Minimalist News

Oil Tanker Rates Hit Record Highs as Middle East Shipping Risks Soar By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com Oil tanker rates have jumped to record highs as escalating risks to shipping in and out of the Middle East are prompting traders and tanker operators to undertake inefficient and more expensive trade routes. While the crude oil supply is actually there, shipping it through the Strait of Hormuz remains a very risky endeavor, especially in light of the escalating U.S.-Iran tanker war in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, while Saudi Arabia has started to move crude cargoes out of

Pakistan's Energy Crisis Set To Ease As Qatari LNG Breaks Through Hormuz Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com , Pakistan is about to get some energy relief with tankers carrying Qatari LNG set to arrive in the country this month. The first cargo is seen arriving as early as Thursday, Bloomberg reported , citing ship-tracking data. Pakistan has been struggling to keep the lights on after Qatar declared force majeure on its exports following Iranian strikes that caused damage to its Ras Laffan LNG hub. Since then, Pakistan has been forced to turn to spot LNG markets and pay hefty

Needham Spots Autonomous Trucking Inflection Point Arriving Next Year Swedish freight company Einride's announcement last month that it plans to deploy 500 Tesla Semis on US roads, the largest publicly announced commitment to electric Class 8 trucks, suggests a shift toward fleet electrification. It also brings the next phase of trucking technology into focus: the gradual commercialization of autonomous freight. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has targeted late 2026 or early 2027 for self-driving capabilities to begin working on the Semi. That remains a Musk target, not a confirmed commercial rollout. Any version requiring a human operator would be supervised automation,

Perfectly Timed AI Panic Resurrects 'Bipartisan AI Safety Bill' A stalled bipartisan artificial intelligence safety bill has suddenly found new life on Capitol Hill - propelled by a combination of dire warnings from inside the industry's leading labs and a brewing grassroots revolt threatening Republicans in key midterm states. According to a new report from Semafor, momentum is building for a Senate regulatory framework just as a conservative-led "AI Data Center Revolt" bus tour hits the road. Spearheaded by Amy Kremer, a Georgia RNC committeewoman and chair of the AI-risk group Humans First , the tour is set to cross

Why Family-Run Grocers Are Suing New York Over City-Run Stores Authored by Russ Jones via The Epoch Times , Josefina Aguirre grew up among the piñatas hanging from the ceiling of Little Mexico Meat Market, the store her parents opened in New York City's El Barrio in 1997, three years after her father crossed the border from Mexico at 17. She has a bachelor's degree in business management, a qualification her parents, Oscar and Guadalupe Aguirre, insisted on. But she came back to work at the store anyway - to the same three coolers of fresh cheese and cilantro, the

Citi Says LatAm "Poised For Take-Off" As Powerful Tailwinds Align. Here's Why Our focus on South America's improving investment outlook , underpinned by a generational shift from left-wing governments to more business-friendly governments, gained support Thursday from Citi's report, " LatAm Poised for Take-Off: The Macro Cycle Turns Latin America's Way ." Citi chief Latin America economist Ernesto Revilla wrote in a note earlier today that a right-wing political shift is serving as a tailwind alongside a weaker dollar, firm commodity prices, and global supply-chain realignment , while stressing that lasting gains depend on reforms and execution. Here is Revilla's

Sinopec Sees China Oil Demand Falling 8.9% in 2026 By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com China’s Sinopec, the world’s top refiner by capacity, expects Chinese oil demand to drop by 8.9% in 2026 from a year earlier amid demand destruction from higher oil prices and the acceleration of electric vehicle adoption. Oil demand in the world’s biggest crude oil importer is expected to drop by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average this year compared to last year, according to estimates by Sinopec’s research arm quoted by Reuters . Gasoline demand is set for an 8.7% decline, while diesel consumption is

Several US Warplanes Damaged In This Week's Iranian Attack On Base In Jordan: Report The Iranian ballistic missile attack on an American base in Jordan this week ranks as one of the single biggest missile volleys sent over Jordan since the start of the US-led war. The Tuesday night into Wednesday attack targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base , multiple international reports say. Widely shared but unconfirmed social media videos appeared to show several direct impacts on the base. But at least some of the images have been authenticated by outlets like Dropsite News . Source: USAF US Central Command (CENTCOM)

Trump Broadens Interior's Role In National Energy Emergencies Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times , President Donald Trump expanded the number of Cabinet officials who can independently exercise emergency powers involving the nation's energy supplies for the second time in six months. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum testifies on Capitol Hill on April 29, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times An executive order issued Sept. 8 gives the interior secretary authority under the Defense Production Act that had previously rested largely with the energy secretary. T rump added the energy secretary alongside the commerce secretary under a similar provision in

Huge Fire Along Saudi 'Hormuz Bypass' East-West Oil Pipeline After Alleged Houthi Strikes Update(1815ET) : While unconfirmed, this would mark a huge escalation of the Houthi entry into what's been creeping all summer into a regional war: Yemen's armed forces targeted Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline ; satellite data shows fires at six points along the route that transports crude oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. (IRIB News) Reports earlier in the day revealed Houthi attacks on southern areas of the kingdom, but made no mention of the Iran-aligned group targeting the further north East-West oil pipeline

Right-Wing Bolsonaro Overtakes Socialist Lula On Polymarket As Brazil Election Nears Polymarket's "Brazil Presidential Election" market , with nearly $150 million in trading volume, now favors right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro over leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of October's election. The shift follows polling data released earlier this week showing Bolsonaro pulling ahead in a hypothetical runoff, although the candidates remain statistically tied within the margin of error. Bolsonaro took the lead on Polymarket around 8:20 a.m. ET, and by early Thursday afternoon, he stood at around 52.8% versus Lula's 44%. On Tuesday, the BTG Pactual/Nexus survey showed

Trump Admin Proposes Excluding Illegal Immigrants From Census Count Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times , The Trump administration is proposing to change how the U.S. Census is conducted by excluding illegal immigrants from the population totals that are used to determine political representation. The Census Bureau posted a proposed rule on Wednesday that said it also wants to prohibit the inclusion of questions about race and ethnicity or sexual orientation on the census in "short-form questionnaire or any questionnaire used for purposes of the enumeration." The proposed rule said that questions about race and sexual orientation have

Ten AI Jobs That Pay Up To 85% More Than Traditional Tech Jobs Tech professionals who add AI skills to their existing expertise can earn significantly more than those in traditional roles, according to a September 2026 study by software talent marketplace Lemon.io. In some cases, the salary premium approaches 85%, while several career transitions could take less than six months, according to Lemon.io . The research compared established tech jobs with their AI focused equivalents using average base salary data from Indeed, Built In, and Coursera. It also analyzed Google Jobs postings and monthly search volume to determine which

South Koreans Rally Against Hormuz Deployment In Front Of US Embassy Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com Protesters gathered near the US Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday to rally against joining the US war with Iran , as the South Korean government is considering deploying military forces to help the US efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz. Carrying signs that read "Do Not Join a War of Aggression" and "No Military Deployment to Hormuz," the protesters chanted, "We cannot send our young people into a sea of death," according to AFP , which reported from the scene and estimated

Oracle Rises After Cloud Revenues Beat Thanks To Massive CapEx, Soaring Debt Earnings season may be over, but the occasional earnings reports are still trickling through, and moments ago we got the latest off-season report from the most indebted company in AI, Oracle, which reported adjusted revenue for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate, and which helped push the stock higher, but just barely above where it opened. Here's what ORCL reported moments ago for its fiscal first quarter: Adjusted revenue $19.35 billion, +30% y/y, beating estimates of $19.13 billion Cloud Infrastructure revenue (IaaS) $7.39 billion vs.

Supreme Court Blocks Missouri Republicans' New Congressional Map The U.S. Supreme Court blocked Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins on Thursday from using the state's Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map , an order that puts Missouri back under the districts adopted in 2022. The order ran one page, disclosed no vote, gave no reasoning, and drew no noted dissents. In this photo taken with a smartphone, people opposed to a congressional redistricting plan rally outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb) Missouri Republicans drew the new map - known as HB 1

When Grievance Enters The Huddle Authored by Andre Billeaudeaux via American Thinker , The NAACP is asking some of America's best black high-school football players to consider withholding commitments from public universities in eight states because of congressional redistricting. Current athletes are encouraged to consider transferring and using their NIL platforms to support the cause. The slogan is direct: "No Representation. No Recruitment. No Revenue." The campaign followed the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision striking down Louisiana's intentionally created second majority-black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Rather than leaving that dispute in the courthouse and statehouse, the NAACP is

Fetterman Condemns Socialism In Surprise Video Message To GOP Convention Pennsylvania's Democratic senator made a surprise video appearance in Dallas on Wednesday night in front of a sea of Republicans at the GOP midterm convention. In a short video message, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) condemned the rise of socialist politicians in the United States and welcomed his Republican counterpart, Sen. Dave McCormick, as the next speaker for the event. "Yes, I'm a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I'm a common sense Democrat," he told the crowd. "I'm always going to stand with America. I'm

Charlie Kirk Built A Conservative Institution. Can It Survive Him? Authored by Brigham Tomco via Deseret News , Just inside the Turning Point USA Freedom Center in Phoenix, Arizona, there is a gold-framed painting, about three feet tall, glowing in a warm spotlight mounted on the wall. Captured mid-throw is Charlie Kirk, lobbing red and white MAGA caps into a mass of ecstatic students, cheering against the brilliant-blue backdrop of a September afternoon. His outstretched arm pulls taut the word "FREEDOM" across his white T-shirt. Rendered in commemorative brushstrokes: the moment Kirk's "American Comeback Tour" arrived in Orem, Utah. The

Melania Trump's Team Finally Breaks Silence On Natalie Harp Frenzy A key advisor to First Lady Melania Trump has broken his silence against the nonstop media frenzy surrounding President Donald Trump and loyal White House aide Natalie Harp. Evan Vucci/Reuters/Aaron Schwarz/Getty Images The speculation, circulating for weeks across mainstream and tabloid outlets, concerns whether Trump's working relationship with the 35-year-old aide exceeds professional norms - fueled by Harp's near-constant presence at his side in the Oval Office, at public events and on weekend golf outings, and by the first lady's own scarcity. Melania has appeared in public on roughly 40

Canadian PM Mark Carney hosts president in Calgary, where he grew up alongside large Ukrainian community Canada offered support on Thursday to boost Ukraine’s air defenses and help replenish its drone stocks, as the countries pledged to deepen their alliance during a visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mark Carney hosted the president of Ukraine in Calgary in the western province of Alberta, where the Canadian prime minister grew up among a large community of people with Ukrainian heritage. Continue reading...

Rubio visits Ecuador and welcomes cooperation after campaign of unilateral strikes on alleged ‘narco-terrorists’ The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, gave new clarity on the approach toward combating drug trafficking in Latin American waters, saying the Trump administration was focused on working with allied countries and aligning with their laws but insisted the military would “still blow up ships if need be”. The public acknowledgment of a shift in US strategy comes a year after Washington began a campaign of unilateral deadly strikes against those it calls “narco-terrorists” operating boats in international waters. Continue reading...

Trump administration to seek extra funding from Congress to ‘dismantle’ Los Tiguerones over narcotics trafficking The US has designated Ecuador’s Los Tiguerones gang, which stormed a television station during a live broadcast in 2024, as a terrorist organisation as the Trump administration expands its campaign against narcotics traffickers it says are destabilising Latin America. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, made the announcement in Quito, where he met Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa, one of several rightwing allies of Donald Trump whom Rubio is courting as a security partner during a three-nation tour through Latin America that began on Tuesday.

Andrew Frederick’s body was found in property he was staying at in Grenada in January The family of a British father who was found dead in the Caribbean in January is urging authorities in Grenada to work with UK police to uncover the truth about his death. Andrew Frederick’s body was found in the property he was staying at in Grenada on 4 January. An autopsy, performed in the same week by a privately hired pathologist, concluded that the 47-year-old’s death was a homicide. Continue reading...

Three men are on trial over the death of brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend, US citizen Jack Carter Rhoad, in Ensenada The father of two Australian surfers killed in Mexico two years ago testified in court on Tuesday that his life had been turned into hell, as the high-profile trial continued into its second day. Three men are charged in the killing of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, respectively, and their 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad, who were on a surfing trip to Mexico’s Pacific coast in April 2024. Continue reading...

The new ‘true-scale’ map shrinks Europe and North America while enlarging Africa – and depicts the disputed Kuril islands as ruled by Moscow Japan has asked for the revision of a new world map adopted by the UN because it said it made the disputed Kuril islands appear to belong to Russia. The UN general assembly voted on Friday to adopt the new map, which makes the African continent larger while also shrinking North America and Europe, drawing condemnation from the US. Continue reading...

Dow Jones convicted of one count of deterring Selina Cheng from role at Hong Kong Journalist Association but cleared of second charge A Hong Kong court has convicted the publisher of the Wall Street Journal of deterring a reporter from taking up a trade union role, in a case that raised concerns about press freedom in the city. The newspaper dismissed Selina Cheng just weeks after she was appointed chair of the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA) in 2024. She was told at the time her termination was officially due to restructuring. Continue reading...

Multiple search and rescue vessels deployed after blaze off Palawan island leaves at least five dead, says coast guard A large-scale ⁠search and rescue operation ​is under way off the western Philippine island of Palawan on Thursday after a passenger ferry caught fire, killing five people and leaving ⁠scores of passengers missing. The Philippine coast guard said multiple vessels and other assets were searching for survivors as rescue teams used drift-modelling tools ⁠to identify areas where people may have been carried by currents. Continue reading...

The International Atomic Energy Agency voices ‘serious concerns’ over expansion of Yongbyon facility to enrich uranium The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has voiced “serious concern” over evidence that North Korea has built a facility capable of enriching weapons-grade uranium to bolster its nuclear arsenal. The new building, located at the the country’s main Yongbyon nuclear facility, can house up to 28 centrifuge cascades – machinery commonly used to enrich uranium – according to a report by the nuclear watchdog released this week. Continue reading...

Analysis of two skeletons reveals tooth wear and traces of psychoactive substance in what may be earliest known evidence for human drug taking What may be the earliest known evidence for human drug taking has been traced to ancient Indonesian foragers who sucked on mind-altering nuts as long as 25,000 years ago. Analysis of two exceptionally rare skeletons from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi revealed dramatic tooth wear and traces of a psychoactive substance in the individuals’ remaining teeth, suggesting they routinely sucked on hard, abrasive betel nuts. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast ‘Profound’ increase in death rate for welfare recipients, report finds People receiving an income support including disability, unemployment or carers payments had an average mortality rate more than nine times higher than people who did not access the welfare system, AAP reports. I think if One Nation and the Greens are voting together, the Greens are voting the wrong way on climate. … I’m very pleased that this passed the parliament. I’m very pleased that the Greens party room worked with me, the

Global oil price at its highest since May while investors dump stocks and bonds after Donald Trump’s $5,000 ‘dividend’ promise Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Fuel prices are on track to climb a further 20-30 cents per litre over the coming weeks, after the escalating Middle East conflict pushed the global oil price to its highest since mid-May. As investors dumped stocks and bonds in an increasingly febrile environment, Donald Trump’s promise to give every US adult citizen a US$5,000 “dividend” after the November

Trespass case launched by two mothers settled after officers often went to families’ houses between midnight and 4am Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Two Indigenous mothers have settled a trespass case against New South Wales police, after officers turned up at one of their homes 150 times in 20 months to conduct bail checks on her sons. The case, which was launched against NSW police in April 2024, was settled on confidential terms three weeks before it was to go to trial in the

A split emerges in One Nation over the video, with Barnaby Joyce offering an apology as Pauline Hanson continues to refuse to take it down Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Andrew Hastie has accepted an apology from his former colleague Barnaby Joyce over a One Nation cartoon video labelling the former SAS captain a traitor but reiterated that he believed Pauline Hanson was a “lying coward”. The apology has revealed a split between Joyce and his leader, as Hanson instead appeared to double down

Luke Sayers says he accepts Cate Sayers did not post photo of his genitals as she says settlement closes ‘painful and difficult chapter’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The embattled former AFL club president Luke Sayers has apologised to his former wife for the harm he caused as her defamation case over a lewd photo settled. Lawyers for Sayers, the immediate past president of the Carlton football club, read out the apology in the Victorian supreme court on Friday after indicating the settlement. Continue

The country is one of just three that still permits commercial whaling, while its government has faced mounting pressure to ban the practice Iceland will submit a bill in February 2027 which could permanently ban whaling in its waters, a move that would leave Norway and Japan as the only two countries to permit commercial whaling. Whaling in Iceland has been put under intense scrutiny since a government-commissioned report was published in 2023 that found harpooned whales took two hours to die. The report led to a temporary suspension of the hunt that year. Continue reading...

Part of Dmitry Donskoy’s right hand sent to ‘spiritually strengthen’ soldiers The Russian Orthodox church has sent a fragment of a medieval warrior prince’s remains to troops fighting in Ukraine, saying the relic would “spiritually strengthen” soldiers and help them achieve victory. A reliquary containing part of the right hand of Dmitry Donskoy, the 14th-century prince revered in Russia for his victory over the Mongolian Golden Horde in 1380, has been taken to Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine and is now being transported along the frontline. Continue reading...

Mark Rutte said that Europeans ‘increasingly understand’ the need for their countries to take ‘greater responsibility for our own security’ Addressing German ambassadors, Wadephul repeats that the Russian threat “has reached our doorstep and it’s tangible.” He adds: “The Russian attempted attack at the airport in Leipzig is only the most recent incident in a string of constantly growing Russian aggression against Europe and against Nato. Russia and its partners operate with a global network against our interests and in favour of an own imperialist claim to great power status." Continue reading...

While England makes its first foray into unfamiliar territory, it’s proved a boon for Italy’s cash-strapped municipalities A nightly tourist tax may be unfamiliar territory in the UK , but countries in continental Europe have been cashing in on these kinds of levies for decades. Tourists usually need to pay the tax on the day they check out of a hotel or holiday let, and are often surprised by an extra fee on top of their accommodation costs. Continue reading...

Chain has long avoided deliveries in Great Britain but says a shift now offers ‘opportunity for profitable growth’ Business live – latest updates Primark will offer home delivery in Great Britain for the first time as the fast-fashion retailer seeks to revive flagging sales. The company, which already offers a click and collect service, has long avoided home delivery, arguing that its low prices made it too difficult to absorb the cost of packing and shipping orders. Continue reading...

Testimony from Israeli military insiders involved in surveillance and remote killings features in documentary produced by the Guardian Testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders ​on the secret ​systems used in ​the war on Gaza​ has been revealed in a new documentary film about the mass killing of Palestinian civilians. NAZA, a film from the Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, was shown at the Venice international film festival on Thursday as the only documentary competing for its prestigious Golden Lion award. Continue reading...

Iran and its proxies move closer to full control of two shipping chokepoints as regional conflict widens Explained: why the fighting in Yemen matters globally Houthi forces in Yemen are making a concerted drive to take over the country’s Red Sea coast fully, claiming control of the key port of Mocha in the most serious wave of fighting with the Saudi-backed government in years, bringing the Iran-aligned group closer to full control of a key shipping route. Seizure of the coast and some of the islands in the sea would be a strategic disaster for Saudi Arabia and the US,

Funding cuts in 2025 left women, children, older and displaced people hard hit, with 64m fewer people receiving aid The humanitarian aid system is crumbling as funding shrinks, pressures increase and governments not only fail to protect civilians but are increasingly responsible for endangering them, a new report warned on Thursday as figures revealed 64 million fewer people received aid last year. With aid contributions cut by 30% between 2022 and 2025 and thousands of aid workers losing their jobs, the humanitarian system has suffered one of its biggest contractions since being formed in the post-second world war era, according

Spiritual leaders stress diversity of views within Jewish community and warn against inaction on settler violence ‘It’s a good start’: prominent Israelis welcome UK sanctions Prominent British rabbis have backed Ed Miliband’s sanctions on Israeli settlements, warning that the time for inaction on settler violence must come to an end. The intervention comes after the UK’s chief rabbi, the spiritual leader of mainstream Orthodox Jews in the UK, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, described UK sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a “dark day for British Jews” and warned they could embolden people who “use hatred as

Ed Miliband’s intervention was ‘inevitable’ after Israeli government and security failures, say former ministers and diplomats Prominent Israelis have welcomed new UK sanctions as a necessary response to settlement expansion and spiralling violence in the occupied West Bank. The intervention was described – by the president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, a former prime minister, an ex-head of the army and former ministers and diplomats – as an “inevitable consequence” of Israeli government and security failures. Continue reading...

Following six years of talks, Pitt Rivers Museum will return body parts collected by British colonial administrators to north-east India Anthropologists and community leaders from Nagaland, a remote state in north-eastern India bordering Myanmar, have expressed joy and relief that human remains belonging to their ancestors that had been on display in a British museum for nearly a century are finally being returned. On Monday, the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford announced that 39 pieces of human remains – including parts of skulls, a finger and a piece of skin with hair – belonging to the Naga tribes, will be

India’s statistical system once commanded respect, and its data on economic and social indicators was considered rigorous – that appears to have eroded • Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up here There isn’t much that we Indians agree on these days. GDP numbers are no exception. Last week, India released glowing GDP numbers for the latest quarter – 7.8% growth – higher than the forecast 7% . It sparked a furore. Subhash Garg, a former finance secretary under Narendra Modi’s government and now a critic, reframed what Modi called a “herculean feat” as mere smoke

Foreign minister Shisir Khanal tells the Guardian the world’s biggest economies need to help Nepal, which contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions Nepal is demanding $20m in climate compensation for the recent devastating floods, as a senior minister called on the world’s most polluting countries to “wake up” and accept shared responsibility for a disaster that led to the death or disappearance of more than 6,000 people. Scientists believe the climate crisis had a role to play in the floods , which were triggered when a melting glacier partially collapsed and set off a deadly landslide and

Chinese man at Trishuli hydropower project and Nepali woman in Nuwakot found 10 days into rescue operation Emergency responders have rescued a Chinese man and a Nepali woman in two separate operations as authorities continued to search for thousands of people missing 10 days after massive floods hit Nepal. The Nepali military said on Saturday a joint team comprising personnel from its army and South Korean disaster experts rescued the man from a 225-metre (740ft) tunnel in the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, and that he was undergoing a health assessment. Pictures showed him being evacuated by helicopter after being carried

Officials say pair were rescued from Trishuli 3A hydropower tunnel in Nepal after being trapped at depth of 170 metres Two people have been pulled out alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal nine days after deadly flash floods buried the projects in deep mud and left them trapped. The workers were rescued during an operation at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, a hydropower project in one of the areas worst affected by last week’s floods , according to the army spokesperson Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet. Continue reading...

Labour MPs Gareth Snell and Meg Hillier say Lords must be allowed to fulfil duty in scrutinising bill on serious public issue MPs who voted for and against assisted dying have urged their respective sides not to take the “extraordinary risk” of forcing through the bill using an obscure parliamentary procedure if it continues to be blocked by the Lords. Two Labour MPs have written a warning letter to colleagues in the crucial hours before the next vote on Friday: Gareth Snell, who voted in favour of the bill, and Meg Hillier, who voted against. Continue reading...

Welcome boost for chancellor with unexpected rise put down to rapid growth of AI in services sector outweighing Iran war fallout The UK economy grew in July as the rapid growth of AI appeared to outweigh the economic damage from the Iran war, in a welcome boost for the John Healey before next month’s budget. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a surprise 0.4% increase in gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 0.3% growth in June. City economists had forecast zero growth. Continue reading...

National Audit Office says failure to implement £70bn modernisation would also hold back economic growth The ‘great grid upgrade’ is off track – ministers should spell out the risks for bills Consumers will pay higher energy bills unless the UK government speeds up work on a vast programme of upgrades to the electricity grid to enable the switch to renewables, the public spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said that without faster action the extra costs associated with managing the ageing power network, which are ultimately passed on to the public, could reach £7.8bn a year by

Christina Stambolian dress from 1994 has defined a whole category of fashion and is expected to fetch up to £220,000 The dress that Diana, Princess of Wales wore one September evening in 1994 would have been memorable for its design alone – black, fitted, off-the-shoulder, skintight and short. However, it has another distinction, of defining a whole category of fashion – what has since become known as “revenge dressing”. Worn by Diana the same night Charles would reveal his infidelity on TV, the dress was quickly labelled “the revenge dress” by the media. It has its own Wikipedia page ,

UK government reviewing allegations about My Surrogacy Journey after complaints about medical costs The UK government has said it is reviewing allegations about a British-owned surrogacy service after surrogates in Mexico who faced health complications including a hysterectomy had their insurance claims rejected. The Department of Health and Social Care is considering whether the UK-based provider My Surrogacy Journey should remain listed on gov.uk as one of four domestic surrogacy agencies available to intended parents, after its Mexican sister company received complaints. Continue reading...

The president demonised Democrats in an attempt to wangle votes in midterms despite backlash over Iran war With his approval rating at a historic low, Donald Trump has brought down the curtain on the Republicans ’ first ever midterm convention by pleading with supporters to do him “the biggest favour” and “pretend” they are voting for him in November’s US elections . The president is facing a growing backlash over rising prices and the war in Iran. Sweeping losses for the Republican party could effectively turn Trump into a lame duck for his final two years in the White House.

This live blog is now closed. Trump promise of $5,000 for US citizens after midterms decried as ‘bribery’ Sign up for the US Breaking News email The Supreme Court has blocked a federal judge’s ruling that would’ve restored Republican-drawn congressional districts in Missouri. The decision, issued by justice Brett Kavanaugh, appeared to sound a death knell for efforts by the Missouri GOP to extract an additional Republican-leaning congressional seat for their party ahead of the midterm elections. Continue reading...

Vice-president dog-whistled, exaggerated claims of success and echoed Trump talking points to excited audience JD Vance made a clear pitch that he should be the heir to Donald Trump on Thursday night, closing out the Republicans ’ midterm convention with a blistering speech that featured exaggerated claims of success, criticism of Democrats as “lunatics” and an aggressive dismissal of a protester waving a Mexican flag. Speaking in Dallas, the vice-president showed he could channel the basest instincts of his boss, filling his remarks with dog whistles and echoing Trump’s false claims that Democrats “cheered” the 7 October massacre of Israelis.

The flesh-eating parasite had been largely eradicated, but now authorities are racing to contain an outbreak A horse in southern Texas has been infected with the New World screwworm, marking the first US equine infection as health authorities race to contain an outbreak of the flesh-eating parasite. The pest was discovered on the hind limb of a working ranch horse in Presidio county, according to a statement on Thursday from US Equestrian Foundation. Continue reading...

The execution of Daniel Owen Conahan Jr makes him the state’s 15th person executed this year A Florida man was executed by lethal injection on Thursday after being convicted of one of a series of suspected killings that became known as the Hog Trail Murders in the 1990s. Daniel Owen Conahan Jr, 72, was sentenced to death for the 1996 kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery. Authorities found Montgomery’s mutilated body in a wooded south-west Florida area where the remains of at least six people have been found over a three-year span. Continue reading...

Several people were killed and injured when a coach carrying Dutch tourists in eastern Switzerland crashed, police said on Thursday. The accident happened at about 4.45pm between the communes of Susch and Zernez in the far-eastern canton of Graubunden. The coach hit a safety barrier before overturning and plunging down an embankment, a local police spokesman told Swiss media. The Dutch Federation of Travel Agencies (ANVR) said that the coach belonged to the tour company Oad and was carrying 48...

The “revenge dress” worn by the late Princess Diana in 1994 is up for auction at Sotheby’s for the first time in nearly three decades. The black silk evening dress by Greek designer Christina Stambolian is estimated to fetch as much as £220,000 (US$298,110) when it goes on sale on December 9 during Sotheby’s Luxury Week in New York, the auction house said on Thursday. Diana wore the dress in June 1994 as she arrived at the Serpentine Gallery in London for a fundraising dinner. It gained...

Venezuela’s former first lady wants to be let out of jail while she and her husband await trial on US drug-trafficking charges. Cilia Flores, the wife of ex-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, “deserves the opportunity to await her trial while on home confinement” while dealing with a heart condition that has only got worse since she has been in jail, her lawyers wrote in court papers filed on Wednesday. The lawyers, Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez, asked a judge to allow her to leave a...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks in Peru on Thursday on countering Beijing’s growing footprint around the strategic Chancay megaport, drawing a sharp response from China’s embassy in Lima, which defended its investments and took aim at Washington’s strict visa rules. Rubio met President Keiko Fujimori at the Government Palace, where she confirmed Peru would join the Shield of the Americas, a US-led coalition against organised crime. The Peruvian capital was the last stop of a...

The ocean looks like peace from afar and truth up close, they say. But beneath the waves, the map of the world’s oceans is far less settled than it looks. Today, dozens of sea borders remain unresolved. Like so many conflicts, they owe their origins to complicated questions of where one country’s territory ends, and another’s begins. Many involve overlapping claims to areas rich in resources; and a disproportionate number concern the waters of the Global South. Africa’s coastline is a stark...

The Swiss federal intelligence service on Thursday published a 200-page dossier on the notorious Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, the German doctor known as the “Angel of Death” for conducting horrific medical experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz. During World War II, Mengele served at the Auschwitz extermination camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, where about 1.1 million people were killed, around 1 million of them Jews. He became infamous for carrying out brutal medical experiments on inmates,...

Canada ⁠has agreed to a C$350 million (US$254 million) aid package for Kyiv to acquire air defence interceptors, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday, after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Kyiv is ‌running critically low on US-made Patriot interceptors capable of stopping Russia’s ballistic missiles at a time when Moscow is stepping up its attacks. “As Russia escalates its barbaric aerial warfare indiscriminately targeting civilian populations, Ukraine’s air defences are...

Sales of previously owned homes in the United States slowed last month to their weakest pace in more than a year, as would-be buyers waited for relief on mortgage rates before purchasing. Contract closings slipped 2 per cent to an annualised rate of 3.98 million in August, data released on Thursday by the National Association of Realtors showed. Last month marked one of only two times since the autumn of 2024 that sales have dipped below 4 million. The disappointing figures reflect a housing...

US wholesale inflation picked up more than expected in August, government data showed Thursday, driven by higher energy costs in the month – particularly for diesel – as the US war with Iran continued. Rising prices at the pump are squeezing US households and businesses weeks ahead of key midterm elections, pressuring President Donald Trump’s administration, as average diesel costs hit new highs. The Producer Price Index (PPI) was up 5.4 per cent year-on-year last month, the Department of Labour...

As power cuts cascade through one of Gaza’s largest functioning hospitals and patients wait for treatment in sweltering wards, doctors warn that shortages of engine oil and spare parts are causing generators to seize up, putting lives at risk. The crisis is spreading beyond hospitals, where soaring costs for oil and diesel are making electricity from neighbourhood generators increasingly unaffordable for families that depend on it. Gaza has been without grid electricity since the start of...

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Europe to develop its own crewed space flight capability within a decade as part of a broader push to strengthen the continent’s space sector. Macron made the call during an international space summit held in Paris this week, which was shown the cold shoulder by several US companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin. “We want Europe to assert its ambition in crewed space flight,” he said. “Our European space programme remains fragile and we...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants have ⁠reached the Red Sea islands of Hanish after capturing the coastal city of Mocha, two Yemeni government sources said, in a dramatic strategic shift that could threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping routes. Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified in recent days, with the militant group shifting its focus to control over Yemen’s long coastline instead of just the north, putting...

China’s Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) said on Thursday it had held talks with French companies operating in China and reiterated calls for France to stop using its “anti-fast fashion law” to undermine the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. According to ministry spokesperson Huang Ling, public reports suggested some French companies had received subsidies from the European Union and its member states, and that this support might have been “partly passed through to their Chinese-based...

Every climate summit now runs on the same illusion: the next pledge will be the one that finally saves us. It will not. The money the rich world has promised the poor world is not coming at anything like the scale advertised, and pretending otherwise has become the main business of climate diplomacy. Barely nine weeks before the UN climate summit Cop31 opens in Antalya, Turkey, the honest task is not a bigger pledge. It is to make the finance that already exists reach the people drowning in the...

One pilot of the Amazon Prime Air cargo plane that crashed in Miami on Sunday cautioned they were flying “too fast” just over a minute before touching down on the runway they overran, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The pilot continued to comment on the plane’s speed while automated warnings sounded in the cockpit. However, the other ‌pilot did not give a clear verbal response, according to the cockpit voice recording detailed in an investigative update on Wednesday that did not...

The EU’s climate monitor said on Thursday that August was the hottest single month ever recorded globally, with ocean temperatures also reaching unprecedented highs as western Europe capped its warmest summer. In response to the assessment by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the UN warned that until humanity weaned off fossil fuels, the planet would only push deeper into uncharted territory. Copernicus observations go back to 1940 but other evidence – such as ice cores, tree rings and...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended controversial strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats during a visit to Ecuador on Wednesday, arguing Latin American cartels would “eat these countries alive” if left unchecked. Hailing a new generation of conservative leaders emerging across the region who are allied with President Donald Trump, Rubio said Washington was finding partners willing to be “very aggressive” against criminal groups. Since Trump returned to power, the United States has...

Iran’s capture of a US military underwater drone gives Tehran an opportunity to study and potentially reverse-engineer the vessel, delivering a setback for the Pentagon and drone maker Anduril. The US military and Anduril have downplayed the significance of the drone falling into Iranian hands. The vessel, a Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle designed for long-range surveillance and other undersea missions, is among a new ‌generation of military drones intended to operate for days with little...

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate lost their bid for release from a Miami jail on Wednesday as they contest extradition to Britain, where they are wanted on rape charges. In denying bail for the Tate brothers, Miami-based US Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis said the brothers’ wealth and frequent international travel made them “quintessential flight risks”. “While [the brothers] may not ‌in fact possess what extravagant holdings they portray themselves as possessing online, the record...

Brazil on Wednesday eliminated its federal import tax on small overseas parcels, moving in the opposite direction from US and European Union efforts to close a loophole that saw such Chinese retail giants as Shein and Temu expand rapidly. The elimination will hurt the country’s tax base, but the levy on lower value shirts, electronics, toys and kitchen gadgets ultimately proved too unpopular among Brazilians ahead of the October 4 presidential election, forcing Brasilia to back down. In an...

The creators of the long-running and enthusiastically insolent television show South Park aren’t known to be huge fans of US President Donald Trump. However, they’ve decided to adopt one of his ideas – in a way. They’re changing – at least for the moment – the name of the popular series, which just won the Emmy for outstanding animated programme. In a statement posted on the show’s social media page, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone say they are “changing the name of South Park to SOUTH...

Ukraine and Moldova on Wednesday played down claims from Norway’s prime minister that a plane carrying President Volodymyr Zelensky was almost hit by a drone as it flew to Oslo. Jonas Gahr Store told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that Zelensky’s plane was “almost hit by a drone when it was taking off from Moldova”. But a source in the Ukrainian presidency described the claim that Zelensky was at risk as “exaggerated”. “It was an alert in Moldova when a Russian (drone) entered Moldovan and...

US President Donald Trump said he expected the war with Iran to end after the November US midterm elections and threatened again to attack a site associated with the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme after the two sides launched their biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the start of the six-month-old war. Tensions in the region were high, with Saudi civil defence authorities on Thursday issuing emergency alerts in ‌the southwest city of Khamis Mushait for the fourth time in 24 hours, as...

The UN atomic watchdog’s board on Wednesday reported Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years, citing it for failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at undeclared sites. Western officials suspect that the traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons programme until 2003. Iran says that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, and that its programme is entirely peaceful. Reporting Iran to the Security...

US President Donald Trump gave tens of thousands of dollars in cash gifts last year to executive assistant Natalie Harp and three other close aides working in the West Wing, according to financial disclosures released by the White House. The payments raised ethics concerns because federal employees are ‌generally barred by statute from receiving compensation beyond their government salaries. Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain...

An artificial intelligence researcher who left OpenAI to join Anthropic has decided to leave the industry, accusing both US companies of “gambling with our lives” in the race to develop AI models capable of self-improvement. Jacob Coxon, 27, spent the past three years pretraining AI models, first at OpenAI and then, this year, at its rival Anthropic, which he considered more cautious in its approach. Pretraining is the stage where AI models absorb vast quantities of data. “Neither company is...

British police said on Wednesday a criminal investigation into the populist Reform UK party would be widened to include allegations made in a documentary that officials planned to break electoral law on foreign funding. Reform, led by veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, denied any wrongdoing ‌and a spokesman for the party said it would “fully cooperate” with the investigation. Farage, under investigation by a parliamentary watchdog about earlier donations, was forced to sack two of his...

An explosion at an arms depot in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province killed 14 people on Wednesday, the local health department said, without specifying the cause of the blast. “The toll from the explosion in a temporary storage for collecting weapons and war remnants near the city of Sarmada … registered 14 killed and 11 injured in a preliminary count,” the Idlib health department said. The Syrian defence ministry’s media department earlier told state television that several of the ministry’s...

European cities will gain more leeway to curb short-term rentals such as Airbnb under new EU plans that aim to bring down housing costs in tourism hotspots. The European Commission laid out conditions on Wednesday under which local authorities can limit short lets, under a proposal seeking to address Europe’s “housing crisis”. “Short-term rentals are a part of the problem in many cities,” Dan Jorgensen, the 27-nation bloc’s housing commissioner, told a press conference in Brussels. Though hugely...

Norway bid farewell on Wednesday to King Harald V in a funeral reflecting his open and unifying nature, and attended by dignitaries including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Britain’s Prince William. After a procession through the streets of Oslo packed with crowds and a funeral service at Oslo’s Lutheran cathedral, the king’s casket was transported to the Akershus Castle church where it was to be placed in the royal crypt. Until his death on August 28 at age 89, Harald was the oldest...

At 18, Martin Taborda began studying law at Argentina’s prestigious University of Buenos Aires, hoping to become the first in his family to graduate. Just two years later, that dream has slipped out of reach. Unemployed and US$1,300 in debt, he can no longer afford the bus fare from his suburb or the books he needs to keep studying – even at a tuition-free university that has helped generations of Argentines climb into the middle class. He’s not alone. Nearly half of Argentina’s 45 million...

China and Russia’s negotiations regarding the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline have stalled, according to multiple sources who have knowledge of the issue, as both sides cannot bridge a big gap over gas price expectations. “China hopes to secure a price comparable to Russia’s subsidised residential rate, around US$50/thousand cubic metres, or at least the domestic industrial rate of about US$120-130/thousand cubic metres,” said one source, who asked for anonymity due to the...

A battle for control of Yemen’s coastal plains overlooking the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, launched on Friday by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, is rapidly intensifying into an all-out war with Saudi-backed government forces. A wave of Houthi missile and drone strikes launched against four cities in southern Saudi Arabia early on Tuesday, injuring 73 civilians, may prove to be the tipping point in the conflict, analysts say. Coinciding with an escalating battle of attrition between the United...

UK air travellers faced more misery on Wednesday with nearly 300 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain’s air traffic control service scrambled to recover from a technical glitch which it ruled out as a cyberattack. After 1,746 flights were cancelled on the first day of the outage on Tuesday, another 291 were axed on Wednesday – the majority to and from London Heathrow, the United Kingdom’s biggest and one of Europe’s busiest airports – according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. “We...

China’s factory-gate price growth accelerated in August, while consumer inflation picked up again, amid volatile energy and commodity costs linked to the US-Israel war on Iran. The producer price index rose 3.8 per cent year on year last month, up from 3.5 per cent in July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday. The reading beat a 3.6 per cent projection from economists polled by financial data provider Wind. Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI),...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday it had captured a ‌US uncrewed submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, offering a rare glimpse into how underwater drones are being used in military operations. Iranian state media said the vessel was a Dive-LD, a large autonomous underwater vehicle built by California defence firm Anduril. The 5.8-metre (19-foot) submersible can carry out missions including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering ⁠and the inspection of...

Argentine President Javier Milei has every right to reassert his country’s territorial claims over the Falkland Islands. His proposal to use the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration as a template for resolving the Falkland Islands dispute merits serious consideration as a pragmatic framework for bringing this long-standing territorial conflict to a peaceful conclusion. Argentina’s claim to what its citizens call the Islas Malvinas rests on solid foundations. Upon independence from Spain in 1816,...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his trade war against Canada, banning imports of alcohol and various products and raising tariffs on others, with the conflict showing no sign of abating. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stood firm, acknowledging that reducing economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but saying the benefits would outweigh the pain. A range of Canadian products, from mattresses to motorboats and golf carts, would be subject to a 50 per cent...

The Trump administration on Tuesday blasted Ford Motor’s business partnerships with Chinese companies, saying they posed national security concerns. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a letter ‌to Ford CEO Jim Farley sent on Tuesday said the carmaker’s dealings with Chinese battery maker CATL and Chinese carmakers Geely and BYD raised “profound concern”. He urged Ford to cut ties with major Chinese companies. Duffy said USDOT was “deeply alarmed” by Ford’s reliance on licensed technology...

Police in Albania blocked protesters from reaching parliament on Tuesday as the latest rally against a luxury development linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, turned violent The march was staged as parliament resumed from a summer recess and after the demonstrations marked their 100th day on Monday. They challenged a police cordon in the centre of the capital, Tirana, pelting officers in riot gear with eggs and tomatoes. Cars transporting lawmakers to the parliament...

Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war. The attacks sent the price of oil surging, with benchmark Brent crude futures breaching US$100 a barrel for the first time since July. At least one seafarer aboard a tanker was reported killed and another listed as missing. Iran also said it had fired ballistic...

Nicaragua has granted a Chinese-owned company linked to one sanctioned by Washington the right to prospect and dig for gold across 262 sq km (101 sq miles) of rainforest, about a quarter the size of Hong Kong. The 25-year concession over the block, named Jade, went to Linze Excelente Mineria, a company that appeared in Nicaragua’s mining registry only last year. The block is in a corner of the country where prospectors first struck gold in 1880. Corporate filings list Lijun Dong as legal...

When US President Donald Trump announced on August 28 that the United States had secured majority control over some 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil through a private company, the North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), he called it “the biggest oil deal in history”. The White House fact sheet provided the details: NABEP’s 100-year concessions on 17 oilfields with 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, a 35 per cent Pentagon stake, a 20 per cent State Department offtake at cost with...

The White House on Tuesday pulled a Tetris-style game called Build the Wall from its new online arcade, four days after a warning by the classic game maker that it takes copyright infringement seriously. The block-stacking game, subtitled Zombie Border Siege, told players to “protect the border from the coming horde”. It was no longer available on the website on Tuesday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request asking why it was removed. The Tetris Company said on Friday that it...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday discussed the Ukraine conflict in an “extremely frank” and constructive hour-long phone call, the Kremlin said. It came after US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an attempt to kick-start long-stalled US efforts to end the fighting. Washington has been pushing for fresh face-to-face talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Kyiv says the talks could happen as early as this...

A dizzying volley of court rulings in recent days has created widespread confusion about which congressional boundaries will be in effect in November.

The inquiry has sought to link disparate criminal inquiries into the president as a multiyear scheme to damage his political prospects.

In a new report, the A.I. start-up added that it could not determine whether the research was legitimate or nefarious, leading the company to shut down the work.

The technology is far from the only existential risk our species faces. But weighing such cosmic fears can become a mind-bending exercise.

Tristan Buckmaster was on the path toward an important proof when one of the A.I. giants used its staggering resources to get there first.

The company unveiled a new iPhone that costs $1,999. Here are the economics behind that price tag.

Here’s the process for vetting new smartphones and gadgets at The Times and Wirecutter.

China sees the BRICS group as a vehicle for challenging American power. India wants to keep the group broad enough to avoid choosing sides.

Leaders of China, Russia, India and other BRICS club nations meet in New Delhi this weekend, but wars and soaring energy prices threaten to undermine unity.

The investigation, by the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, is in its earliest stages, leaving it unclear whether criminal charges will ensue.

A.I.-driven cyber and biological attacks threaten not just American lives, but also the American government.

A tiny slice of Newfoundland welcomed in stranded passengers.

A journalist, he was the first Japanese person to enter space, joining a Soviet crew as part of a spectacular $35 million ratings stunt in 1990.