched the crowd.

Mohammad Akhtar, 50, from Peterborough killed during clashes between authorities and protesters A British national was shot dead in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during clashes between security forces and protesters, the Guardian can reveal. Another Briton has been held in a regional prison for more than two months despite his family’s efforts to secure his release through the Foreign Office. Continue reading...

Dhaka accuses India of giving platform to a ‘convicted genocider’ by allowing Sheikh Hasina to address journalists Bangladesh has lashed out at India for allowing the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to address journalists in New Delhi, plunging already strained bilateral relations to a fresh low. Dhaka accused India of giving a platform to a fugitive it labelled a “convicted genocider” and of undermining efforts to repair ties, after Hasina vowed to return to Bangladesh in December despite facing a death sentence on charges of “crimes against humanity”. Continue reading...

Tarun Tejpal, ex-editor of Tehelka magazine, was initially acquitted in 2021 in case that drew nationwide attention An Indian court has sentenced a high-profile former editor of an investigative news magazine to 10 years in prison after convicting him of raping a junior colleague, overturning his acquittal in a case that drew nationwide attention. Tarun Tejpal, 63, the founder and former editor of Tehelka magazine, was accused of raping a journalist in the lift of a five-star hotel in the western coastal state of Goa during an event in November 2013. He was arrested and spent seven months in jail

Sheikh Hasina plans a December comeback two years after being ousted in a bloody uprising led by students Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to return home by the end of the year, even though she faces a death sentence. “They may put me in a cell. They may kill me. Anything may happen, but still I have to go,” said Hasina, two years after a student-led uprising toppled her government. Continue reading...

Police looking into whether Joshua Kerry linked to alleged attempted burglary last year at Reform leader’s then home Police are investigating whether Joshua Kerry, the man charged with the murder of the former Reform UK and Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe, had any role in an attempted burglary last year at the then London home of Nigel Farage. Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, was charged with the murder of Widdecombe, 78, who was killed at her Devon home in July, after an investigation by counter-terrorism police. Continue reading...

The upgraded alerts will be in place from 9am on Tuesday until 9pm on Friday An 18-year-old died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Camber Sands beach, East Sussex, yesterday, bringing the number of deaths in open-water incidents over the hot, dry summer to over 40, according to estimates compiled by the Press Association. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has updated heat-health alerts for nine regions in England, warning that rising temperatures this week may increase health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups. It’s important that everyone is aware of the simple steps they can take to stay

Badenoch adviser Joshua Bonehill-Paine was found guilty in 2016 of racially aggravated harassment of then MP Luciana Berger The Labour peer Luciana Berger has urged Kemi Badenoch to “listen to victims” and reverse her decision to give a national advisory role to a former neo-Nazi. Joshua Bonehill-Paine was jailed in 2015 for more than three years after posting antisemitic material online before a planned neo-Nazi rally. In 2016, he was found guilty of racially aggravated harassment for abuse directed at Berger, an MP at the time. He was also the founder and leader of the National British Resistance, a far-right

Four more regions given drought status, putting 27 million people under restrictions on water use Almost three-quarters of England is now in drought, as much of Europe braces for its fifth climate crisis-driven heatwave this summer. Four more regions of England have officially been declared to be in drought: the East Midlands, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Kent and East Sussex, and Solent and the South Downs. Continue reading...

Industry body says use of private investigators against reporters is ‘attack on our democracy’ after Banks apparently admitted doing so The businessman and Reform UK donor Arron Banks is facing calls to lay out the extent of his surveillance of journalists, described by an industry body as an “attack on our democracy”. The News Media Association (NMA), which represents regional and national media, raised concerns after Banks appeared to admit over the weekend to hiring private investigators to spy on a Sunday Times journalist . Continue reading...

Vandalism charges were dropped against David Hearn over damage to reflecting pool but Donald Trump continues to claim Hearn is guilty Sign up for the Breaking News US email Wisconsin is not the only state with high stakes primary races on 11 August. We’ll also be bringing you the latest on a number of pivotal contests. In Minnesota, the closely watched and crowded Democratic primary for US Senate seems to be a competition between lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan and congresswoman Angie Craig . Continue reading...

Loyalist sworn in after Senate voted narrowly in favor of his confirmation Saturday morning Todd Blanche has been sworn as US attorney general, cementing Donald Trump’s installation of his former personal attorney in charge of the Department of Justice. Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April, was confirmed in his new position during a ceremony at the White House on Monday. Continue reading...

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements. Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis ordered killing and provided gun in Las Vegas drive-by shooting 30 years ago Jury selection began on Monday in Las Vegas as the murder trial of a former gang leader finally got under way decades after the shooting of the rapper Tupac Shakur, one of the most high-profile unsolved killings in the US. It was thought likely to take at least the rest of the week to seat a jury for the trial of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, in which prosecutors aim to show that Davis, 63, the one-time leader of the South Side

Progressive US senator urges Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to ‘stop building machines that humans cannot control’ Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic executives to halt their development of artificial intelligence, warning that the US Senate will implement regulation if the companies continue deploying AI at their current pace. In a new letter addressed to the CEOs of three of the country’s leading AI companies, Sanders said the capabilities of these AI models have reached a critical risk threshold and that the companies are losing control over the technology. Continue reading...

Thames Water has handed a delayed £1 million (US$1.35 million) “golden handshake” payment to its chief financial officer and agreed controversial retention payouts to top bosses despite its battle to secure its financial future. The stricken supplier, which is sinking under a debt pile of more than £20 billion, disclosed in a letter to the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that it had made the so-called signing-on payment to Steve Buck at the end of July from an emergency lending...

At least 13 people were killed, including a child, and 39 injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on industrial and ‌civilian targets in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk, authorities said on Monday, one of the heaviest civilian tolls in the country in months. The city is a major oil-refining and petrochemical centre in the Tatarstan republic, according to local officials. Its refining and petrochemical sites have been attacked multiple times in the past. The city is home to two major oil refineries,...

Beijing has issued a preliminary ruling that the United States and Mexico are dumping pecans into the Chinese market and harming domestic producers, according to the Ministry of Commerce. “Over the injury investigation period, the volume of dumped imports rose by a cumulative 104.56 per cent and their share of the domestic market increased by 9.69 percentage points,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday. “The import price of the dumped products fell by a cumulative 9.15 per cent and...

The ⁠United States is ⁠not disengaging from Asia and ⁠is instead “digging in” to maintain a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, but wants its partners to shoulder more responsibility for their defence, a senior Pentagon official said on ‌Monday. Seeking to counter concerns about Washington’s reliability, Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, reiterated the US interest in the region as he called for greater burden-sharing and “partnership, not dependency”. “America is...

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. Why Beijing struggles to win Indian hearts and minds despite diplomatic thaw Though the relationship between the Chinese and Indian governments has been thawing, Beijing has yet to win over the Indian public as it lacked a long-term strategy and communication channels, according to Chinese...

Pakistan’s foreign minister said a new defence agreement his country signed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey was not directed against any country and remained open to other nations in the region. The landmark Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Friday by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the three countries seek to deepen security cooperation amid heightened tensions between the United States and...

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the US$400 million ballroom project. Trump said that, beginning September 1, Scharf will be replacing David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Trump noted that Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented him in a...

The Canadian federal government said on ⁠Sunday it would ⁠help British Columbia ⁠as raging wildfires forced thousands of people to evacuate by providing shelter and accommodation for residents displaced in regions around Summerland and Peachland. The Bald Range wildfire, which prompted British ‌Columbia to declare a provincial state of emergency and evacuate about 18,000 people, had spread to more than 10,300 hectares by at the weekend as firefighters continued to battle the blaze. “Last night,...

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to crack down on hard-to-cancel subscriptions and fake discounts as part of measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, Downing Street said on Sunday. The announcement came as the new Labour leader was set to return to work after a holiday and begin a tour of the country to talk to people about their financial pressures, his office said. Burnham said in a statement that “people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps”, where...

Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes overnight that killed civilians and injured many others on both sides, local authorities reported on Sunday. Large-scale Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities have become almost routine in recent weeks, with Moscow exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the US-made Patriot systems – the sole air defence weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles. In the latest attacks, Ukrainian drones killed five people and injured...

US President Donald Trump signalled on Sunday he is prepared to let economic pressure mount against Iran, apparently backing away from ordering more military strikes even as Tehran issues tough demands. “We are low-keying it,” Trump said, according to the news outlet Axios, which said it spoke to him in a brief phone call. Only a week ago Trump made the latest of his series of threats to hit Iran hard, only to back off, as he presses for a deal to end the war he started along with Israel on...

Alleged Irish crime gang boss Daniel Kinahan was charged with directing a criminal organisation by prosecutors in Dublin on Sunday amid tight security at a special court sitting following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates. Kinahan, who was ‌arrested in Dubai in April, was named by the United States in 2022 as one of three leaders of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group. US authorities offered a US$5 million reward for their arrests. He was handed over to Irish authorities in Dubai...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery, ⁠they said on Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability from the US-Israeli war on Iran. The alliance with Sunni Muslim US allies, Turkey and Pakistan, was intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all. It was not clear...

A fast-moving wildfire was raging in southern France on Sunday, forcing evacuations as more than 200 firefighters raced to contain the blaze. The fire broke out around 12.45pm in the Lozere region, about 140km (85 miles) northwest of Montpellier, and was likely sparked by a vehicle catching fire on a local road. By late afternoon, the uncontained blaze had burned some 90 hectares (220 acres). Backed by four Canadair water bombers and a Dash aircraft, around 220 firefighters were deployed to the...

Around 10,000 people gathered in Cologne on Sunday for a demonstration in support of the queer community following the Islamist attack at Berlin Pride. The organisers of Cologne’s own Pride celebrations called for the rally two weeks after the shocking attack in the German capital. Participants gathered in the Deutz district on the eastern side of the Rhine River and marched across to the city centre, with turnout significantly higher than the 2,000 registered with police in advance. A dpa...

The operator of a boat that capsized in New York Harbor, killing a mother and her infant daughter, is facing criminal charges and authorities are investigating whether the vessel was an illegal charter, the US Coast Guard said on Sunday. The 22-foot Bayliner speedboat overturned at 10.25pm on Saturday near Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty, the US Coast Guard said. Twelve people were rescued from the water before police arrived and police divers later located the 27-year-old woman...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a US-led Gaza plan endorsed by Hamas, putting distance between himself and President Donald Trump as he tries to shore up his base ahead of close elections. After more than a week of gradually escalating criticism of the plan, and despite receiving assurances that Israel would not need to start withdrawing in Gaza immediately, Netanyahu explicitly opposed the deal following pushback from his right-wing allies. “Israel rejects the...

Iran said on Sunday that a deal ⁠with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once the United States met other conditions. A US official said on Friday that an agreement between Iran and Oman was close and could soon reopen the waterway, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran blocked it in response to US and Israeli attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas...

A defence pact among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan appears to be aimed at deterring Iran and Israel from tearing up the Middle East with their conflict amid Washington’s inability to guarantee regional security, observers say. Under the terms of the deal signed on Friday in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, an armed attack against any one of the three states “shall be regarded as an attack...

The head of German arms giant Rheinmetall is refusing to be intimidated despite round-the-clock security due to a litany of threats to his safety. On Sunday, Armin Papperger said “chickening out” was not an option in his field. “These jobs must be done and anyone that can’t take the pressure doesn’t belong in this job,” Papperger said. The 63-year-old is under police protection due to alleged Russian murder plots and has bodyguards at his side at all times, even in Rheinmetall’s Dusseldorf...

In only a few years, the surveillance start-up Flock has installed more than 100,000 licence plate reader cameras across the United States. But a grass-roots movement upset over privacy concerns is fighting back – even going so far as systematically vandalising the equipment. The first time he decided to trash one of the cameras, a self-styled vigilante wearing all black and known as Nomark, says he was “super nervous”. Now, after disabling about 30 of the devices near his home in the...

Former US president Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread to other parts of his body and is causing him pain, even as he continues to speak out on public issues, his son Hunter said in an interview. In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC broadcast late on Friday, Hunter Biden grew emotional as he discussed his father’s condition, describing it as very sad to watch. “The cancer has spread, metastasised into his bones and further,” he said. “It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many...

In northern Nigeria, 1,500 couples have tied the knot at a mass wedding organised by the state. The two-day ceremony in Kano State was aimed at people who, for financial reasons, would otherwise struggle to afford a wedding. According to the regional government, each bride received a dowry of 200,000 naira (US$147) as well as support to set up a small business. The couples were also given household items such as beds, mattresses and blankets. Before the wedding, the couples underwent screening...

The Strait of Hormuz is, by some accounts, named for a Zoroastrian deity destined to emerge victorious after a 9,000-year stand-off with an adversary. Iran’s leaders feel their own victory is at hand and will not require the same epic patience. They are betting that military pressure will ultimately force the US to accept their control over the crucial waterway for global energy – and that time is on their side. They know about the diminishing stockpiles of major US weapons such as advanced...

Ukraine on Saturday denied targeting Bulgaria after a drone exploded close to the strategic Trans-Balkan gas pipeline linking Turkey to Ukraine near the Romanian border. Bulgaria’s defence ministry said the drone was of a type “widely used by the Ukrainian military”, and the foreign minister summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for a meeting on Monday in response, her office said. Kyiv said it was “in close contact with the Bulgarian side to clarify the circumstances” of the incident, the latest...

Kosovo’s parliament had to be suspended on Saturday after an opposition lawmaker pelted caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti with eggs, as a long-running political crisis threatens to trigger another snap election. Europe’s youngest democracy has faced three elections in less than two years, with successive parliaments collapsing under deep political divisions. Kurti, who has been in days-long negotiations with opposition parties over a new president, attempted to delay a key vote when MP Time...

The United Arab Emirates on Saturday said Iran had targeted a tanker belonging to the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait and wants to charge users for passage, which the US fiercely opposes, and is in talks with nearby Oman over arrangements for the strait’s future management. The UAE foreign ministry in a statement condemned what it called a “hostile Iranian attack that targeted a...

Following Italy’s rejection of its ultimatum to lift the border checks imposed in response to the Ceuta migration crisis, Spain has in turn announced that it will carry out checks on travellers from Italy. From midnight on Saturday, travellers from Italy would initially be subject to random checks at ports and airports until September 7, Spanish state broadcaster RTVE reported, citing a decree issued by the Madrid government. The checks are intended to verify the identity and nationality of...

Four people, including a child, were killed in Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the surrounding region, local officials said on Saturday, as Ukraine hit another oil refinery in Russia. Residents endure regular drone and missile barrages that Kyiv’s depleted air defences are struggling to counter amid Moscow’s four-year-old full-scale invasion, while repeated Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities have caused fuel shortages and rattled Russians. Two grandparents and their...

Amazon has confirmed it is financing a massive, private gas power plant in Texas that could become the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. It is the latest example of tech giants going off the grid to get their AI operations online faster. The news was first reported by market intelligence company Cleanview, which reviewed satellite imagery to connect three data centre construction permits filed this week by Amazon to the gas plant, which is being developed by...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighbourhoods in the city of Marib on Friday, killing two people and wounding 14, state news agency SABA reported, citing local authorities. Yemen’s army said early on Saturday it had responded against Houthi forces on several fronts. The army did not give details of the operations or say when they took place but said it would respond to any further targeting of its units with what it...

Palestinian Christians call themselves “living stones” and say they have lived continuously in the Holy Land for the last 2,000 years. Maybe not for much longer, believes Reverend Mitri Raheb. “If the current conditions continue, there will not be a single Palestinian Christian left by 2050,” said Raheb, founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ. Faced with growing uncertainty over economic and security conditions, hundreds of...

Sensing frustration among many Russians towards the Ukraine war, Russia’s liberal Yabloko party is hoping to use parliamentary elections this September to raise its profile, casting itself as the only opposition group in favour of a ceasefire. Elections in Russia are tightly controlled – every parliamentary vote since 2003 has been won by the ruling “United Russia” party, which supports President Vladimir Putin. Yabloko is unlikely to win any seats. A poll conducted earlier this year showed it...

Debate over the price of a burrito is causing indigestion for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which fears being punished for the high cost of living in November’s midterm elections. The Mexican speciality – rice, beans, meat and other toppings wrapped in a tortilla – is beloved by many Americans as a comforting, filling and inexpensive meal. Not any more, argues Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA. “One of our TPUSA college students...

The football that Diego Maradona used to score his infamous “Hand of God” goal during Argentina’s win over England in the 1986 World Cup is expected to sell for US$10 million at a US auction this month. Maradona’s goal in the quarter-final match at the Estadio Azteca saw him punch the ball past the England goalkeeper, with the South Americans ultimately winning 2-1. After the game, the Argentine star said his goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”....

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella took office Friday, vowing to wage war on drug-running guerrillas and usher in a new era of close ties with the United States. The flamboyant former lawyer brings a lurch to the right for the Andean nation, vowing to bomb jungle cocaine labs, build “mega prisons” and slash the size of the state. De la Espriella and his Vice-President Jose Manuel Restrepo cheered, embraced and performed their campaign’s characteristic military salute after taking their...

US President ⁠Donald Trump is renewing his effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, keeping alive his assault on the central bank’s independence even after the US Supreme Court in June dealt him a significant setback in his bid to remove her earlier this year, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The White House told Cook in a letter this week that the president was “considering” removing her from her role and demanded she respond to unproven mortgage fraud allegations within three...

The US Senate has confirmed Todd Blanche, 52, as attorney general, elevating President Donald Trump’s one-time personal defence lawyer to lead the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said on Friday he would back Todd Blanche for attorney general, clearing a path for Trump’s nominee after weeks of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s independence from the White House. Cassidy had emerged as the probable deciding vote after Republican Senator Lisa...

Ukrainian President Zelensky and populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Saturday agreed to build cooperation despite Belgrade’s long-standing close ties with Moscow. The future path of both countries towards EU membership was also on the agenda at the talks in Belgrade between Zelensky – who was making his first visit to the capital – and Vučić. Military cooperation with Kyiv was not discussed, Vučić stressed at a joint press briefing. He also denied reports that Serbia intended to build...

China’s UnionPay International plans to connect Chinese payment apps to Pix, the Brazilian payment system at the centre of Washington’s trade case against Brasilia, allowing Chinese tourists to pay by scanning a code. Under the pilot, users of the UnionPay app and of Chinese bank apps linked to its platform would scan a merchant’s code and pay from the account they use at home. Chinese state media reported that access would later extend to other digital wallets in UnionPay’s global network. Pix...

A US federal appeal court ordered Donald Trump’s administration on Friday to stop construction on a US$400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, dealing the Republican leader a major setback in a case testing his presidential authority. “Each president is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House” and cannot fundamentally reshape it without congressional approval, the Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in a...

The US economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July, government data showed, a blow to US President Donald Trump’s claims of leading an economic revival as his Republican Party gears up for crucial midterm elections.. The unemployment rate in the world’s largest economy ticked down to 4.1 per cent, according to data published on Friday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since taking office for his second term, Trump has unleashed a spate of policies aimed at reviving domestic manufacturing...

“Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” This famous 11th thesis from Karl Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach is engraved on his tombstone in Highgate Cemetery in London. It was meant to be a refutation of another famous saying, by G.W.F. Hegel: “The owl of Minerva takes flight only when darkness falls.” This poetic but enigmatic remark is from the Philosophy of Right. It means understanding always arrives too late; philosophy can only teach...

A bus driver knocked an explosive-laden drone out of the air, potentially preventing an attack this week at a German airport that serves as a major Nato and cargo logistics hub, a senior lawmaker said ‌on Friday. The man spotted the drone flying low while he was working at Leipzig/Halle airport late on Tuesday, then kicked out at it in what Detlef Seif described as a courageous but dangerous act. The drone, which prosecutors said was equipped with professional explosives and a detonator, then...

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, wedding Sunni Muslim US allies alarmed at a regional conflagration that has rained missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters. Iran and its allies have been firing on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, and blockading their energy shipments, since the US and Israel attacked it on February 28 in a major escalation of years of regional tumult. The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” is intended to strengthen collective...

A nation of us versus them and them and them.

The democratic socialist is the front-runner to win the Democratic primary for governor of Wisconsin on Tuesday.

The Senate primary race in Minnesota will be the latest test of left-wing energy in the party, in a state that was convulsed by the Trump administration’s deadly immigration crackdown this winter.

Investigators are focusing on the tour operator and the pilot of the boat that capsized in New York Bay on Saturday, killing a mother and her infant daughter.

The pop-country megastar is still thrilling young audiences and influencing a new generation of musicians.

In Texas, there’s one thing liberals and conservatives agree on: They don’t want cameras trained on their cars.

Flock Safety’s automated license plate-reading cameras, used by thousands of law enforcement agencies in the U.S., have drawn intense criticism from civil liberties groups.

The Israeli prime minister, facing a tough upcoming election, is trying to satisfy the sometimes competing demands of his right-wing base and of President Trump.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that talks with Oman on shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz were “separate” from discussions to fully reopen the waterway.

Duane Davis’s book boasted of his role in the killing of Tupac Shakur. The memoir, which he now disavows, has become prime evidence in his murder trial, which starts this week.

Is a packed social calendar the new relationship goals?

In a world of failing newspapers, free weeklies like The Chronicle of Glens Falls, N.Y., are still finding readers. All it takes is owners who do absolutely everything.

Weather at the start of the week looks like more of the same: heat and storms across the Eastern United States. But a subtle shift is in the cards.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and state transit officials announced a plan to study a heat-capture system that could cool a notoriously hot train station and help heat city buildings in the winter.

Just shy of 44 with boyish good looks, Rob Sand is very much a moderate, but he has a withering critique of the political establishment in this country.

The Trump administration has dismantled the agency that ensures that research makes its way into medical practice.

We’re looking at the little black cameras that are causing a national uproar.

The strike, on an industrial center in Tatarstan, killed at least 13 people.