Minimalist News

FERC Approves SPP "Topology Optimization" Plan For Cutting Grid Congestion By Ethan Howland of UtilityDive The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved the Southwest Power Pool’s proposal for using “topology optimization” to reduce grid congestion and its related costs. Traditionally, grid operators respond to grid congestion by redispatching power plants, which can lead to higher production and congestion costs, SPP said in its May 21 proposal to FERC . However, with grid-enhancing technologies, grid operators can use topology reconfiguration to change power flows as a less expensive way to handle congestion, according to SPP, which runs the grid in

Woman Charged In ISIS-Inspired Plot To Bomb NY State Capitol Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times, FBI agents foiled an alleged ISIS-inspired bomb plot on the New York State Capitol on Aug. 19 that they say was concocted by a local woman who had pledged allegiance to the terrorist group earlier this year. Jessica Bowie, 35, was captured by surveillance while doing reconnaissance on the New York Capitol in an undated photo. U.S. Department of Justice Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, New York, was formally charged on Aug. 20 with attempting to provide material support to a designated

Situational Flipping: Citadel Has Dumped Almost All Of The Stocks It Acquired From Leopold Aschenbrenner After the market learned in late July that Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness hedge fund had blown up under too much Total Return Swap and option leverage (as we had warned a month earlier would happen ), the next big question facing investors was: how long would Citadel keep the positions it bought from Leopold ( at a huge market and transactional discount - recall Citadel only agreed to purchase the public book at a 10% discount off what was already a badly beaten down price),

Trump Tells Michael Cohen "They Weaponized You" In Radio Interview, Praises His Recanting Authored by Emel Akan via The Epoch Times, President Donald Trump appeared on Michael Cohen’s radio show and commended his former attorney for recanting his previous statements. Their conversation marked a surprising thaw years after their relationship collapsed amid public feuds and legal battles. Part of the interview with Cohen’s show “When You Know, You Know” aired on 770 WABC Radio at 6 p.m. Thursday. The rest will be released on Aug. 23. “They weaponized you. They weaponized a lot of people,” Trump told Cohen. “I respect

ActBlue Co-Founder Invokes the Fifth Amendment As House Fraud Probe Widens ActBlue co-founder Matt DeBergalis sat before the Committee on House Administration, the House Oversight Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday and declined to answer a single substantive question during a closed-door deposition that reportedly lasted less than half an hour. DeBergalis invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and left. DeBergalis joins a growing list of ActBlue executives who have chosen silence over testimony as Republicans dig into whether the Democratic Party's primary fundraising platform let foreign money slip into American campaigns. ActBlue has raised roughly $20

Pink-Clad Feminist Mob Rallies In Support Of Confessed Child Murderer A mob of liberal women decked out in pink is taking to the streets in front of the Plymouth Superior Courthouse in Plymouth, Massachusetts for a rally in support of Lindsay Clancy during her ongoing murder trial. The group, which is often accused of being "terminally online", has been invading social media discussions for weeks to inject arguments in defense of Clancy, who confessed to the murder of her three helpless children. Now, these women (and a few beta husbands) are going offline and showing up en masse to explain

Intervening Oneself Out Of Quagmire? By Elwin de Groot, head of macro strategy at Rabobank Intervening Oneself Out Of Quagmire? Yesterday’s market moves again showed that jawboning and temporary interventions are rarely enough when the underlying problem is fundamental. As a “thank you” for Trump’s last-minute intervention to reduce joint US-South Korean military drills – and his claim to have spoken with Kim Jong Un – Pyongyang launched around 10 ballistic missiles on Thursday , according to South Korean news agencies. The message was clear: action versus words . Developments in the Middle East, where Iran has effectively defied US

Lacy Hunt: Fed's Been "Stealth-Easing" Since December “We’re seeing a major secular shift , that we’re now moving into a period of capital shortage, as well as we’re witnessing the end of the three-decade period of globalization, which led to significant disinflation.” That prediction comes from Dr. Lacy Hunt , once one of the bond market’s most prominent bulls and secular disinflationists. Well… no longer. He’s now a seller of U.S. long-dated bonds and suggested during last night’s discussion on ZeroHedge that he’s eyeing gold favorably. Lacy told Thoughtful Money ’s Adam Taggart and Brent Johnson of Santiago Capital that

They're Getting Revenge, Starting Today... Via the Tom Woods Letter , I absolutely insist to you: I really am trying to stop writing about this topic. But too much insanity keeps breaking out, and I have no choice but to comment on it. You know the story: a Cambridge academic, Jason Arday, was found to have plagiarized his dissertation, borrowed heavily from others in his published articles, produced essentially worthless research, called the police on a reporter and on a professor who asked questions about his resume, invented wild tales of athletic and academic achievement as well as philanthropic work,

Services Sector Survey Surge Sparks US Growth Rebound Hopes In August After a relatively ugly series of disappointing macro data - and a hectic week of interventions - preliminary August data from S&P Global's PMI survey was expected to signal a slowdown in growth for the US economy (but still growth). But, the respondents had other things on their mind as while Manufacturing slipped, the Services sector of the economy soared Flash US Services PMI Business Activity Index: 56.8 (July: 54.6). 20-month high. Flash US Manufacturing PMI: 53.2 (July: 53.9). 5-month low. “US business is booming," says Chris Williamson, Chief

China Sentences Evergrande Founder To Life In Prison Five years after Chinese property development firm Evergrande Group collapsed under the weight of enormous debt, founder Xu Jiayin was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. Xu Jiayin, also known as Hui Ka Yan, founder of property developer Evergrande, appears for sentencing at the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Shenzhen, China, on Aug. 20, 2026. Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court /Xinhua via AP Xu (Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese), 64, pleaded guilty in April to fundraising fraud, illegally taking public deposits, illegally extending loans, bribery, fraudulently issuing security, and misuse of funds.

Teen Drops Social Media Addiction Claims Against Meta, Google, & Snap, Ahead Of October Trial Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, A 15-year-old New Jersey girl whose lawsuit served as a test case in litigation accusing social media companies of designing platforms to addict young users dropped her remaining claims Thursday against Meta Platforms, Google, and Snap Inc. The plaintiff, identified in California court records only as P. M-Y., had alleged the owners of Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat contributed to her social media addiction, depression, and self-harm. She dismissed the case without any payment from the three

Broadcom CDS Explodes As It Seeks Up To $100 Billion In Massive Off-Balance Sheet Debt Deal Amid the growing angst about hyperscaler CapEx (and more specifically, the historic flood of new debt issuance to fund it), attention among the always-bullish equity talking-heads has shifted - and rightfully so - to the bond markets as alarm signals flare up with an increasing frequency. Of course, for ZeroHedge readers, this is not a new topic, it is something we have been warning of for the past year, ever since we explained that debt was the true AI bubble last October : The

Futures Rise On Opex Day As Yields Stabilize; Bitcoin Almost Tags $80,000 US futures rebound from Thursday's slump, and trade at session highs on. As of 8:15am ET, S&P 500 futures were 0.4% higher with Nasdaq 100 contracts up 0.6%, while Bitcoin headed for its best week in more than three years, rising just shy of $80,000 before reversing. S&P 500 futures jerked higher and yields extended declines as oil edged lower shortly after 7am ET on this headline: *IRAN’S PRESIDENT SAYS BETTER TO END WAR TODAY WITH DIGNITY:ISNA, and while the market erroneously viewed this as a sign of

British Protesters Jailed For Longer Than Migrant Who Sexually Assaulted Girl Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , British men who protested outside an Essex asylum hotel have been locked up for far longer than the migrant whose sexual assaults on a 14-year-old girl and a woman triggered the demonstrations. Charlie Land, 24, and Jonathan Glover, 48, received 32 months and 30 months respectively at Chelmsford Crown Court for violent disorder during the July 2025 clashes at The Bell Hotel in Epping. The Ethiopian national at the centre of it all, Hadush Kebatu, got just 12 months. This is

HSBC Warns Global Zinc Market Is Flashing Signs Of Tightness HSBC's Global Commodity Team warned Thursday that the zinc market is flashing warning signs of extreme tightness : Global zinc mine supply remains tight : HSBC's Global Commodity Team expects global mine supply to fall 2.1% y-o-y to 12.5mt in 2026, driven mainly by lower production in Latin America. The zinc market is expected to be slightly tight in 2026e , driven by a modest recovery in demand in Europe and North America amid supply disruptions at smelters and mines. Overall, concentrate supply remains tight, and there have been smelter

Samsung Unleashes $80 Billion Shareholder Return After SK Hynix's "Buyback Bazooka" To Revive Memory Trade Days after SK Hynix unveiled a staggering 40 trillion won, or $28.6 billion , " buyback bazooka " aimed at putting a floor under its shares following a sharp six-week selloff, Samsung Electronics joined the capital-return push . The world's largest memory-chip maker said Friday that it plans to return as much as 110 trillion won, or $80 billion , to investors this year. The twin announcements suggest the world's top memory companies are trying to support higher valuations and reward shareholders after memory stocks

Pennies Have Been Abandoned, Now What Will Be Done With Nickels? Authored by Adam Dick via RPI The United States government minted its final penny in November of 2025. This came after fiat money inflation succeeded in depriving pennies of nearly all their value . Pennies are still circulating, but it is increasingly common for stores to round cost totals to avoid giving pennies in change. Also, people seeing that the metal content of their pennies is worth more than the face value are deciding that it is better to store pennies in a jar than to spend them .

Medieval Diseases Have Returned To Los Angeles In what can only be described as a stunning failure of state and local policy and leadership, Los Angeles County recorded its highest tally of flea-borne typhus cases in 2025, confirming 220 diagnoses, up from 187 the year before , according to the county's Department of Public Health. Almost nine in ten of those patients ended up hospitalized. Fleas that feed on infected rats, opossums, and other small mammals carry the bacteria behind the disease to humans, and Los Angeles has watched the case count climb for years. The 2025 total marks the

US To Send Hospital Ship Next Year To Peru To Help With Impact Of El Nino Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times, The United States will send a military hospital ship to Peru’s Pacific coast next year to help the country cope with the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon. Plans to send the hospital ship USNS Comfort to the northern Pacific coast of Peru in February 2027 were confirmed by U.S. Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro on Aug. 19 during a press conference at Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami, Florida. Appearing alongside Peruvian Minister of Foreign

Audio recording of US vice-president apparently made at New York fundraiser and shared with Canadian Press Leaked audio from a private event has reportedly captured the US vice-president, JD Vance, mocking Canada for apparently capitulating in a trade deal and taunting the prime minister, Mark Carney, for trying to “out-tough” Donald Trump. The recording, which was reportedly made at a fundraiser and shared with the Canadian Press , comes in the last stretch of a difficult negotiation in which the US president has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canada. Continue reading...

With plentiful jobs and community support, one Mexico City neighbourhood has become a haven for those who have lived much of their lives in the US With its wide avenues lined with tall palm trees, its quaint cafes and old-school cantinas, as well as the mix of English and Spanish spoken on the street, the Tabacalera neighborhood in downtown Mexico City has a certain US feel – so much so that it is has become known as Little LA . The nickname is about more than appearances, however. In recent years, this corner of the metropolis has become a haven

Fernando Cerimedo, 42, arrested on suspicion of ordering shooting of Bolivian lawyer Nadia Beller A senior adviser to many of Latin America’s new wave of far-right leaders has been arrested for allegedly masterminding the attempted murder of his girlfriend. The businessman and political consultant Fernando Cerimedo, 42, had been working as an adviser to the Bolivian president, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, and was one of the main strategists behind Javier Milei’s campaign in Argentina’s 2023 presidential election. Continue reading...

Beto Coral held up banners in Florida warning fellow Colombians to not vote for Abelardo de la Espriella In the week before Colombia’s presidential election, Beto Coral, a well-known activist living in the United States, travelled to Florida to persuade fellow Colombians not to vote for the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. Coral held banners outside polling stations in Miami warning that the millionaire lawyer, whose candidacy was endorsed by Donald Trump, would “help deport all of you”. Continue reading...

US president delays 50% tariffs by three days, and says contentious oil project ‘may be awoken from the grave’ Canada has temporarily avoided a bruising 50% US tariff, reaching a Tuesday-evening agreement with Trump administration officials hours before a hike that would have affected $20bn worth of goods was set to take effect. Donald Trump posted late on Tuesday on social media that he had paused the tariffs for three days “based on the fact that Canada and the USA, subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!” Continue reading...

UK Foreign Office condemns use of national security law to convict activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 have been found guilty of “incitement to subversion” in one of the most high-profile cases in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed its national security law in 2020. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power”, a press summary handed out to reporters said. The defendants each face

Downpours break records and cause transport chaos, evacuations and deaths, as people get trapped inside vehicles South Korea and Japan were hit by extreme rain late last week and into this week. On 13 August in the city of Chiba near Tokyo there was a record-breaking 115mm of rainfall in just one hour, while the nearby city of Sakura broke its own record with 97mm in one hour. Local authorities issued a level 5 emergency warning for heavy rain, the highest alert level and the first time one has been issued since the system was implemented in May. More than

Pacific fleet launched missile drills near what Moscow calls the Kuril Islands but Japan regards as its Northern Territories Japan has criticised missile tests carried out by Russia’s navy around the disputed islands visited by Vladimir Putin last week amid continuing tensions between the two countries. Russia’s Pacific fleet said on Thursday that it had fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, the largest island in the disputed archipelago, simulating an attack on enemy vessels, hitting all of its targets approximately 300km away. Continue reading...

Hui Ka Yan also forfeits all his personal property and the company he set up is given hefty fines Business live – latest updates The founder of Evergrande, one of China’s largest property developers, has been sentenced to life in prison and had all of his personal property confiscated. Hui Ka Yan, 67 and once named by Forbes as China’s richest man, with a net worth of $42.5bn (£31.2bn) in 2017, pleaded guilty in April to eight charges. Continue reading...

Launches, detected by South Korea and Japan, came after US scaled back exercises with South Korea in apparent overture to Kim Jong-un North Korea has launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, South Korea’s military said, a day after Pyongyang shrugged off Donald Trump’s order to scale back US military drills with South Korea in an apparent attempt to resume diplomacy. The joint chiefs of staff said the missiles were launched from the region of Pyongyang at around 5pm (08.00 GMT) on Thursday towards North Korea’s eastern waters. Continue reading...

Premier Ben Carroll says $230m would be earmarked for 10 public dental clinics to operate on a walk-in basis Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Victorians would be able to walk into a dental clinic and receive free checkups and treatment under an Australian-first proposal the Labor government will take to the November state election. The premier, Ben Carroll, will announce the plan – Labor’s first major election commitment – at a rally on Saturday to mark fewer than 100 days until Victorians go to the polls. Continue reading...

Joint statement issued after IDF said it will not pursue criminal investigations into April 2024 strike that killed seven humanitarian workers Britain, Australia and Canada have called the decision of the Israeli military authorities not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of aid vehicles in Gaza “shameful”. The strikes killed seven humanitarian workers from the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) organisation. WCK staff from the three countries were among the casualties of the attack, which prompted global outrage. Continue reading...

Attorney general considering appeal after justice Desmond Fagan knocks back terror order request for Mohommed Farhat who wrote ‘Fuk Israel’ on cars Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales government could appeal a supreme court judge’s controversial decision to refuse its request for a terror order over a Sydney man convicted of writing “Fuk Israel” on cars and setting another vehicle alight in late 2024. Justice Desmond Fagan this week found disparaging Israel was “political comment” not antisemitism. He rejected the state’s application that Mohommed Farhat be subjected to a one-year

David Elliott and Eleni Petinos believe they were brought down by their own party. The Icac hearing has given them a chance to set the record straight Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold. It’s been almost four years since the former New South Wales MP, David Elliott, announced that he would not seek preselection for a seat in the Hills in greater Sydney after his own seat was abolished. He had realised that, thanks to branch stacking in his area, he stood no chance of

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Woman behind allegation of sexual assault linked to Sydney Swans reportedly says she wants ‘justice’ The woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted in a Melbourne hotel told the Herald Sun “all I care about is justice”. I don’t want money. All I care about is justice. I’m going to stand up for what is right. And I’m never going to let this happen to anyone else. Justice will be served. Continue reading...

Germany seeking to extradite suspect from Romania over guns it is feared could have been used ⁠in assassinations Germany is seeking to extradite a suspect from Romania over the discovery of an underground stash of weapons in a forest near Berlin that German media reports have linked to Russian intelligence. Two weeks after German authorities found a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport , the interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, confirmed federal prosecutors had opened an investigation related to the secret cache of guns “on suspicion of preparing a serious act of violence that threatens national security”. Continue reading...

Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a week Airbus has bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series of strikes over its chief executive’s return-to-the office orders. The world’s largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. At present, staff are able to work remotely for two. Continue reading...

Many males are returned even if they have been trafficked but Home Office must now consider new legal guidance UK politics live – latest updates The Home Office could be blocked from deporting many young male trafficking victims to Albania after a major court ruling. Thousands of Albanian males have been identified as potential trafficking victims in the UK in recent years. Many are sent back to their country even if they are potential or confirmed victims of trafficking, as the Home Office contends they will be safe there. Continue reading...

Film emerges as France says it has stopped 185 small boat ‘events’ in three months since new £660m deal with UK Footage has captured the moment French police officers clashed with people on a beach in northern France as the authorities tried to intercept a dinghy attempting to reach the UK. Men wearing lifejackets appear to throw objects at the police to try to keep them away from their dinghy. The officers then use Pava spray before slashing the inflatable boat with a knife. Continue reading...

Value of banknotes in circulation rises from €1tn in 2016 to €1.6tn in 2026 as people advised to keep stash of cash The number of banknotes in circulation in the EU is increasing despite widespread smartphone payments, new data shows, with wildfires ripping through parts of Europe fuelling demand for an emergency stash of cash. While cash plays second fiddle to contactless payments in many cities across Europe, the amount in circulation is actually going up, Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), said at the MacGill summer school conference in Ireland. Continue reading...

Report says violence is moving from Israeli-controlled areas to those earmarked for a future Palestinian state Violent Israeli settler attacks in the two areas of the occupied West Bank under direct Palestinian rule have almost doubled since 2025, as settlers pursue a self-proclaimed “great settlement revolution” in the very heart of the territory earmarked for a Palestinian state. According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din , shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in 2026 have taken place in the so-called Areas A and B –

Military orders criminal investigation into deaths of five-year-old and six family members in Gaza in 2024 The Israeli military admitted on Wednesday its troops had opened fire on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing. The killing of Hind and her family was one of the most high profile of a series of incidents involving civilian casualties during the first months of the Gaza conflict which prompted international outrage. Continue reading...

Far-right minister says those convicted in military courts of terror offences will be executed after passing of death penalty law that does not apply to Jewish extremists Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has posted a gloating video of the construction of a gallows complex where Palestinians convicted of terror offences – but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes – will be hanged. Ben-Givr, who has previously attracted international sanctions and condemnation for his activities, said the new execution site would be equipped with viewing booths for families of victims to watch the hangings. Continue reading...

US president pivots towards ‘crushing’ economic operation against Iran and its trading partners as military strikes fail to bring Tehran to the table Donald Trump has announced a new campaign to isolate Iran’s economy, threatening “tremendous economic consequences” on any country that helps or does business with Tehran, a move that could set up a fresh confrontation with China if implemented. “Today, I am announcing the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran

Picture showing White Helmets volunteer unconscious and with bruises on his body went viral Syrians have protested over the death of a man who was arrested and allegedly beaten by security forces, sparking widespread anger at a practice thought to have ended with the fall of Bashar al-Assad. A crowd gathered in the city of Aleppo, demanding accountability for the security forces who are alleged to have carried out the torture, with participants holding signs and slogans such as: “Do not repeat the same oppression that we revolted against.” Protests were also planned to take place in front of Syria’s

Supreme court ordered transfer of ex-leader whose health is reportedly deteriorating, but he was returned to prison several hours later Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan was briefly taken to a hospital in the country’s capital on supreme court orders after weeks of uproar about his deteriorating health. Khan, 73, was transferred to the hospital in the early hours of Friday, but then moved back to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi after a ⁠few hours, a spokesperson for his party said on Friday. Continue reading...

UK has refused resettlement application despite ‘years of loyal service’ that have resulted in ‘constant fear’ of reprisals A man has received threats from the Taliban after his work for the Afghan police was revealed by a Ministry of Defence leak and the UK refused his application for resettlement. Hamid* worked for the Afghan national police special unit and received certificates for his work signed by senior British figures praising his “dedication, unparalleled service and leadership”. His details were also included in an accidental 2022 leak by an MoD official that identified 18,700 Afghans who had worked with or for

Campaigners fear deeper diplomatic contacts are undermining demands for improvements in human rights The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses. Five years after the Taliban took power , an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare. Continue reading...

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

David Campanale seeks damages after what he says was organised campaign against his faith in Sutton and Cheam How much is a career in politics worth? The Liberal Democrats, despite admitting claims of religious discrimination, say about £22,800. A former Lib Dem candidate claims £790,000. It is a question before the Central London county court after David Campanale argued that discrimination against his Christianity cost him his political career in a civil case against the party. Continue reading...

Experts say more must be done to adapt to changing climate, after two trains derailed within 24 hours during a recent heatwave Railway companies are racing to prepare for another brutal summer next year, as a developing El Niño could see 2027 break more heat-related records. Britain’s railway system has already been under stress from extreme heat this summer, with several operators reducing timetables and train speeds. Continue reading...

MPs receive Harry Styles concert tickets worth £858, Chelsea flower show tickets worth £1,839, and £3,432 of hospitality at Brit awards MPs have been accused of failing to learn their lesson over freebies after taking almost £400,000 of hospitality to concerts, sport matches and other events this year, with Louise Haigh, Lucy Powell and Wes Streeting among those accepting tickets. Despite the outcry in 2024 over Keir Starmer accepting football tickets and gifts of clothing , MPs appear to have been declaring hospitality since the start of the year on a greater scale than previously seen. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. See all our UK politics coverage here After Emily Thornberry’s call for the government to ban goods from the occupied West Bank (see post at 11:05 ), Peter Beaumont and Quique Kierszenbaum report on how Israeli settler attacks in areas designated for a future Palestinian state and currently under direct Palestinian control have almost doubled since 2025. They wrote: According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din , shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in 2026 have taken place in the

Police investigating after two cars set alight in attack caught on CCTV Firebombs were thrown at supercars outside a wedding venue in Birmingham, setting two alight and prompting guests to sprint out of the building. West Midlands police said they were investigating the incident, which happened in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham at around 8.30pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Thomas Bledsoe told CNN the potential move is ‘quite a shock’ and that the family were not notified beforehand US navy carrier set to honor Black war hero may reportedly be renamed after Trump Sign up for the US Breaking News email US Senator Tim Sheehy, a Montana Republican and a cattle rancher, has come out against a plan announced Friday by Donald Trump to allow for an increase in imported ground beef. ”I’ve advised President Trump against this course of action for a year because American ranchers have been struggling against the packer monopoly for decades, and this will

Closing arguments could come on Monday as prosecutors seek murder conviction over deaths of three young children Lindsay Clancy ’s defense in her murder trial rested on Friday after calling witnesses to testify about the ailing mother’s mental state and attempts to seek help before she killed her young children. The defense wrapped more quickly than some expected given that the prosecution rested their case on Monday. Continue reading...

Chief justice signs temporary order to permit work while court considers emergency appeal from administration The US supreme court has allowed Donald Trump to continue construction of his controversial White House ballroom for now, temporarily pausing a lower court order that would halt much of the project. Supreme court chief justice John Roberts signed a temporary order on Friday, permitting work to continue on the planned White House addition – a top priority of the president – while the court considers an emergency appeal from Trump’s administration. Continue reading...

Asking people to weigh in on adoption of different categories in move that will sow confusion and create access challenges, say experts The Trump administration is asking for public feedback on changes to the ways it recommends vaccines – likely opening the door to greater access challenges and confusion, experts say. In a notice published by the health and human services (HHS) to the Federal Register on Friday, officials say they are now seeking comments from the public about the current categories for vaccine recommendations, which so far fall into routine, risk-based and shared clinical decision-making. Continue reading...

UN secretary general has said UN faces ‘imminent financial collapse’ due to unpaid contributions from member states The Trump administration has started the process to transfer $725m to the United Nations , a congressional notification seen by Reuters ⁠showed – a move aid experts said ⁠was a welcome step towards paying ​billions in dues owed. There was no immediate response from Washington DC to questions about the reasons for the payment from an administration that has slashed funding to many UN agencies and blasted the global body for not living up to ⁠its potential. Continue reading...

Prince Harry, Elton John ⁠and other high-profile claimants face paying ⁠millions of dollars out of their own pockets to cover the legal costs of the Daily Mail’s publisher after a judge ruled their failed privacy lawsuits were conducted in an unreasonable way. Judge Matthew Nicklin’s judgment on costs, ‌which was published on Friday, also ordered an interim payment from the claimants of £9.54 million (US$13 million), due by August 28, towards the legal costs of Associated Newspapers. Last month,...

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States would temporarily allow a greater volume of foreign beef imports, in his latest bid to lower costs for American consumers as midterm elections approach. The US cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level since the 1950s – in part due to drought and international competition – with the diminishing herd size pushing cattle prices higher. “As we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers, for the next 90 days, the United States...

Australian police charged a man with foreign interference on Friday for allegedly seeking to pass intelligence about Ukrainian military activities to Russia. The 27-year-old Russian-Australian citizen underwent “military-style” training in Russia and later joined the Ukrainian armed forces, Australian federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett told a news conference. Police allege he travelled to Russia for the training in October 2024, before returning to Australia, where he “maintained...

William and Harry were united in grief as children by the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana, but their relationship as adults has been ripped apart by anger and hurt. The pair – dubbed “the heir and the spare” from an early age – have failed to put aside their differences, despite their father King Charles’ cancer diagnosis. And as Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, prepares to return to the UK in the coming weeks with his wife, Meghan, and two young children, all eyes will be on...

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. Chinese team aims to put ‘smart’ diabetes probiotic on US shelves within 2 years Chinese researchers have engineered a probiotic that could make diabetes care as simple as drinking a cup of yoghurt or swallowing a capsule. 2. Saga of...

The premier of a Canadian province launched a blistering attack on US President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a “bad person” and “not to be trusted” and urging Canada to keep fighting rather than rush to make concessions in trade talks with Washington. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada has leverage in the talks even as his province weighs restoring US alcohol sales at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s urging to help secure a deal that would avert threatened 50 per cent US...

Russia’s Pacific Fleet said on Thursday it has conducted a missile test off a group of Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands amid an intensifying row over the disputed territory following President Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit there last week. While it was unclear exactly when the test was carried out, the announcement comes after the Russian foreign ministry summoned Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto over Japan’s protest against Putin’s trip to the area. Putin visited Etorofu...

US authorities charged a woman who allegedly supported the Islamic State group with a terrorism offence on Thursday after she told an FBI informant she “wanted to destroy” the New York State Capitol building, court filings showed. Located in Albany near the Canadian border, the New York State Capitol is the nerve centre of the state government and contains both houses of the state’s legislature. Jessica Bowie, 35, was charged with attempting to provide material support to designated “foreign...

When the US government announced the addition of 43 Chinese companies to an import blacklist in late July over allegations of forced labour in the country’s western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region – including several household food and apparel brands – the local reaction to the news was surprisingly calm. “It felt like a sudden batch of companies was added out of nowhere … but it shouldn’t have much of an impact on the sector,” said the owner of a cotton-ginning mill in southern Xinjiang, who...

Much of the Western debate about China begins with a category error. “Communism” is often treated as synonymous with a monolithic command economy, limited private enterprise and bureaucratic control over every commercial decision. Modern China does not fit that model. It is better understood as a mixed, state-led system in which private enterprise, foreign investment and fiercely competitive markets coexist alongside public ownership and state control in strategic sectors. This is more than...

A US Army unit is offering its troops a special bonus if they re-enlist soon: four extra days off timed around the November release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI. Commanders of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, believe free time to indulge in the latest entry in the Grand Theft Auto series – in which players commit carjackings, battle police in shoot-outs and attempt audacious heists – will sway some soldiers to extend their military commitments. The...

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has returned to the country after a more than two-month absence that has fuelled fierce debate about his ability to rule after 44 years in power. Biya, who at the age of 93 is the world’s oldest serving head of state, landed in Yaounde in the late afternoon from Geneva, where he had been staying since June 7 on what his office called “a short private stay”. Cameroonian media had reported that Biya, leader since 1982, had been in the Swiss city with family members...

China rejected a White House report on Thursday that accused its exporters of routing goods through Mexico and other countries to avoid US tariffs, hours after word emerged that Mexico was preparing to restrict Chinese products further. He Yadong, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce, told a regular press briefing in Beijing that the report “ignored facts and distorted reality by treating normal international trade and investment as fraud”. He called it a “typical exercise in...

Christian metal band Demon Hunter is suing Netflix, alleging trademark infringement associated with the streamer’s hit film KPop Demon Hunters. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by Hyde Lane, the corporate entity for Demon Hunter, against Netflix, Netflix Studios and AEG Presents, the live entertainment division of AEG, with claims that the defendants have “created a substantial likelihood of confusion” among consumers. The metalcore band – which was formed in 2000 out of Seattle by brothers Ryan...

A Belgian university on Thursday suspended a US academic who spearheaded accusations of plagiarism against Jason Arday, the black ex-Cambridge professor found dead last week after resigning over the scandal. Researcher Nathan Cofnas – a self-defined “race realist” who was himself sacked from his Cambridge post two years ago – posted on social media: “I was just suspended by Ghent University. “They will almost certainly fire me.” Without naming Cofnas, the University of Ghent said in a statement...

An aeroplane pilot died on Wednesday after a violent collision with a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter near a runway at a small airport, but both state troopers aboard the helicopter survived, authorities said. The plane was coming down on the runway and veered into the helicopter that was near the ground, Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens, the state’s acting police commissioner, said during a news conference. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board...

Six months into its war with the United States, Iran’s military has begun signalling a shift from retaliation to offence, which analysts say could reflect Tehran’s belief it holds leverage to advance its demands and break the stalemate. Since US-Israeli strikes launched the war on February 28, Tehran has largely portrayed its strikes against the US, Israel and Gulf countries as revenge for attacks on the Islamic Republic. Now, Iranian officials are openly talking about giving offensive...

After more than two years of taking on Israel’s enemies across the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, is zeroing in on another perceived villain – Turkey. On Tuesday, warplanes bombed a base in northern Syria a short drive from the Turkish border. Netanyahu said Turkey was looking to establish a military presence there and that, after it ignored Israel’s warnings: “We made sure they understood it more clearly.” Heading into the October 27 election,...

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday dismissed US President Donald Trump’s economic punishment plan for Tehran as a continuation of “failed policies”, which he said would bring Washington “further defeat”. “The so-called Economic D-Day is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs. Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat – and enmity of Iranians,” Araghchi said on social media. “US economic terrorism threatens global...

A mission to ⁠rescue Nasa’s ageing Swift observatory in space was cancelled on Wednesday after the spacecraft that was launched to tug the satellite to a higher orbit suffered irredeemable technical issues in space, the rescue craft’s owner, Katalyst Space, said. Katalyst’s ‌Link craft was launched in early July to approach the observatory, also known as Swift, some 347km (216 miles) in space, grapple onto it and then tug it to a higher orbit of roughly 600km (373 miles), extending its life by...

Six years after stepping down as working royals, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are moving back to the UK, British press reported late on Wednesday. In a surprise move, the youngest son of King Charles, and his wife, “plan to leave the United States by the end of the month to settle in a private, non-royal residence, which is said to be located outside London”, The Telegraph said. Several UK news outlets including the BBC reported the couple’s two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess...

South Korea’s security strategy has rested for more than seven decades on a single pillar: its alliance with the United States. That pillar has absorbed one blow after another during Donald Trump’s second term as US president. This week brought a fresh signal that has strained the relationship. In a social media post, Trump criticised joint US-South Korea military exercises, calling them “costly” and saying they send an “inappropriate and hostile” message to a North Korea he described as...

Total US public debt surpassed US$40 trillion for the first time, and has now surged by a third in less than five years, as US lawmakers continue to shrug off calls to contend with historically wide financial deficits. Public debt outstanding stood at US$40.05 trillion as of the close of business on Tuesday, a US Treasury Department release on Wednesday showed. The crossing of the US$30 trillion mark only dates back to January 2022. And there is no end in sight. Republicans have long opposed...

New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveiled plans on Wednesday to offer those sleeping rough a way off the streets by Christmas and vowed to donate part of his wages to help curb homelessness. “No one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station,” Burnham said in a statement announcing the new plans. It comes a month after Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister, and builds on his promise on his first day in office to end rough sleeping. His government is now setting out the...

France saw more than 7,300 excess deaths during heatwaves so far this year, health authorities said on Wednesday, as the country also endured a record number of hot days since mid-June, according to an Agence France-Presse analysis. France has been hit by three summer heatwaves in quick succession: a 14-day spell in June, 16 days in July and another lasting 22 days that began in late July and has yet to be officially declared over as of Tuesday. Together they mean the country – parts of which...

US pharmaceutical firms Merck and Moderna announced on Wednesday encouraging results from a trial of their experimental vaccine against melanoma, potentially clearing the way for approval. The vaccine, called intismeran autogene, showed “statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements” for skin cancer patients when used with Merck’s Keytruda treatment, the companies said in a statement. Unlike conventional vaccines, so-called therapeutic vaccines like intismeran treat rather...

Ecuador’s intelligence chief and five US citizens died when a helicopter carrying tourists crashed in central Kenya on Wednesday, killing all seven people on board, officials said. The accident happened at 9.13am local time, in Samburu county, north of the capital, Nairobi, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), after the aircraft departed from the Loisaba wildlife reserve. Images shared by the Kenya Red Cross on social media in the afternoon showed a crash site in...

Israel’s military acknowledged on Wednesday that its troops had opened fire on a car carrying five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and her family members in Gaza in 2024 and said it had opened a criminal investigation, though rights groups say such probes rarely lead to convictions. Hind Rajab’s killing was one of the most high-profile incidents involving civilian deaths during Israel’s military assault ‌in Gaza, launched following the 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. She died...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired one of his most senior officials on Wednesday as corruption investigators named a deputy head of the presidential office among the suspects in a money-laundering case. The stunning developments came a day after Ukraine’s recently fired defence minister demanded national elections, despite Russia’s more than four-year-old invasion. Zelensky has maintained that such a ballot is not allowed under wartime laws. Although Zelensky was not implicated in the...

Iran’s armed forces warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military on Wednesday, hours after the United Arab Emirates announced it was severing economic ties with Tehran following new attacks on shipping. The Gulf is dotted with US military installations, including in the UAE, which said on Tuesday that Iran had fired two ballistic missiles at vessels off its coast. Despite a recent lull in hostilities between the United States and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz – which Tehran has blockaded...

Instead of celebrating her son’s birthday this month, Zimbabwean mother Rodwin Chitewere spent the day praying for his body to be brought home from Russia, where he was reportedly killed fighting Moscow’s war against Ukraine. In Botswana and South Africa, too, women are desperate for sons and husbands to return from a conflict many say they were duped into joining, as authorities warn recruiters are still active. Chitewere’s son, who would have turned 23, left with a cousin in April from a...

Japan is weighing how far to push back after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a disputed island last week, as analysts debate whether tougher measures would have much impact on Moscow. Some observers urged Japan to recall its ambassador, impose additional sanctions and deepen cooperation with Ukraine to show it would not be “bullied”, while others said Tokyo had little economic leverage left given already weak bilateral ties and its reliance on Russian natural gas. Putin made his...

The world knows that US President Donald Trump is angry with Iran. But he is not happy with the small country lying across the Strait of Hormuz from the Islamic Republic, either: Oman. Oman has played a relatively low profile role since the Iran war began, including as a mediator. But its geography has thrust the sultanate into the uncomfortable position of negotiating with Tehran over management of the strait while facing Trump’s threats. Trump this week told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst that...

Japan’s most greying municipality has turned to its Peruvian sister city in search of a way to reverse its population decline and address the labour shortage that together threaten its survival. The mountain village of Nanmoku in Gunma prefecture, where 65.2 per cent of residents were aged 65 or older in the 2020 census, signed a sister-city agreement with Belen in northern Peru in November, hoping cultural exchanges under the framework will eventually bring young people to live and work in the...

Flight attendants and pilots are at the highest risk of dying from radiation-related cancers – even more than people who work with radioactive materials, according to a new study. Cosmic radiation comes from space. Only a small amount reaches the Earth’s surface, but exposure is greater for people flying at high altitudes. There has been limited evidence from small studies suggesting that the exposure translates to higher cancer death rates among people who fly often – particularly pilots and...

A close aide to Donald Trump is at the centre of an ugly clash between the White House and Senator Jon Ossoff, after the Democratic lawmaker drew the administration’s ire for highlighting the close nature of her relationship with the US president. Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old executive assistant to the president, is little known to the public but a constant presence at Trump’s side, both in the White House and during weekend trips to his golf properties. In her role, she is seen as a gatekeeper,...

The United Arab Emirates has said it is suspending all trade and financial dealings with Iran after reporting an Iranian missile attack directed at its ships. The announcement comes after a period of relative calm in the UAE, with no Iranian missiles aimed at the country since May after it bore the brunt of attacks in the early weeks of the Middle East war. Abu Dhabi has, however, accused Tehran of repeatedly targeting its tankers at sea in recent weeks. “In light of regional escalations … all...

A US Navy destroyer with about 300 sailors aboard suffered a major breakdown in the Pacific Ocean last month that left it without power for four days, the Navy confirmed in a statement. The USS Benfold “reported an engineering casualty involving its generators, causing a loss of power” on July 24, Navy spokesman Commander Matthew Comer said in the statement. The breakdown meant the crew went without drinking water, meals, functioning toilets and air conditioning for days aboard the ship, Comer...

Mexico is weighing plans to impose further trade restrictions on selected products from China and other countries while raising existing import taxes on others, according to four people familiar with the matter. The so-called anti-dumping measures would deepen Mexico’s alignment with Washington as President Claudia Sheinbaum pursues a multi-year extension of the North American trade pact known as the USMCA, while also supporting her push to grow domestic manufacturing at a time of lacklustre...

The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday on the International Criminal Court’s president and a senior trial lawyer at the court, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. The move is the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against The Hague-based court, which was established ‌in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The US is not a member of the court. Rubio said in a statement that he was imposing sanctions on...

Meta Platforms intentionally sought to ⁠addict children to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, a lawyer for California said on Tuesday at the start of a trial that could reshape some of the most popular apps on the planet. A bipartisan group of 29 US states is suing Meta, seeking potentially tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in penalties and changes to how Meta does business. Four lead states – California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey – accuse Meta of designing Facebook and...

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow ⁠on Tuesday with ⁠Myanmar’s junta chief-turned-president, Min Aung ⁠Hlaing, discussing a wide range of issues including prospective energy deals. Russia is the first non-neighbouring country Min Aung Hlaing has visited since becoming Myanmar’s president in April, a sign of the two countries’ ‌deepening ties in the face of pressure from the West. In remarks after the meeting, Putin described Min Aung Hlaing as a friend of Russia and said the...

US President Donald Trump paused the planned roll-out of punishing new tariffs on Canadian goods late on Tuesday, as both sides indicated they were close to a broader trade agreement after weeks of talks. Trump announced the three-day reprieve from 50 per cent duties on select goods mere hours before a midnight deadline. The delay was “based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalisation of documents, have a DEAL!” Trump said on social media. Canadian Prime Minister Mark...

US President Donald Trump said that Tuesday that no talks with Iran were under way or scheduled, as he posted a map showing the Strait of Hormuz as a new American territory in a fresh jibe at Tehran. Trump has been pressing his threat to claim sovereignty over the crucial energy waterway as the nearly six-month-old Iran war grinds on with little sign of resolution. Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner had said on Monday that the United States and Iran were having “very positive and active...

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is moving faster than any previous epidemic of the disease and risks spreading to more countries, the head of the World Health Organization has warned. “We must be frank: the epidemic is far from being under control,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an emergency meeting on the outbreak on Tuesday. “It had a big head start, and we are still playing catch-up.” His comment came after the DR Congo on Monday said the outbreak...

High-quality bonds are still safer than stocks, but they have been swinging in value, so move cautiously, our columnist says.

The duchess's representatives have had exploratory talks about her joining a third season of “The Gentlemen,” two people said. Netflix has not yet ordered a third season of the show.

Recent surveys suggest the broader public views both of them negatively, especially in comparison to Harry’s brother, William, and his wife, Kate.

Harry and six other high-profile figures lost a privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers. They may eventually have to pay more than twice the initial sum, a judge said.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, lead negotiator in talks with Washington, made the comments after President Trump vowed an “economic D-Day” against Iran.

Beijing can squeeze U.S. critical mineral supplies and has enough oil to withstand the loss of Iranian crude, Chinese analysts say.

Floods from powerful thunderstorms devastated Gary, a city where a third of residents live below the poverty line. Full power restoration isn’t expected until next week.

The bumpy rollout of the tax created an opportunity for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s opponents to fight him in court and in the City Council.

The ruling is a win for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who argued that the case be heard in Manhattan and not in Staten Island where the lawsuit challenging the decision had been filed.

For years, Jessica Ramos used campaign money to pay for hotels and Amtrak tickets while also receiving state payments for travel, records and interviews show.

Bryan Johnson, the longevity guru, wants to live forever. But the big question is why.

Palestinian and Israeli authorities offered divergent accounts of the incident, which came as settler violence has surged across the Israeli-occupied territory.

The Trump administration wants average Americans to be able to buy guns online and have them shipped to their doors. Small gun stores warn it could upend the industry and risk public safety.

Facing pressure in the United States and Europe, Shein is struggling to find new ways to grow ahead of its much-delayed initial public offering.

Ebola virus, hantavirus and the pathogen that causes Covid-19 likely jumped from animals to humans. So do these viruses — and scientists say climate change is speeding their spread.

The creator and star of “Half Man” didn’t have a particular agenda for this dark tale of male repression. But “people think that it’s a political piece of work,” he said.

We can do better than this. We have to.

China is winning the industries of the future. What should the U.S. do about it?

We look at how dire the situation has become inside Kyiv.

“It’s kind of weird to think he spent more nights with me this week than Melania,” O’Donnell said of President Trump on her last night guest-hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The prominent landowner has added a nearly 200-year-old estate to his holdings. Archival information says it can take “a brisk walk of 4½ minutes to reach the dining room from the kitchen.”