Minimalist News

NATO Jets Shoot Down Drone Over Latvia, Which Blames 'Russian Electromagnetic Warfare' NATO jets have shot down another drone which spilled over into Baltic territory from the Ukraine war, Latvia's defense ministry announced Friday. The fresh incident happened over eastern Latvian airspace on Friday. NATO "fighter jets have successfully shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered Latvia as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare," the ministry stated on X. via AFP "The drone was destroyed over the Balvi region by aircraft taking part in NATO’s Baltic Air patrol mission," CNBC wrote based on the military statement. Further,

JPMorgan Debanks Polymarket Over Regulatory Concerns; Report Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com, JPMorgan Chase ended a banking relationship with Polymarket over regulatory concerns, according to the Financial Times. JPMorgan notified the prediction market platform in October 2025 that it needed to find a new bank, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Polymarket now works with an unidentified lender . Still, JPMorgan has maintained other ties with Polymarket. The bank is allegedly keen on a potential underwriting role should Polymarket attempt to go public. Polymarket reportedly said that it continues to have a “close, active

Influential Wife Of Anthropic CEO Pitched Post-Conviction Epstein On 'Luxury Porn' Company, And Claude Has No Idea Anthropic has filed confidentially for what could be the largest public offering in history . Yet, one of the most influential voices shaping its chief executive holds no official position at the company, appears in no regulatory filings, and has been quietly scrubbed from the internet. She also pitched a porn company to Jeffrey Epstein - less than two years after he got out of prison for sex trafficking minors. Her name is Cami Clark, wife of CEO Dario Amodei . According to

Tesla's New Roadster Reportedly Uses SpaceX Cold-Gas Thrusters To Fly Tesla plans to unveil a redesigned Roadster sports car with limited "flying" capabilities later this month, The Information reported Friday morning, citing people familiar with the matter. The report follows this week's comments from Tesla's chief vehicle designer, who said the long-delayed Roadster is "coming soon." The limited-edition Roadster reportedly uses SpaceX cold-gas thrusters to hover and will be remotely operated during the unveiling event, scheduled for later this month at the rocket company's testing site in McGregor, Texas. "Between Elon Musk's promises of supernimble robots and interstellar colonization, the

"Bin There, Done That?" Not Quite By Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank Markets may be suffering from a growing sense of "bin there, done that" fatigue when it comes to geopolitical shocks, but central banks are in no position to throw recent developments into the bin just yet. Take Hormuz. Both sides now claim to firmly control the Strait, President Trump appears to favour squeezing Iran economically (or, in Bessent’s words, “ economic isolation like the world has never seen before ”) rather than militarily (whilst Iran’s thinking may be pretty similar!), and reports of renewed

UMich Sentiment Slumps In August As War Re-Escalated, Inflation Fears Tick-Up Following July's rebound to pre-war levels, the preliminary August University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index was expected to weaken modestly as the MidEast re-escalated (and with it the price of gas). Sure enough, the headline sentiment index tumbled from 55.2 to 51.0 (55.0 exp) with both Current Conditions (51.8 vs 54.8 prior vs 54.9 exp) and Expectations (50.6 vs 55.4 prior vs 55.2 exp) also both tumbling... Decreases in sentiment were seen across the political spectrum, with Republicans exhibiting the strongest month-to-month decline in August. Sentiment among Republicans is

More Than Two-Thirds Of The Power Sought For US Data Centers Will Never Materialize It was almost a year ago, in November 2025, when we first calculated that the AI supercycle was facing a huge problem: namely, a power shortfall of (at least) 44 nuclear power plants, or GW or energy, by 2028. A Huge Problem For The AI Revolution: A Power Shortfall Of 44 Nuclear Power Plants By 2028 https://t.co/2ciiUudp8T — zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 12, 2025 Fast forward to last week when we made another stunning discovery: the reason why Texas Gov Abbott froze the rollout of new data

Bessent: US Readies Economic Isolation Of Iran "Like The World Has Never Seen Before" Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax Thursday night that the Trump administration will announce unprecedented economic measures against Iran next week, signaling that a sharp escalation in economic warfare is just ahead as negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled. The warning comes as Tehran-linked Houthi rebel forces resume attacks on Saudi Aramco energy infrastructure, raising concerns that the conflict is spreading geographically and pushing Brent crude futures higher. Bessent told Rob Schmitt of Newsmax: And, you know, at the president's orders, we have

Farage Crushes Clacton By-Election With 63% As Comedy Candidates Dominate Longest Ballot In British History Nigel Farage has romped to victory in the Clacton by-election with 63.3% of the vote, seeing off 33 rivals including Count Binface, who won a quarter of the votes cast, on the longest ballot paper in British electoral history. The Reform UK leader secured victory with 22,239 votes, which was 63.3% of the total vote and an increase on the 21,225 votes he secured when he was elected to the Essex seat at the 2024 General Election. Count Binface, a comedian standing as a 5,900-year-old

World Cup Hangover Triggers Retail Sales Slump In July, K-Shaped Economy Waning Based on BofA's almost omniscient analysts, traders should expect a big disappointment this morning from US retail sales as the bank's data showed a huge drop in online retail (card not present) in July... ...because Prime Day and related promotions were pulled forward from July to June this year. Many other retail categories also saw m/m declines, including clothing, gas (due to lower prices) and furniture . Other factors driving the weakness in July likely included the heat wave around July 4 weekend and a modest post-World-Cup hangover

Russia Quickly Rejects Ukraine's Offer Of Ceasefire On Black Sea Shipping Ukraine has quietly floated a deal through a third-party mediator to halt reciprocal strikes on civilian vessels in the Black Sea, Reuters reports, in what appears to be a calculated bid to unfreeze a critical global commodity corridor and to relieve pressure on Ukraine's battered wartime economy. The maritime artery remains a vital economic lifeline for both nations, channeling massive volumes of grain and agricultural supplies to world markets - especially the Middle East and Africa - but there's now been weekly and almost daily tit-for-tat attacks . via

Stocks Set To Post Fresh All Time High As Tech Euphoria Returns Futures are fractionally higher, as they have been much of this supercharged week which pushed stocks to new all tim ehighs, amid quiet news flow this morning. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are up 0.1% after the index closed at a record on Thursday. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2%, with the tech benchmark set for a 1.2% gain in the week. Momentum darling Sandisk rallied almost 6% in premarket trading after surging double digits yesterday and is now up 60% from its lows less than two weeks

Unusual Machines Jumps After Trump Slaps 100% Drone Tariff In "Hard Decoupling" From China Shares of drone makers AeroVironment and Aevex, and "pure-play" drone-parts company Unusual Machines, are higher in premarket trading Thursday after the Trump administration signed a proclamation imposing tariffs of as much as 100% on imported drones and components , part of a broader effort to decouple the nation's drone supply chain from China. Drones weighing more than 55 pounds , in other words, Group 3 drones, equipped with thermal imaging and certain sensitive components will face the top rate. Smaller, less-capable drones ( " The tariffs

Saudi Oil Fleet Increasingly Going 'Dark' Due To Houthi Blockade Via The Cradle Yemen's maritime blockade on Saudi shipping has pushed the kingdom’s crude exports off the radar in the Red Sea, with tankers forced to turn off their tracking signals to avoid attack and every recent cargo loaded at Yanbu sailing "dark," Reuters reported on Wednesday. Saudi export volumes can no longer be independently verified as a result of the increased invisibility, with ship-tracking firms issuing conflicting estimates of the same shipments, figures the International Energy Agency (IEA), OPEC, and traders use to gauge world supply and forecast the

Only 3% Of Americans Trust AI "A Great Deal" With Their Money - But One In Five Are Using It Anyway A new Gallup survey finds a wide gap between the financial advice Americans say they trust and the advice they actually take. Just 3% of Americans say they have "a great deal" of confidence in artificial intelligence to help manage their money - while about 30% express "a great deal" or "some" confidence. Moreover, roughly one in five people who sought financial advice in the past year used AI to get it. The poll, conducted March 20 - April

English Village Will Have Six Migrant Men To Every Woman Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , A quiet North Yorkshire village of roughly 600 people is set to be flooded with around 1,200 single adult male asylum seekers at the nearby disused RAF Linton-on-Ouse base. Local women would be outnumbered six to one. Labour MP Rachael Maskell has raised the alarm over the plan, which forms part of the government's wider push to move roughly 3,750 people into three former military sites near villages as it tries to empty asylum hotels. The base sits beside a primary school

Is AI Good For The US Labor Market And Bad For Europe's? France's unemployment rate has been climbing steadily over the past eighteen months to the highest level in five years, with unemployment increasing across all age groups. The US, by contrast, has stayed essentially flat and near multi-decade lows over the past few years. While there are multiple factors driving both country's economic progress (or lack of it), Apollo's Chief Economist, Torsten Slok, recently noted that Europe and the US face the same AI displacement . But, only the US gets what offsets it: the startup formation, the CapEx,

The Delusional Premises Of Woke Greens Authored by Edward Ring via American Greatness, While the burgeoning democratic socialist movement is getting a lot of attention in advance of the 2026 midterm elections, a parallel dimension of wokeism quietly continues to advance. For now, the Trump administration has attenuated its most extreme threats, but its institutional support is unwavering, and its slow progress is unrelenting. The woke greens are pursuing their own long march. The agenda of the woke greens is synergistic with democratic socialism. Its currency is fear and resentment. The Earth is dying; colonialist capitalism is to blame. Extraordinary

"Skies Are Changing": Northrop Grumman Unveils Chain Gun To Defend Critical Infrastructure From Drone Swarm Attacks Our view of the missing air-defense layer around data centers and other critical infrastructure emerged in late January, roughly one month before the US-Iran conflict, when we published " Explosion in AI Data Center Buildouts Will Demand Next-Gen Counter-Drone Security ." That theme was validated shortly after the war began, when Iran targeted multiple data centers with Shahed-series one-way attack drones, which generally fall within the Group 3 category. The strikes marked one of the clearest demonstrations of how low-cost, long-range drones could threaten

Decommissioning Spending In UK North Sea Hits Record High Authored by Michael Kern via OilPrice.com, Decommissioning remained a major activity across the UK North Sea in 2025, with industry spending hitting a record-high of £2.6 billion, or $3.5 billion, the North Sea industry regulator said in a report on Thursday. Well-decommissioning remains the single largest component of forecast decommissioning expenditure on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), accounting for around half of expected costs to 2032, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) noted in its annual decommissioning cost and performance update . The UK North Sea has a backlog of about

Grifols, which runs private chain of clinics, to temporarily stop taking donations after new government investigation A chain of private plasma donation clinics in Canada has said it is pausing collections after the deaths of two donors and a new government investigation into potential unsafe practices. Grifols, a Spanish healthcare company which runs 17 clinics in Canada and is the country’s only private clinic for plasma donation, said it informed Health Canada of its decision to temporarily pause collections on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Move will be one of first large-scale foreign investments in country since US ousted leader Nicolás Maduro in January BP has answered Donald Trump’s call for oil companies to help rebuild Venezuela’s fossil fuel industry with new plans to develop a large offshore gasfield. BP will partner with two oil firms with close links to the Trump administration to develop the second phase of the Loran gasfield, in one of the first large-scale foreign investments in Venezuela since the US ousted its leader Nicolás Maduro in January. Continue reading...

Ángel Aguirre indicted in case that rocked Mexico and became symbol of its brutal cartel violence The former governor of Guerrero state in Mexico has been formally charged over his alleged involvement in the disappearance of 43 students in 2014, a case that has become a symbol of the country’s brutal cartel violence and government impunity. Ángel Aguirre, who was arrested last week , is accused of forced disappearance and obstruction of justice for ordering the destruction of surveillance tapes that may have shed light on what happened to the students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college on the night

Female staff alleged company failed to maintain safe workplace, after allegations of sexual assault against pilot The Canadian airline WestJet has agreed to pay C$4.5m (£2.4m) to settle a decade-long sexual harassment class action lawsuit levelled by its female flight attendants, who alleged the company failed to maintain a safe workplace. The suit followed allegations by Mandalena Lewis, a former flight attendant, that a pilot had sexually assaulted her and a colleague, but that WestJet kept the pilot flying, thereby putting other employees at risk. Continue reading...

Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failed A Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to wear a seatbelt. The child was standing in their chair as the 6 August Porter Airlines flight taxied towards the runway, the airline said. Repeated attempts by an accompanying parent and crew to secure the child in their seat failed, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark as “the aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition”,

Evacuation orders issued for 400,000 after flooding, landslide warnings and power outages in Chiba prefecture At least five people have died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left nearly 7,000 stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport and forced thousands to take refuge in government buildings. The torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Thursday night, triggering landslide warnings and power outages. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and other areas, and about 45,000 homes lost power, as 115mm of rain fell hourly, approximately the same amount usually recorded for the whole month

Blaze fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions comes within metres of West Kalimantan rehabilitation centre Orangutans rescued from wildlife traffickers face a new threat from the record number of fires that have broken out in Indonesia in recent weeks. Flames have come within metres of an animal rehabilitation centre in West Kalimantan as hot, dry and windy conditions have been amplified by a powerful El Niño and the human-driven climate crisis. Continue reading...

Japanese PM says islands seized by Soviets late in second world war are part of her country under international law The Japanese government has reacted angrily to Vladimir Putin’s first visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, which are claimed by both Tokyo and Moscow. Japan’s foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, summoned the Russian ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev, while the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, called Putin’s actions “absolutely unacceptable”. Continue reading...

Incheon airport had 38.39m international passengers in first half of 2026, as traffic diverted from Middle East hubs South Korea’s Incheon airport has become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, in part owing to disruption in the Middle East caused by the Iran war. The airport, South Korea’s main gateway, about 30 miles (48km) west of Seoul, handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of 2026, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade body for airports. Continue reading...

Prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul calls for tighter gun controls and ‘decisive penalties’ after nine dead in school shooting Thailand has suspended firearms licences after the deadly Nonthaburi school shooting , as the bodies of the teenage attacker and the grandparents he killed were cremated. The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said he had ordered the interior ministry and police to stop issuing licences to possess, purchase and carry firearms, and called for “tighter controls and decisive penalties”. The measures are temporary until a new gun control law is in place, according to government operated news-channel NBT World. Continue reading...

Constitutional council says curbs infringe freedom of expression and privacy as president vows to rework legislation France’s top court has blocked a ban on social media access for under-15s, ruling that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy. The decision is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron as momentum builds around the world for Australian-style restrictions on children’s use of social media. Continue reading...

The administrative work required to run an effective investment scam has been drastically cut by using merging technology Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Within days of clicking on an online ad for a cryptocurrency trading app, a 29-year-old Queensland man watched his dashboard soar with profits. Making investment gains was as simple as downloading the slick-looking app and browser extension linked to his crypto wallet. So he invested more. Continue reading...

Greens say Labor’s reform set to ‘rip life-changing supports away from disabled people instead of raising additional revenue through taxing gas exports’ Cross-benchers have slammed the Albanese government’s proposed overhaul of the NDIS as going “too far, too fast” as the changes to curb the growth of the $52bn program appear set to pass the parliament as early as next week. The Greens and independent ACT senator, David Pocock, delivered scathing assessments of the bill they warn will enable blunt and indiscriminate cuts to individual budgets supporting more than 770,000 Australians with disabilities in a final Senate inquiry report released

ABS data shows an almost 9% slump in new lending to investors after three interest rate hikes this year Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast In what one economist is describing as a “tiny step” toward a fairer housing market after decades of bad policy, property investors are shying away from established homes, and putting money into new builds instead, new data shows. New lending to property investors fell sharply in the three months to June, slumping almost 9%, ABS data showed, while the number

Former 2GB and 2UE radio broadcaster is facing 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges. Jones, 85, has pleaded not guilty Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A young driver for Alan Jones felt “violated” and “trapped” when the broadcaster allegedly touched him on the penis in the car and kissed him in a lift, but didn’t complain due to the “extraordinary” power dynamic between the pair, a Sydney court has been told. Complainant C, now aged in his 40s, on Friday told Jones’s indecent

One person killed and hundreds evacuated in Croatia as blazes also hit Germany, Greece and Spain Almost 500 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting wildfires in France since the start of the summer, authorities have said, as firefighters in half a dozen European countries tackle ferocious blazes amid a record-breaking heatwave. A fire engulfed ⁠homes in a Croatian holiday resort on Friday, killing one person, injuring 40 and forcing 1,200 to evacuate, officials said, as the EU warned that pockets of “very extreme” wildfire conditions stretched across the continent. Continue reading...

Kobe, 18, who made discovery on site of former brewery in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, at first thought trove was €1 coins For a student with a summer job working on a Belgian building site, “money down the drain” has taken on a whole new meaning: excavating the trenches for a sewage system, he stumbled across a hidden trove of gold worth an estimated €9m (£8m). “We suddenly saw something lying there,” 18-year-old Kobe told the Belgian news network VTM . “At first I thought it was €1 coins. So we started digging them up. Then we saw a gold bar. It turned

Firefighters discover body and say more than 40 people hurt in the Lokva Rogoznica and Omiš areas England has received just 4mm of rain so far in August, or 6% of the long-term average for the month , the Environment Agency said on Friday, as reported by PA. It follows the driest July on record for the country , when only 7mm of rain was measured, or 10% of the average. Continue reading...

Marine conservationist says deliberate attack would be ‘act of extreme cruelty’ against endangered population Spanish officials have launched an investigation after the matriarch of an orca pod known for jostling and ramming boats off the Iberian Peninsula was spotted with wounds suggesting she had been shot by a pellet gun. On Friday, Spain’s environment ministry said Toñi, the oldest living member of the pod, had been seen swimming in the Strait of Gibraltar with markings on her dorsal fin that were “consistent with shots from a pellet gun”. Continue reading...

Artworks valued at total of more than $10m were stolen from Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma in March Italian police have recovered three paintings by the French masters Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse that were stolen earlier this year from a private museum near the northern city of Parma, authorities have said. The raid took place overnight on 22-23 March at the Magnani Rocca Foundation, about 12 miles (19km) from Parma, after a series of high-profile thefts from other European museums. Continue reading...

Israeli PM criticised by political rival for attacking an international ally and overseeing ‘horrific diplomatic failure’ The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the UK “the Islamic republic of Britain” in a podcast interview, where he also described the country as the “first Islamic republic to get a nuclear weapon”. His comments, made during an interview for Israel’s army radio, played into a common far-right Islamophobic trope about Britain’s small Muslim population. Continue reading...

Former PM of Israel calls events ‘concerted and meticulous attempt at ethnic cleansing’ against Palestinians Israeli troops have forced two Palestinian families to leave their besieged West Bank homes, the day after a top Israeli commander personally promised he would end a violent settler campaign to drive them out. Israeli soldiers also took over eight other homes in Qusra early on Thursday, telling the village’s mayor, Abdul Azim Wadi, that the buildings were needed for a days-long operation to remove the settlers. They later relinquished six. Settlers still roam the village. Continue reading...

Settlers and soldiers cut off water and electricity to homes, and block medical care in campaign of terror Israeli militants have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend, aiming to take over their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through a campaign of terror. A group of settlers and soldiers set up a tent outside the home of Yousef Hassan’s family on Sunday afternoon, trapping him inside with his wife and two young daughters. Continue reading...

Emergency services, residents and environmental groups say military dropping flares to destroy forests and crops Firefighters and residents of south Lebanon have accused the Israeli military of lighting wildfires in the region, as forested areas burned down in blazes sparked by Israeli bombing. Environmental groups said the fires in recent weeks were part of a longstanding Israeli practice of targeting Lebanon’s natural environment. Continue reading...

Lawsuit challenges executive order targeting international criminal court for investigating Israeli crimes in Palestine Four prominent US human rights organizations have accused the Trump administration of using its “crippling” sanctions regime against the international criminal court (ICC) to undermine global efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday, the groups – the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute – argued that the administration’s targeting of the ICC, as well as of groups and individuals affiliated with it or assisting

Kyaw Zwar Minn was ousted for declaring loyalty to Aung San Suu Kyi after 2021 coup but refused to leave his home Myanmar’s ousted ambassador to the UK has gone on trial on trespassing charges for refusing to leave a diplomatic residence after being unceremoniously locked out of the embassy in 2021. Shortly after Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021, triggering mass protests that spiralled into a civil war, Kyaw Zwar Minn was locked out of the embassy for declaring his loyalty to the deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Continue reading...

The wild capture and release of a female big cat into a nature reserve is the first step towards reintroducing a population that hasn’t been seen for 70 years On 31 July, “Umit” – which means hope in Kazakh – was released into a nature reserve on the edge of Lake Balkhash after more than a decade of careful planning to return the caspian tiger to the region. With this release, Kazakhstan became the first country to restore its tiger range after they had been thought extinct, with the last reliable sighting in the country recorded more than 70 years

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...

Reform UK leader says he stayed away from vote count in Clacton to avoid being ‘humiliated by nobodies’ Nigel Farage’s attempt to draw the sting from inquiries into his financial affairs appeared to have backfired on Friday as the standards watchdog reopened its investigation and MPs from all sides condemned the needless byelection. The Reform UK leader declared victory in the Clacton vote as he was returned with an increased majority and gained more votes than in 2024, saying he had “stuck two fingers up at the entire political establishment”. Continue reading...

Greater Anglia incident happens day after two passengers seriously injured in East Sussex derailment A train has derailed in Essex, less than 24 hours after two people were seriously injured in a similar incident in East Sussex. British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed the rear carriages of the train derailed “in an upright position” at Wickford railway station, adding that there were “no reported injuries”. Continue reading...

Planning consultation told ‘robust security measures’ will be needed amid growing resistance to such developments Scottish police have warned that a proposed datacentre will require “robust security measures” to prevent “incursion” amid growing public resistance to such developments in Scotland. “A great deal of public opposition is likely” to a datacentre planned in Larbert , about 30 miles west of Edinburgh, the Scottish police have said in a letter submitted as a part of a planning consultation earlier this month. Continue reading...

PM also says fire and rescue services will be given more cash This election is a novelty with a record 34 candidates, including Howling Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White from the Everyone is God Party. They have pounded the streets of Clacton over the past few weeks as they seek to win the support of about 80,000 voters. Continue reading...

Students narrowly missing grades are being rejected, while some on oversubscribed courses are asked to defer Students across the UK have found themselves unexpectedly squeezed out of their desired university courses as this year’s bumper crop of A-level grades ​h​as not always translated into ​​the places many were hoping for. ​With close to a third of the A-levels awarded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland achieving the top A and A* grades this year, universities are taking a tougher stance by rejecting students who narrowly missed their expected grades and who in previous years would still have gained a place.

Administration that halting construction will leave Trump ‘much less safe’ after appeals court ruled work lacked necessary approval from Congress Trump administration asks ⁠US supreme court to allow construction of White House ballroom Sign up for the Breaking News US email The Trump administration, in its appeal to the supreme court today, said that “this case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security.” It’s worth noting that the appeals

Plea comes weeks before separate case is scheduled to start in New York, and could throw proceedings into disarray Luigi Mangione trial – latest updates Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty on Friday in a federal case in relation to the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in 2024. Mangione confessed that he shot and killed Thompson outside a New York City hotel on 4 December 2024. In his federal case, he faced stalking charges, after other charges, including murder, were dropped. Continue reading...

Defense team file motion to dismiss state murder case on double jeopardy rules after Mangione tells Manhattan court ‘I shot Mr Thompson and he died’ Full report: Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges at the courthouse in Manhattan Mangione ’s legal team is helmed by Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo . The team has scored several major legal coups in Mangione’s federal and state cases. Continue reading...

Group backs Elijah Manley in primary election in bid to unseat veteran Democrat in newly drawn district A progressive group has endorsed a 27-year-old substitute teacher who overcame childhood homelessness in his bid to unseat the veteran Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) said it is backing Elijah Manley in next week’s primary election in Florida’s newly drawn 20th congressional district, casting the race as a contest between a young economic populist and a stalwart of the Democratic party establishment. Continue reading...

Biological parents given custody of child born in Texas amid dispute over surrogate mother’s claim of abortion request A two-day-old baby with a rare heart defect at the center of a complex surrogacy dispute in Texas has been handed over to the parents’ custody and is receiving care, lawyers for the parents said on Friday. The baby has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a defect that requires surgeries to correct. The baby was born on Wednesday to surrogate mother McKenna West of Alaska after she reportedly refused requests to get an abortion from the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed

The top US priority now in the Iran war is no longer its nuclear programme but to bring petrol prices down for American consumers, the vice-president said on Thursday, with the treasury secretary adding that new economic punishment to wear down Tehran is imminent. The comments by Vice-President J.D. Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent illustrate the powerful leverage Tehran has gained by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon – consistently...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China completes milestone test of US$10.8 billion canal link to Southeast Asia Chinese authorities have conducted the first full transit test along a 134.2km (83.4-mile) canal megaproject linking a vast inland region with Southeast...

Some sailors have reportedly tried throwing themselves into the sea, basic supplies can run short and sanitation is going awry: life on America’s giant Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is increasingly difficult as the Iran war drags on. The ship – now in its ninth month of deployment – is expected to be replaced in the Middle East by another carrier, the George Washington, in a move sure to be welcomed by the Lincoln’s crew and their loved ones. But concerns about conditions on the Lincoln have...

In every civilisation, certain stories capture the psyche so profoundly that they are retold across centuries. In the West, Homer’s Odyssey is the one. Countless adaptations have emerged over millennia, inspiring literary giants from Dante Alighieri to James Joyce. Christopher Nolan’s cinematic adaptation is merely the latest. While it reflects the British-American filmmaker’s personal vision, it also offers a glimpse into the anxieties and self-reflections of today’s Western elite. Homer’s...

President Donald Trump ordered the US Navy to return to using steam catapults to launch planes off of aircraft carriers, acting on a long-time complaint despite opposition from many naval officers. In a presidential memorandum, Trump ordered US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to come up with a plan within 60 days on what would be needed to use hydraulic catapults in the next Gerald Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The planned USS Doris Miller will be the fourth ship in the six-vessel...

Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty on Friday to resolve federal charges relating to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson, and prosecutors will recommend he serve life in prison, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The plea would come at a Friday hearing that US District Judge Margaret Garnett set after federal prosecutors and defence lawyers jointly requested one. Court records did not identify the purpose of the hearing, and it is possible...

When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca defence agreement, they executed a structural overhaul of the Middle East’s security architecture. The pact codifies a defence commitment, where an armed attack on one is treated as an assault on all. Building upon September’s Saudi-Pakistan defence agreement, this tripartite arrangement bridges the financial capital of the Gulf, the...

⁠Bird remains were found ⁠in the engine of a Ryanair Boeing 737 NG plane where a passenger was partially sucked through a broken window shortly after take-off from Greece in July, the US National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday. The NTSB ‌is investigating the incident where a piece of the engine broke off the plane and smashed the window. The plane, headed to Germany, lost pressure and was forced to make an emergency landing. The NTSB said in its preliminary report into the July 10...

The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading towards the Middle East, according to Navy statements and open source information on the ship’s movements. This comes as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose long deployment to the Middle East in support of the Iran war includes a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days. The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week,...

The Kennedy Centre board voted on Thursday to add US President Donald Trump’s name to the facade of the performing arts venue and move forward with a two-year closure, according to congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a trustee through her position in Congress, and her lawyers. A representative for the Kennedy Centre did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The moves set up a test of US District Judge Christopher Cooper, who ruled in May that letters affixed to the building and spelling out...

A passenger train derailed on Thursday in southern England, seriously injuring two people and causing minor injuries for nine others after three carriages overturned, the British Transport Police said. The Southern Rail train from Victoria station in London to Eastbourne was carrying about 150 people when it went off the tracks outside the tourist town of Lewes. Passenger Rob Bradley said the train began rocking as it picked up speed and the carriage he was riding in with his six-year-old...

A professor managed US funding of computer science research for more than two years while failing to disclose that he was simultaneously involved in Chinese government programmes, according to previously unreported documents. The professor, Tao Li, was a programme officer at the National Science Foundation from 2015 to 2017, a job that included overseeing the awarding of grants for research in areas such as hardware, software and algorithms. During that time, Li took part in two Chinese talent...

Poland has ⁠arrested a ⁠Russian man who was ⁠hired by Moscow to kill a Ukrainian-American citizen in Warsaw, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday. The Russian was detained on August ‌7 and had been recruited to kill a man who was “inconvenient to the Putin regime”, Tusk told journalists. The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Moscow has regularly ⁠dismissed accusations by European powers of attacks, saying the West ‌is stoking...

A blast at a ⁠storage facility for petroleum products at the Netherlands’ Rotterdam port killed one person and wounded six others on Thursday, officials said, as police investigated the cause of the explosion. A spokesperson for major energy commodities trading company Gunvor said an “incident” occurred during maintenance work on a storage tank. A police spokesperson said that there was no immediate ⁠sign of sabotage and that all possible scenarios were under ‌investigation. Rotterdam is...

German police said on Thursday that a suspicious object found on rail tracks in a Bavarian ‌town did not contain explosives, as initially feared. Earlier on Thursday, buildings near the object were evacuated in the town of Treuchtlingen for the item to ⁠be moved safely by a robot. Experts had earlier taken ‌X-ray images of the object that was found in the southern ‌part of the town. The public ⁠had ⁠been urged to steer clear of the area, which ‌was cordoned off, police also said on social...

Chinese carmakers could capture between 15 and 30 per cent of the European automotive market by 2035, up from roughly 10 per cent this year, analysts at Citi said, with the outcome resting on how far Brussels goes in tightening tariffs and made-in-EU rules. Current European Union rules would allow Chinese carmakers to reach 30 per cent by 2035 – Citi’s base scenario – while extending existing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to plug-in hybrids would cap the market share at 25 per cent, Citi...

US military facilities across the Pacific are in a worrying state of decay, the Pentagon inspector general warned, raising concerns about bases that are critical to deterring China. Corrosion and holes in buildings, falling ceilings and the presence of mould and asbestos were among the problems identified through inspections of 11 US facilities across the region and relayed to a dozen senior Defence Department officials in an emergency management advisory this month. The issues have affected...

The US military campaign against Iran has so far failed to force Tehran to capitulate. The Trump administration is betting once again that suffocating economic pressure will do the job. Facing a shortfall of necessary munitions and wary of continuing an unpopular war, Trump and his top officials are returning to a familiar playbook with Iran: relying on a steady increase in economic sanctions and a naval blockade to stifle oil exports. The renewed emphasis on economic pain – it was dubbed...

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited on Thursday Russia’s far eastern Kuril Islands for the first time, prompting a “strong” protest by Japan, which also claims the territory, and drawing diplomatic backing for Tokyo from the United States. Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by tensions over the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and seized by the Soviet Union in 1945. The Kremlin posted a video of Putin in the Kuril Islands, with Russian media saying...

Nurses are collapsing at work as they endure extreme heat in buildings that are proving unfit for the record temperatures gripping Britain. Conditions are “inhumane”, the Royal College of Nursing said on Thursday. Members have reported temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in UK hospital wards and care homes, often without access to air conditioning, fans or even to windows that open, the RCN said. As Britain sweats through its fifth heatwave of the year, record...

Three of Russia’s largest grain terminals in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk have halted operations after being damaged in a massive overnight drone attack by Ukraine. Grain shipments from Novorossiysk are currently impossible because of serious damage to terminal infrastructure, people familiar with the matter said. A loading gallery at United Grain’s Novorossiysk Grain Plant collapsed after the strikes and several silos were damaged, the people said, while a gallery and truck unloading...

Tonnes of aid from regional partners began to roll into Colombia on Wednesday, as the search for survivors in the rubble of a powerful earthquake grew more desperate after the temblor razed buildings, buckled roads and crushed cars. The devastation has tested Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and his government as it scrambles to respond to the disaster and civil society as it pushes to provide aid to the most affected communities. De la Espriella said on Wednesday evening that...

China said on Wednesday it would help Colombia recover from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country’s west on Monday, killing more than 200 people. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing would do what it could in suitable ways, in line with what Colombia requested, in response to questions from Xinhua and Telesur at a briefing in Beijing. Guo said no Chinese nationals had been reported killed or injured in the disaster, and that the embassy in Bogota was “working to...

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave at month’s end, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday. Leavitt, 28, just recently returned to the White House after taking a brief leave for the birth of her second child in May. Leavitt has been one of the most visible advocates of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. The Republican president described her as one of his “most trusted aides” in a social media post announcing her...

Day briefly turned to night in Spain on Wednesday, as the country witnessed its first total solar eclipse in more than a century, plunging it into eerie darkness in one of nature’s greatest spectacles. The spectral glow of the sun’s outer corona, shimmering out of the edges of the shadowy moon, drew gasps and cheers from huge crowds, just 90 minutes after it first appeared in the remote Arctic region of northern Russia. “It’s a sight I never would have imagined seeing,” said Isabel Troyano, a...

Eurovision Song Contest organisers announced rule changes on Wednesday excluding any country in an armed conflict from hosting the competition and increasing the minimum age of competitors. While they did not mention any country by name, Israel, which has been at war in Gaza since 2023, came close to winning the competition in both 2025 and 2026, ultimately finishing second on each occasion. Under the old rules, the winning country normally hosts the following year’s competition. Under the new...

Israel on Wednesday carried out its first air strike in more than a week in Gaza, both sides said, breaking a relative lull as the US pressed a peace plan. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas commander, charging that he had been planning attacks against Israeli forces operating in the war-battered territory. “The terrorist was struck in an aerial strike in order to remove the threat to IDF troops,” a military statement said, adding that it tried to mitigate civilian harm. Gaza’s civil...

Spectacular images of lava flowing down the slopes of an erupting Mount Etna have drawn flocks of tourists to the Italian volcano – to the worry of local guides. The tallest active volcano in Europe, Etna has been spewing ash and lava for days, forcing the closure of the nearby Catania airport, a key gateway for tourists visiting the island of Sicily. Companies that organise nighttime hikes allowing participants to watch the eruption up close say they have been flooded with calls. “They all want...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he hoped more countries would join a defence agreement signed last week between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan aimed at stabilising a region wracked by conflict. The so-called Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Friday as the Middle East grapples with fallout from the US-Iran war, which has dragged in regional players and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. “Our vision for it is not limited to the three...

US soybean growers are “adapting” to a steep decline in China-bound exports by selling to third countries and the American biofuel sector, compensating enough to cause only a small drop in production, according to a top trade association’s chief economist. In November, Beijing committed to buy at least 25 million tonnes of American soybeans annually through 2028, as part of an agreement reached after China stopped the purchases during US President Donald Trump’s trade war in early 2025. But just...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday threatened retaliation for Western seizures of its commercial vessels, describing them as “piracy.” Speaking on a visit to a Russian warship that was taking part in a naval exercise in the Pacific, Putin described the Western moves to detain vessels linked to Russia as a breach of international maritime law. “It’s nothing but piracy and robbery,” Putin said. “If this is done, we will be forced to respond in kind.” He added that the Russian response...

While rising trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels continue to dominate headlines, Chinese exporters face a far more immediate and concrete threat: the boxes, wraps, and plastic bags protecting their goods. On Wednesday, the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) became applicable across the bloc. Replacing a 1994 directive, the regulation sets requirements for every piece of packaging placed on the EU market, covering chemical restrictions, recyclability,...

When Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told state television last week that he found it “very difficult” to reach the country’s supreme leader, it sparked fresh speculation about the whereabouts of Mojtaba Khamenei who has not been seen in public since taking over as the country’s ultimate authority in March. By Monday, Pezeshkian told the official broadcaster that the two had in fact recently held a meeting lasting “seven or eight hours”. “It was a very good meeting,” Pezeshkian told a...

Colombian rescuers pulled a 32-year-old woman alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Tuesday, sparking cheers and applause as exhausted crews raced to find more survivors from the country’s strongest earthquake in a century. Daniela Largo was carried from the wreckage wrapped in a blue blanket as rescuers embraced and relatives shouted out with joy. Soldiers, firefighters and volunteers continued to scour collapsed buildings across western Colombia after Monday’s 7.4-magnitude...

US President Donald Trump deflected criticisms about a decision to secretly fly him out of Turkey on a different aircraft while the White House indicated he was aboard Air Force One, saying the Secret Service and military demanded it in response to unspecified safety threats. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday after deplaning Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews...

Diego Maradona showed “warning signs” that went unheeded during the home hospitalisation leading up to his death in 2020, a witness on Tuesday told the trial examining the Argentine football legend’s demise. Seven healthcare professionals have been on trial since mid-April in Argentina for potential negligence that may have contributed to his death. The World Cup winner died of heart failure and acute pulmonary oedema – a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs – two weeks after...

A US helicopter on Tuesday fired missiles into the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that attempted to break the American blockade of Iran’s ports, the United States military said. The US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired on and disabled the M/V Vela Nova “after the ship’s civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces”, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on social media, adding that the vessel “is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the US blockade”. It was initially...

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 10 people overnight and wounded dozens, Kyiv said on Tuesday, accusing Moscow of launching North Korean missiles in the raid. The allegation comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned – without providing evidence – that Moscow was receiving more ballistic projectiles and troops from its ally Pyongyang. Russia has turned to North Korea for support throughout its four-and-a-half-year invasion. Earlier in the war, Pyongyang dispatched...

Israel and Venezuela announced on Tuesday that they had renewed consular relations 17 years after diplomatic ties were severed between the two countries. The move comes after Israel sent an aid and disaster response delegation to Venezuela in June following devastating twin earthquakes that left thousands dead. It also follows the United States’ toppling of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolas Maduro in a January military raid, with interim President Delcy Rodriguez now running the country under...

Canadian police on Tuesday charged a man with making a bomb threat against the US consulate in Halifax, the latest security incident involving an American diplomatic post in Canada after two shootings at the US consulate in Toronto this year. Several streets downtown were evacuated after Halifax Regional Police found a car linked to the suspect, Ali Assakereh, parked near the consulate on Monday morning. The vehicle contained a propane tank and containers believed to hold flammable liquids,...

Human Rights Watch and three other advocacy groups sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to challenge its campaign against the International Criminal Court, arguing that sanctions against ICC judges and prosecutors are undermining the ability to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes. The complaint – filed in the Southern District of New York – says that US President Donald Trump’s executive order last year targeting The Hague-based criminal court and the US sanctions issued...

Moscow on ⁠Tuesday freed a former US marine jailed in Russia ⁠since 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a pardon for the ailing American based on humanitarian reasons, US officials said. The White House and the State Department had urged Moscow to release Robert Gilman, 32, so he could receive medical treatment in the United States. “After my discussions with President Vladimir Putin, Russia has agreed to release him, very much on a Humanitarian Basis,” US President Donald Trump...

At least 14 suspected illegal miners were killed and eight injured when a mine dump collapsed in South ‌Africa’s North West province on Monday night, police said. Search and rescue operations are under way for an unknown number of people who may still be trapped at the site ⁠near Rustenburg, provincial police commissioner Arthur Peter Adams said. The collapse ‌occurred as the miners were digging for platinum group metals at a ‌disused dump on a private company’s site, Adams ⁠said. The ⁠injured...

Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday approved former supreme court chief Andras Baka, a critic of Viktor Orban who was fired during the ex-premier’s time in power, as the country’s next head of state. The post became vacant following the contested removal last month of the previous president, an Orban ally, as pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar pushes to loosen his predecessor’s lingering hold over state institutions. Parliament, where the ruling Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority,...

In a landmark change to Lebanon’s penal system, the country’s parliament on Tuesday approved legislation abolishing the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labour, the state-run National News Agency reported. The vote makes Lebanon the first Arab country to formally abolish the death penalty. Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who attended the parliamentary session, described the vote as a “historic step” for Lebanon. The measure was approved by a majority of the...

As the Trump administration drops charges against corporations and the wealthy, it is also taking aim at small-scale fraud cases, including against the operator of a weathered food truck in California.

The U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln has been deployed for nearly nine months. Members of Congress are worried about the crew’s well-being.

Prospectors are eyeing mineral deposits within the former boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah.

The backbone of the list: nine novels by Tana French, and five novels each from John le Carré, Kate Atkinson and Mick Herron.

Can our Book Review editor, Tina Jordan, guess thrillers from their first sentence? In this game we explore a few of the books from The New York Times’s “50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century” list; and learn a bit more about why opening sentences are so important to get people reading.

From “Slow Horses” to “Big Little Lies,” our list of great psychological thrillers, spy novels and crime fiction have inspired a heap of great adaptations.

The president has been focused on the race since the death of Lindsey Graham in July. Ms. Graham, the late senator’s sister, is competing against Representative Ralph Norman in a runoff on Aug. 25.

Recent polling issues could continue in Democratic primaries in part because progressives are more likely to enjoy taking surveys.

With “Coyote vs. Acme,” Ian Frazier, a soft-spoken reporter and humorist, has finally gone Hollywood.

In an interview, Afghanistan’s foreign minister called on the U.S. to reopen its embassy and invest in the country — a near-impossible sell for now, analysts and former diplomats say.

The Italian military police said that art collectively valued at more than $10 million had been found five months after being taken in a nighttime heist near Parma.

France has faithfully renovated most of what burned at Notre-Dame in 2019. Contentiously, six towering windows will soon be replaced by a new design.

The prints by the French master were taken in São Paulo last year in a brazen daylight heist.

Firefighters in Phoenix race to save lives in a city that’s only getting hotter.

The right’s reluctance to gatekeep may be its undoing.

We look at recent problems with political polling.

The whole planet is warming, but changes in weather patterns could help explain why the continent is suffering so many bouts of severe heat.