Minimalist News

China's Moonshot Eyes IPO After Sparking Another "DeepSeek Moment" For US AI Stocks Chinese startup Moonshot AI sparked another DeepSeek-like moment for US AI stocks and hyperscalers last week. David Sacks, the former White House AI and cryptocurrency czar, warned that this is "very concerning." Moonshot AI debuted Kimi K3, which ranks number three on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index , trailing only OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol and Anthropic's Fable 5. This only shows the continued trend of open-weight models toward the AI frontier. Kimi K3 has emerged as a top challenger across reasoning and coding workloads, highlighting the rapid pace

Taiwan's President Ratchets Anti-China Rhetoric In Party Speech: Must Resist 'Red Terror' Of Beijing President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday that Taiwan must renew efforts to protect its democracy and never become part of China. He urged members of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to oppose the "red terror" coming ‌from Beijing. The ruling DPP champions Taiwan's separate ​identity from China, and is working to combat what Lai called China's "legal warfare" . via Bloomberg "I also expect comrades within ‌the party to stand on the front lines, unite as one, and jointly oppose the ​threat posed by China's 'red

Judge Strikes Down Race-Based Provision In Biden-Era Internet Access Grant Program Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times , A federal judge ruled on July 15 that a race-based provision of the Digital Equity Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021 to close digital gaps, was unconstitutional. A judge's gavel rests on top of a desk in a courtroom in Miami, Fla., on Feb. 3, 2009. Joe Raedle/Getty Images The Digital Equity Act was part of Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which appropriated $2.75 billion to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish grant programs

NBA Boss Calls Caitlin Clark A "Political Football" Over Racism Controversy The WNBA has been the butt of jokes for decades. The women's league is a perpetual money pit, with annual losses of around $40 million per year, all subsidized by the men's league. The level of play is often tedious, the pace is much slower and the athleticism is lacking compared to the men's game. It's the reason why the WNBA has far less viewers, makes no profit and why the women athletes are paid far less. It's not sexism ad many of the players claim, it's just basic

Trump Endorses Graham's Sister For Full Term, Shattering Expectations Of Short Stay Following the sudden July 11 death of Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster triggered eye-rolling across America when he appointed Graham's sister Darline Nordone to take over the seat. At the time, the appointment of the unqualified sibling was widely understood as a mere interim honor, with Nordone serving as a placeholder pending the outcome of a special primary election to choose a Republican candidate for November's previously-scheduled election for the seat. Now, President Trump has asked Nordone to run in that primary race and pursue

Judge Dismisses DOJ's New Mexico Voter Data Request Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times , A federal judge on July 14 rejected the Justice Department's attempt to obtain the private personal data of every registered voter in New Mexico , adding to the overall number of cases the DOJ has lost in which it has sought similar information. The U.S. Department of Justice in Washington on Aug. 7, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera dismissed the latest voter roll lawsuit, ruling that the department's demand letter lacked facts, proof of a pattern of

Mamdani's New York: West Side Homeless Camp Stretching 12 Blocks Now Allegedly Stealing City Power You've likely seen it if you've the nearby Hell's Kitchen entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel... What began as a growing homeless encampment on Manhattan's West Side has now escalated to alleged utility theft, according to the NY Post . According to reports, one resident of the sprawling encampment was seen Tuesday tapping into city electrical lines to power a makeshift shelter near West 34th Street between 11th and 12th Avenue. The camp now stretches roughly a dozen blocks, from 34th Street to 46th Street near

Overloaded: From Trinkets To Compute And Market Structure By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities Last weekend we published that the market was sitting on Multiple Inflection Points . We were concerned that many of the inflection points would resolve themselves negatively for the market: Iran , which we didn’t even give the full “inflection” point treatment to, has deteriorated . While Brent finished the week at almost $90, up from just above $70, it seemed to be a “ side story ” at this stage. However, with the news of the U.S. service members killed on Friday in Jordan, the

Tropical Threat Emerges In Gulf Of America With US Refineries In Potential Crosshairs The National Hurricane Center has raised the probability of tropical development for Invest 91L to 80% over the next two to seven days. The broad area of low pressure off Florida's west coast in the Gulf of America should be tracked into the new week, as early Sunday model guidance suggests it could eventually threaten offshore oil and gas rigs and coastal refineries. NHC's latest Invest 91L update: A area of low pressure located over the northeastern Gulf of America continues to become better defined and the

Taylor Farms Announces Recall Of Lettuce Shipped To 27 States Over Cyclospora Risk Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times, U.S. lettuce supplier Taylor Farms expanded on July 17 its voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico due to concerns over its link to a cyclospora outbreak affecting Americans across the country. Lettuce products that were possibly contaminated with the diarrhea-causing parasite were sent to 27 states, according to the company. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said July 18 the outbreak was linked to iceberg lettuce across five states and more than 1,000 people in the

Zelensky Boasts Of Hits On 3 Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tankers After Kiev Military Depot Leveled Russia overnight and into early Sunday morning unleashed what Ukrainian officials have described as its largest barrage of ballistic missiles focused on Kiev of the war . Among the key targets was a large complex owned and operated by UKRTAC, a Ukrainian producer of military gear and personal protective equipment. Its manufacturing facilities and warehouses in the capital were destroyed in the assault . Ukrainian presidency's office UKRTAC, confirmed on social media that facilities and production equipment were entirely wiped out due to a direct

The Day Democrats Return To Wall Street Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance If there’s one thing the market has become spectacularly good at, it’s extrapolating today’s political environment out to infinity…and “pricing in” things (like the end of the Iran War, Trump Tax cuts, future rate cuts, etc.) over and over again until one day of bad news turns into a year of “market optimism” about things getting better, prompting the S&P to rally to new all-time highs 17 days in a row despite the fact that nothing has changed on the ground. And today, the market is acting as

Social Media Influencers Andrew And Tristan Tate Arrested In Miami Via Headline USA , Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, whose social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities, were arrested Saturday in Miami as British authorities sought their extradition on rape and sex trafficking charges. The brothers were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service on a sealed warrant, placing the United States at the center of an international legal saga that has stretched from Romania to Britain. STATEMENT OF JOSEPH D. MCBRIDE, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREW AND

Meet The "New Soros" Whose "Street Cred" Could Rise If Spain Blocks Extradition The federal government is well underway with a multiagency and multinational effort to combat the alarming rise of far-left revolutionaries. This was most evident on Thursday, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed delegations from 65 countries. Meanwhile, Jim "Fergie" Chambers, the communist centimillionaire and heir to the Cox media fortune, is apparently " one step closer to extradition " on federal charges linked to "international money laundering... with the intent to provide material support and resources to foreign terrorist organizations." Chambers is a major funder of

Traders Stunned By Momentum Meltdown As Earnings Quality Problem Simmers Under The Surface Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, 📈 Technical Backdrop – Coiling Below The Record Here is where the quiet-index story gets interesting for traders. The S&P 500 closed the week at 7,457.69, and that put it right on top of its 50-day moving average near 7,464. Call it dead flat against the line. The index still sits about 6.8% above its rising 200-day average near 6,985, so the primary uptrend remains fully intact, and it is roughly 2% below the June 2 record high of 7,620. Momentum

US-Iran Tit-For-Tat Spirals Towards Broader Conflict The escalation pathway in the renewed tit-for-tat conflict between the US and Iran is becoming increasingly alarming and has been underway for eight days. US forces reportedly struck Qeshm Island and the southern Iranian cities of Shadegan, Sirik and Hajiabad, while Tehran retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting US bases and critical infrastructure across Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, according to Bloomberg , citing Iranian state media. The latest escalation could open the door for Israel to rejoin the fight. Itamar Ben Gvir, an Israeli security cabinet minister, told listeners on Israeli radio that

French Gambling Regulator Orders ISPs To Block Polymarket Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com, France’s Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), or the National Gambling Authority, has ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket. Prediction websites are considered illegal gambling, the ANJ said in a Friday press release . The regulator said that Polymarket’s operations are not authorized in France and that advertising unauthorized gambling sites constitutes a criminal offense with fines of up to 100,000 euros ($114,000). Prediction markets allow users to buy and sell contracts tied to the outcomes of future events, from elections and sporting events

Germany To Join French Nuclear Exercise, Deepening 'Counter-Russia' Deterrence In the latest development related to what some analysts have called the 'new Cold War' and nuclear saber-rattling between Russia and the West, Germany and France are planning a major nuclear exercise later this year. The atomic drills were announced Friday, after a joint top-level meeting of the French and German governments near Cologne. "Alongside this work on a shared doctrine, German conventional forces will this year take part in a nuclear exercise of the French military ," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled . picture alliance/dpa He detailed while at a

Nearly Half Of Poles Now Want To Stop Arming Ukraine Authored by Andrew Korybko, The reason is Poles’ radically shifting views towards Ukraine since the start of their spiraling dispute sparked by Zelensky’s state-level glorification of the Volhynia Genocide’s OUN-UPA culprits. Leading Polish conservative newspaper Rzeczpospolita published the results of a survey that it commissioned showing that 45.2% of Poles now want to stop arming Ukraine. The majority are from the opposition, which includes conservative and libertarian-nationalist (populist in American political parlance) groups who a separate survey recently showed could form a coalition government after fall 2027’s next Sejm elections,

Iran's Reliance On China's Beidou Satellite System Is A Game-Changer In War With US Authored by former CIA officer Larry Johnson During the 12-day war in June 2025, Iranian missiles and drones struggled against sophisticated Israeli and American electronic warfare. GPS jamming and spoofing repeatedly disrupted their guidance systems, limiting their effectiveness during the intense 12-day conflict. Fast-forward to early 2026, and the battlefield dynamics had shifted dramatically. Iran’s precision strikes began threading through advanced air defenses, hitting high-value targets across the Gulf with surprising accuracy . Intelligence analysts pointed to one key factor: Iran had ditched GPS for China’s

Emergency response has rescued 67 people, including 15 children, from one of the country’s worst maritime disasters A ferry carrying 116 passengers and crew sank ⁠off the coast of Guyana in South America ⁠late Saturday, with 67 ⁠people, ​including 15 children, rescued so far, according to Guyana ⁠authorities. A massive search-and-rescue operation continues for dozens of missing passengers in what has been described by officials as one of the country’s worst maritime disasters. Continue reading...

More than 30 injured and 300 displaced after buildings collapse near Sicaya A 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook the Andes region of Peru, killing at least six people, authorities said Sunday. More than 30 people were injured and 300 have been displaced. The US Geological Survey reported the quake struck on Saturday at 9.24pm, with its epicentre located 2km (1.2 miles) west-south-west of the city of Sicaya in Huancayo province. It was 10km (6.2 miles) deep. Continue reading...

Poor air quality from wildfires continues to plague New York City as several neighborhoods hit by thunderstorms Saturday is delivering a double dose of dangerous weather across the north-eastern US, with smoky skies from Canadian wildfires giving way to severe thunderstorms that have already triggered a flash flood warning as torrential rain pounds parts of the region. After a brief break on Friday, smoke from the wildfires moved back into New York City and surrounding communities on Saturday, sending air quality back into unhealthy levels . Continue reading...

Rain could alleviate conditions in mid-Atlantic and north-east, with World Cup final expected to go ahead on Sunday Warnings of dangerous conditions are expected to remain in place on Saturday across swathes of the US, amid uncertainty about where the heavy wildfire smoke swirling from the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of Minnesota will head next. Some parts of the US mid-Atlantic and north-east regions will continue to endure poor air quality until Saturday afternoon, where there is a high chance of thunderstorms , which could bring some reprieve from the poor air but come with other

As Cuba swelters under six-month oil blockade imposed by US, tempers are fraying and unrest is growing When Cuba’s national grid collapses, as it did for the third time in 10 days on Tuesday, a collective groan spreads across its cities and people wonder, again, whether the island’s antiquated electricity system may soon become unrecoverable. The 777-mile long Caribbean island of 9.5 million people has been sweltering under a six-month-long oil blockade imposed by the US, part of a pressure campaign to bring down its communist government. But the parlous state of Cuba’s infrastructure goes far further back. Continue reading...

Distillery owner could face only three months in jail over alleged poisoning of Australian teenagers Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Australian government has increased its travel alert level for Laos, advising travellers to “exercise a high degree of caution” due to the risk of methanol poisoning. It comes as a distillery owner in Laos was charged after a mass methanol poisoning incident killed six foreign nationals, including the Australian backpackers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles. Continue reading...

Escaped flowerhorn cichlids are causing concern for native species and about parasites capable of infecting humans Escaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, but scientists say they may be threatening the native biodiversity of the lake. Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon. Continue reading...

Arrest in Pennsylvania of Wu Shaoping, who is awaiting asylum decision, raises fears of deportation and persecution A Chinese human rights lawyer has been arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), raising concerns he could be deported to China where he would face persecution. Wu Shaoping fled China at the end of 2019 amid a crackdown on human rights lawyers. He travelled to the US on a tourist visa and made an asylum claim in 2020, for which he is still awaiting a decision. Continue reading...

Storms are typical during intense heat but this week’s have been extreme. Plus, deadly monsoon rains in Bangladesh Hailstones the size of golf balls have been seen in French villages as, on top of the exceptional European heatwave, thunderstorms have struck across parts of Europe. While thunderstorms are typical during and after a period of extreme heat, the storms across countries such as France, Germany and Poland have been particularly severe, bringing flooding, strong winds and heavy showers with large balls of hail. Continue reading...

Move dealt ‘severe blow to Chinese companies’ confidence in investing in the UK’, says Ministry of Commerce China’s government has said it is “strongly dissatisfied” with the decision to nationalise British Steel this week, 15 months after the UK government intervened to prevent the closure of its steelworks in Scunthorpe and the loss of 4,000 jobs. On Thursday, British Steel was brought under public ownership to protect “the future of steel production”, the government announced. Continue reading...

Roayl commission on antisemitism and social cohesion starts fifth block of hearings in Melbourne this week. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy. As the Albanese government grapples with the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and a boom in datacentre construction, senior ministers have begun work to draw up new rules to ensure safety is

ABS data shows one in 10 people are not satisfied with life – but community cohesion and trust lift happiness scores Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Nearly 2.2 million Australians 15 years and older are living below the wellbeing poverty line, with the share of people reporting very low life satisfaction doubling over the past decade. In 2025, 9.7%, or about one in 10 Australians, rated their general satisfaction with life at four or below out of 10, according to Guardian Australia’s analysis of

Exclusive: ACCC updates some recall notices to say products ‘may cause risk to health’, contrary to previous claims Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Schools, retailers and government agencies assured parents that asbestos-contaminated play sand posed a low risk to their children’s health based on a supplier’s own assessment which was not independently verified, the Guardian can reveal. The now-contested public messaging spread quickly after a range of Educational Colours children’s sand products were pulled from shelves in November 2025 after samples were found to

New national plan is accompanied by Labor push for digital duty of care legislation Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy. As the Albanese government grapples with the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and a boom in datacentre construction, senior ministers have begun work to draw up new rules to

New laws would give Vcat power to force social and AI platforms to identify anonymous users in move premier says will protect children Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Social media companies could be forced to identify anonymous accounts accused of online vilification, under new laws being proposed in Victoria. The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced a suite of social media reforms on Sunday, saying families needed new ways to protect their children online. Continue reading...

From Nevada to Manchester, developers are trialling innovative solutions to clean energy’s biggest challenge In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project , stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night. The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world. Continue reading...

Fans evacuated from sold-out open-air show as organisers promise full refunds An open-air show by the Puerto Rican music star Bad Bunny was abandoned in Italy on Saturday night because of a violent hailstorm, but the organiser said ticketholders would be reimbursed. Videos posted on social media showed large hailstones hitting people at the sold-out show, along with strong winds and driving rain, after the star began his set at Milan’s Snai La Maura Hippodrome. Continue reading...

Attack on Ukraine’s capital and other cities leaves at least six people dead and dozens injured Russia has carried out one of its biggest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, launching a five-hour assault that left at least six people dead and dozens injured, and caused fires and damage across the capital. Ukrainian officials said the capital had been hit with about 40 Iskander-M and hypersonic Zircon missiles. Residents heard an air raid siren at 1.30am. There was the sound of air defences, followed minutes later by a series of booms and explosions. Continue reading...

Tamás Sulyok signed the constitutional amendment that cited ‘serious loss of confidence’ in him as leader Hungary’s president, Tamás Sulyok, has agreed to step down after signing a constitutional amendment passed by the ruling Tisza party of the prime minister, Péter Magyar. The amendment will end Sulyok’s term immediately, citing society’s “serious loss of confidence” in a leader elected in early 2024 by lawmakers from the former prime minister Viktor Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party. Continue reading...

As the climate crisis fuels more intense blazes, pushing them to new parts of the world, those tackling them are forced to ration resources and decide which to fight César Alcaraz had only just become a firefighter in the late 1990s when he found himself ambushed by a fast-moving blaze. Barely able to breathe and with no more water left in his truck, he and his colleagues fled an inferno ravaging Spain’s Montgó mountain region, wishing their bosses had sent more support. But nearly three decades on, as an officer with Alicante’s provincial firefighters, Alcaraz has more sympathy for the

Revolutionary Guard says it targeted US aircraft in Jordan and stopped two tankers in strait while American military says it is ‘holding Iran accountable’ The US military’s Central Command says it has “successfully completed” its ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran . It said in a post on X: CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander

After the US military confirmed that a service member had been killed in Iraq – the third in recent days – Donald Trump said the new attacks were ‘in honour’ of the dead Middle East crisis live: follow latest updates The US launched a ninth night of strikes targeting Iran early Monday, after announcing the death of another American service member, as the price of Brent crude oil climbed above $90 a barrel, the highest level since June. The US military said the service member was killed on Saturday in northern Iraq, where the US has military bases, during a

This live blog is now closed. US says another troop killed as Israel warns Tehran’s attacks coming close Two US troops killed and one missing in Jordan after Iranian attacks Jordanian authorities ⁠have not issued any decision ⁠to ​evacuate the airport or ⁠seaport in the city of Aqaba, and have not detected ⁠any potential threats ​in ‌the past ‌hours, the state ‌news agency cited the government spokesperson as saying. This denial comes in response to the US embassy in Jordan earlier saying the airport and seaport in Aqaba had been evacuated by Jordanian authorities because of a “specific and credible

US military says service member was killed in Iraq during ‘controlled detonation’ as it launches more airstrikes at Iran The US military announced another death of a service member as it launched more airstrikes at Iran on Sunday in response to the killing of American troops , and Iran fired missiles toward Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighboring Israel. The US military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. Continue reading...

NYC mayor says in Times interview that’s he’s in ‘active conversation’ with city’s law department about the matter New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he was reviewing whether his administration could arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if as expected the Israeli prime minister visits the city for the UN general assembly in September. Mamdani’s comments on Saturday’s episode of the New York Times’s the Interview podcast echoed ones he had made to the publication as he successfully ran for mayor last fall. Continue reading...

Vessels believed to have departed from Myanmar in late June, with mostly Muslim Rohingya minority onboard The United Nations has said more than 500 people are feared dead after reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports “that two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days”. Continue reading...

Innocent man lynched by mob in West Bengal as police killing of suspect further escalates tensions Protests have engulfed the Indian state of West Bengal after the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, the subsequent lynching of an innocent man and the police killing of one of the accused. Outrage erupted on Sunday after the body of a missing girl was recovered from a pond in a town just outside the state capital, Kolkata. Continue reading...

Eleven reported dead as flooding also brings danger of snakes, while buildings collapse in Mumbai amid heavy rain As the first typhoon to make landfall in China for the 2026 season, Maysak has caused devastating damage in southern and central regions. The Guangxi region received intense downpours of up to 280mm in 12 hours, causing rivers to swell and dam walls to break. By Monday morning, flooding across the city of Nanning and surrounding areas had resulted in many people being stranded on rooftops. Flood waters pose additional threats in China because of the presence of wild and farmed snakes.

Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in prison in India, is accused of orchestrating assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 US and Canadian authorities say they have “dismantled” the leadership of a notorious Indian criminal group, charging dozens of operatives who have “inflicted pain and cruelty on people, victims around the globe”, including a high-profile murder in Canada that strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India. At a press conference on Tuesday, members of the FBI and Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said as part of Operation Hard Ball – a multiyear federal investigation into murder-for-hire plots, shootings, extortion and

Early flight data shows K2 Airways plane crashed into sea with five crew on board south-west of Karachi Pakistan has located the wreckage of a Boeing cargo plane, the country’s airports authority said, adding that rescuers were searching for the five crew members on board when the aircraft went missing. The plane was approaching Karachi from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates when radar showed it “rapidly descending” on Tuesday evening after reporting a “navigational system issue”, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA). Continue reading...

In its final report the High Pay Centre says the median remuneration of a FTSE 100 CEO has risen to a record £5.06m The bosses of Britain’s largest listed companies received record pay last year, fuelling the widest earnings gap with workers in eight years. Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives hit £5.06m in the last financial year, according to data released by the High Pay Centre, an 8.6% increase on £4.66m the previous year and the highest level on record. Continue reading...

Labour leader will visit king to accept role on Monday and will start making cabinet appointments that afternoon Andy Burnham will say Britain must be honest about the challenges it faces when he becomes its sixth prime minister in a decade on Monday, as he prepares to introduce measures to ease the cost of living and allow more North Sea fossil fuel drilling. The Labour leader is expected to start making appointments in the afternoon after going to Buckingham Palace to accept the role of prime minister from the king. Continue reading...

Tensions between his aims are already there, including disputes over key appointments such as chancellor Andy Burnham’s vision for cleaning up Westminster politics is a utopian one: ending the dominance of the whipping system, Whitehall power hoarding and the “insidious briefing culture” of the bubble. In his first speech on becoming Labour leader, he warned his party it “won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions”. Continue reading...

Consortium preparing for potential legal battle amid reports new PM could put the company into temporary public ownership The group of investors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have said they are willing to discuss greater public control but are also preparing for a potential multi-billion pound legal battle amid reports that Andy Burnham could temporarily nationalise the company. London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of 100 institutional investors that hold £17bn of the company’s £21bn debt, has said it is open to government involvement with Thames Water, but indicated that this does not include public ownership in

As with the John Cleese original, comedian is supported by famous faces from Claudia Winkleman to David Jason John Cleese’s 1985 advert for the BBC in which he asks a pub full of stars “ What has the BBC ever given us? ” is one of the most famous examples of the corporation making the case to the public for the value of paying the licence fee. In the advert , Cleese is complaining to the bartender that he has just bought his TV licence. “Fifty-eight quid for the privilege of sitting in your own home, watching your own television

US president watches Spain v Argentina match Match report: Spain beat Argentina in extra-time Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino were booed as they took to the field for the presentation ceremony before the US president attempted to gatecrash Spain’s victory party. Trump arrived at the stadium on Marine One, with the president’s helicopter first flying over the stadium about 45 minutes before kick-off. He sat in a glassed-in section of luxury seats for the match, along with Infantino. Other dignitaries and former players sat nearby, including Spain’s king, Felipe VI, Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, and Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum.

Vice-president and second lady announced birth of Alec Neel Vance, their fourth child, in social media statement Vice-President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, on Sunday announced the birth of their fourth child, the first born to a sitting vice-president in more than 150 years. Born on Sunday, Alec Neel Vance joins older siblings Ewan, nine; Vivek, six; and Mirabel, four. Continue reading...

Victims were Provo’s fire captain, his wife and their three sons, who were hiking in Bicknell amid heavy rains Five family members who had set out for a day of hiking were killed after a flash flood swept through canyons of southern Utah on Friday, law enforcement officials said. The victims were a captain in the Provo fire department, his wife and their sons, according to fire officials. A daughter who was not on the trip survived. Continue reading...

Energy secretary grapples with mounting criticism over length of US war as Democrat calls conflict ‘war of choice’ A Trump administration official on Sunday grappled with mounting criticism over the length of the US war with Iran after months of promised diplomatic breakthroughs, short-lived ceasefires, and the deaths of three more American troops bringing the total number of American military members killed in the conflict to 17. Appearing on ABC’s This Week, the US energy secretary, Chris Wright, defended the Trump administration’s strategy after being confronted with his earlier claims that the war which began in February would have ended

Tom Homan’s comments come amid scrutiny over federal immigration agents’ fatal shooting of two men in six days US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) will require its officers to record vehicle stops with at least one body camera, said Tom Homan, the Trump administration “border czar”, on Sunday. The action comes as the agency is under renewed scrutiny after ICE officers fatally shot two men earlier this month. “They exonerate more law enforcement than they convict, and I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the ⁠officers saw when they

Thousands of Israelis, including settlers and right-wing activists, marched towards the border with Gaza on Sunday, calling on the government to re-establish Israeli settlements in the war-shattered Palestinian territory, an Agence France-Presse journalist reported. The demonstrators gathered near the border before walking in large numbers towards the fence overlooking northern Gaza, where Israeli security forces deployed to prevent participants from advancing further. Agence France-Presse...

Football fans launched a unique protest against US President Donald Trump and Fifa chief Gianni Infantino at Sunday’s World Cup final. Red cards were handed out in New York and New Jersey to those on their way to the MetLife Stadium for the Spain versus Argentina clash. Protest organisers hope fans will hold up the red cards during the handing over of the trophy to demonstrate their anger at Trump and Infantino. The duo are set to give the winning captain the World Cup. The red cards featured a...

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday denounced New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani after he said he is considering whether to arrest the Israeli leader during a coming United Nations summit. “Mr Mamdani should focus on fixing the damage his policies have caused New York,” Netanyahu’s office said, in a post on its official X account. “Like Karim Khan, Mamdani appears interested in diverting public attention from his follies and attacking the leader of the Jewish state and...

The Chinese company that formerly owned British Steel demanded on Sunday compensation from the UK government for investment losses following the nationalisation of the manufacturer last week. The British government took operational control of the company last year after Jingye Group said it was considering closing the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant in northern England, the last in the United Kingdom to make “virgin steel” from raw materials. Jingye Group said in a WeChat statement that...

At least six people were killed and 21 injured after two earthquakes struck a mountainous region of Peru, the country’s civil defence chief said ‌on Sunday. The earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 5.1 and 3.7, hit on Saturday night in Chupaca province in the Junin region, about 300km (186 miles) east of Lima, according to Peru’s National Seismological Centre post on social media. The ⁠first earthquake struck at a depth of 24km (15 ‌miles) and the second at 18km, the centre said. The...

US President Donald Trump has said people in the Scottish city of Aberdeen will be “dancing in the streets” following reports Andy Burnham could back new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. The incoming UK prime minister, dubbed the “King of the North” for his work as ‌the mayor of Greater Manchester in northwestern England, has not confirmed reports that he is considering approving new fossil fuel production, particularly in the North Sea’s Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. But in a post on his...

Russia battered Ukraine’s capital Kyiv overnight with one of its biggest ballistic missile barrages of the war, killing at least one person and wounding 16 others, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. A series ‌of powerful explosions thundered across the darkened city in an attack that involved 41 missiles of various types and ravaged buildings across several districts. Residential buildings, warehouses, a supermarket and a dormitory were among the structures damaged, said Kyiv Mayor...

China and Russia are not formal allies, but their ties have grown significantly closer in recent years. The two countries have been “comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era” since 2019, often sharing the goal of countering Western dominance in the international arena. But which nation holds the upper hand in this relationship? Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on an article in The Wall Street Journal on relations between Moscow and Beijing, said on July 14 that...

The leaders of Germany and France announced on Friday that the German military would participate in a nuclear exercise under a French initiative to deepen European nuclear cooperation. The move by both countries to deepen nuclear cooperation underscores growing European defence self-reliance amid concerns about the future of US security commitments to the continent. “We will have German conventional forces participate in a nuclear exercise conducted by the French armed forces before the end of...

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will make ⁠his first trip to the White House this week to present a plan to US President Donald Trump on how to disarm Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and secure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon. Aoun, who served as the commander of Lebanon’s US-backed army before being elected president last year, is the first Lebanese head of state in nearly 20 years to visit the White House, where he will meet Trump face-to-face for the first time. Tuesday’s meeting comes...

Hong Kong has embarked on the path of drawing up its first five-year plan – a significant moment in its history. Hong Kong’s first five-year plan should be more than a local economic blueprint. Properly conceived, it should define how the city contributes to China’s national development while preserving the global connections that make Hong Kong uniquely valuable. Success will depend on three mutually reinforcing pillars – deeper integration with the mainland, seamless connectivity across the...

Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, whose social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarising internet personalities, were arrested on Saturday in Miami as British authorities sought their extradition on rape and sex trafficking charges. The brothers were taken into custody by the US Marshals Service on a sealed warrant, agency spokesman Brady McCarron said, placing the United States at the centre of an international legal...

Prominent Cuban dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara flew to exile on Saturday in the United States after serving a five-year sentence on the island, as Washington urged Havana to release more than 700 political prisoners. Otero Alcantara, designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 for insulting national symbols, contempt and disturbing the public order. He landed in Miami, the capital of the Cuban diaspora, after a short...

The recent resignation of Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister has reignited a debate over the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit identity – and talk of rejoining the European Union. Over the past decade, has Britain’s decision to exit the EU returned the UK to its splendid isolation – or merely a splendid squalor? It may seem a far-fetched idea but what if the UK were to become a special sovereignty within the EU? And in that case, what can post-Brexit Britain learn from Hong Kong, which has been...

Former Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Officer Leon Black told Congress he paid US$21 million to a woman he accused of blackmailing and extorting him. The billionaire investor said during a June 26 interview with the US House Oversight Committee that he paid the money to the woman, with whom he had had an affair, after she demanded US$100 million because he “ruined her life”. Black’s appearance at the voluntary interview was part of the congressional investigation into the late...

In Iran war news with major US political implications, two US soldiers were killed and several wounded by an Iranian drone, the Pentagon announced on Saturday. The tragedy, the first US combat deaths in months, came as US President Donald Trump has tried to downplay or distract attention from the hugely unpopular war that he started in late February, as his polling numbers tank four months in advance of a hugely consequential midterm election. “Two US service members in Jordan were killed in...

Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman has reclassified crocodiles from wild animals to “captive-bred wildlife”, a move that clears the way for the reptiles to be used for security purposes, including to deter prison escapes. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir – who reportedly proposed in December surrounding a prison for Palestinian detainees with crocodiles, a la Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility – welcomed the decision. “Are you...

The Canadian military was preparing on Saturday to evacuate a remote community of 600 people threatened by forest wildfires that have spread, choking smoke across a broad swathe of the United States. Federal Emergencies Minister Eleanor Olszewski said late on Friday that the armed forces would use aircraft to evacuate the inhabitants of Fort Hope in sparsely populated northwestern Ontario, where some of the most intense fires are burning. The region has few roads and relies heavily on air...

Germany plans to scale back renewable-energy subsidies in a sweeping overhaul of its funding system, as surging solar output puts growing strain on the country’s power grid. From 2027, new renewable generators should receive support “in a way that benefits both the market and the system,” according to a draft law published by the Economy Ministry late on Friday. That means rewarding projects that respond more closely to electricity demand and do not worsen grid congestion. Fixed feed-in tariffs...

As Norwegian World Cup footballer Erling Haaland’s herbal drink advertising blitz captivates millions, his home country has emerged as a popular destination for Chinese travellers. An increasing number of Chinese citizens have visited Norway over the past two years, with interest surging during this summer’s international football competition. The draw was largely Norway’s scenic allure, but in recent weeks Haaland’s social-media stagecraft had amplified the appeal, tourism professionals...

The resumption of US strikes against Iran has thrust incoming UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham into a potential day one decision on how much to support Britain’s closest ally in its controversial military campaign. Even as Burnham was installed as leader of the governing Labour Party on Friday, outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government was engaged in high-level talks about renewed US attacks on Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. The prime minister-in-waiting was kept...

Geography has handed the United Arab Emirates quite the quandary: its government wants to cut dependence on the Strait of Hormuz to “zero”, yet the ports that power its economy sit squarely inside the waterway it hopes to avoid. Jebel Ali and Khalifa ports collectively handle most of the UAE’s US$1 trillion in annual non-oil trade, much of which flows to and from Asia. Together, they form the single most vital link in a logistics corridor stretching from Singapore to Europe – a status not easily...

The historian A.J.P. Taylor wrote one of the most powerful openings of any book. “In the state of nature which Hobbes imagined, violence was the only law, and life was ‘nasty brutish and short’,” he wrote in The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, 1848-1918. “Though individuals never lived in this state of nature, the Great Powers of Europe have always done so. Sovereign states have distinguished European civilisation, at any rate since the end of the fifteenth century. Each individual state in...

Donald Trump’s social media company has discussed charging Wall Street traders and investment firms as much as US$100,000 a month for faster access to the US president’s posts on his Truth Social platform, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, has in recent weeks also pitched a discounted plan of US$60,000 per month if the firms sign up for a three-year plan, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the ‌discussions are...

European policymakers have watched Chinese carmakers roll in like a slow but unstoppable tide over the past few years: affordable, polished and threatening one of the continent’s proudest industrial legacies. Many have warned about the dismantling of their automotive prides following the new China shock. A crown jewel of Europe’s industrial output, the automotive sector represents directly and indirectly a total of more than 13 million jobs in the EU. It was no accident that electric vehicles...

A ⁠few hundred people in Venice protested ⁠on Friday against US Ambassador to ⁠Italy Tilman Fertitta as he arrived in the lagoon city aboard his superyacht, drawing criticism of President Donald Trump’s policies. Activists also objected to the heightened security measures put in place by local authorities as Venice prepares for one of its most important festivals. Fertitta, a billionaire businessman appointed by ‌Trump, is touring the Italian peninsula aboard his 117-metre (384-foot) yacht,...

US President Donald Trump on Friday blamed Canada for wildfire smoke spreading across the United States and said he would add the “incalculable cost” ‌of dealing with the pollution to existing tariffs on Canadian goods. Heavy smoke from hundreds of Canadian fires enveloped a swathe of the US from the Midwest to the Northeast on Thursday and Friday, prompting warnings to residents to stay indoors. Detroit on Friday remained the most polluted city in the world, according to tracker IQAir....

Iran launched more attacks on Washington’s Gulf allies and Jordan on Saturday after a seventh straight night of US strikes on Iranian military targets, including logistics hubs, escalating the war one week after a ceasefire collapsed. Kuwait came under sustained attack, with a desalination plant hit and operations at Kuwait International Airport suspended due to repeated missile and drone threats. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a US military support centre at Camp...

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas on Friday, shaking buildings as far away as Guatemala and El Salvador, though authorities said there were ‌no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said emergency protocols were activated but that neither Chiapas nor the neighbouring state of Tabasco reported issues, and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said there were no deaths. In some parts of...

Britain’s charities regulator is looking into concerns about an Amnesty International report that branded a women’s centre for sexual violence victims founded by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling as “anti-rights”. The bestselling writer, who has been at the forefront of the debate about gender identity and has previously denounced trans activism, leading to accusations of transphobia, on Friday said she was angry at the label. “I’m often tickled by press articles asserting that I’m furious about...

Andy Burnham vowed Friday to “give hope” back to the British people as he was confirmed as the ruling Labour Party’s new leader, set to be the next UK prime minister. “People and places … have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again … We’re going to give them hope back,” he vowed at a special party conference. “I am for us, for all of us,” he told cheering delegates. Burnham takes over from Keir Starmer, who resigned last month after months of political turmoil, scandal and...

Sitting by the Tanjung Aru beach in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, watching one of the most stunning sunsets in the world, I reflected on what it would take to prioritise the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. I had just finished an intense three days with 170 local and global organisations, such as the conservation organisation WWF, businesses, investors and policymakers on how the world should expand the scale of impact investing in the Sustainable Development Goals in Sabah and...

A Russian activist who spent years targeting opponents of the Kremlin before unexpectedly denouncing President Vladimir Putin and his Ukraine offensive was arrested on Friday, state media reported. Ilya Remeslo, 42, faces charges of “spreading fakes on the Russian army”, under censorship laws Moscow introduced when it sent troops to Ukraine, according to the TASS news agency. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Sergei Badamshin, named by independent media as his...

⁠Armed assailants are believed to have boarded the chemical tanker Asana off the southern coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden on Friday and are in control of the vessel, according to maritime ‌security sources. Based on initial assessments, the incident appeared to be related to ‌Somali piracy rather than Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia, one of the maritime security sources said. The small tanker, which had no confirmed flag, had listed the Somali port of Bosaso as its next destination, ship...

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the dual nature of artificial intelligence’s opportunities and challenges, calling for a principle of “openness” and regulations to keep the technology “secure and controllable” in a speech at the country’s flagship annual AI conference. Xi’s first speech to the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai showed AI is a national strategic priority as China seeks to build greater technological self-reliance amid its tech rivalry with the United States. Earlier...

China’s companies have mastered social media marketing playbooks. Now, they must learn to win the trust of artificial intelligence (AI) agents that will increasingly shape what consumers discover, consider and ultimately buy. These personal concierges are starting to determine the best choices for each user by balancing price, quality, reliability, sustainability and individual preferences. Tell an AI agent you want to go “somewhere”, and it can autonomously choose the destination and book...

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. The young Chinese scientist behind ‘impossible’ breakthrough on sodium batteries Scientist Lu Yaxiang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics, has spent a decade working to make sodium-ion batteries...

Across the US this week, different disasters – from Canadian wildfire smoke darkening the skies in the Midwest and northeast to extreme heat along the east coast to catastrophic flooding in Texas – are disrupting daily life and putting people’s health at risk. When multiple weather catastrophes play out like this at the same time, or in quick succession, experts refer to them as compound events. As climate change makes compound events more likely, experts warned that grappling with them is...

President Donald ⁠Trump has ramped up US air strikes on Iran and threatened broader escalation, but there is ⁠little sign that a military strategy that has already failed to extract concessions from Tehran will succeed this time. With the collapse of an interim ceasefire deal reached a month ago, Trump finds himself in a bind as he seeks to break Iran’s grip on the vital Strait of Hormuz and force Tehran to accept his demands. While the two sides have so far avoided a return to full-scale...

US President Donald Trump delivered a prime-time “Speech to the Nation” on Thursday at 9pm Eastern Time, or 9am Hong Kong time on Friday. Such addresses are typically reserved for major national moments. During his second term, Trump has used them to highlight key priorities, including a year-end address in December, and a speech in April focused on the Iran conflict. While the White House did not release the full agenda ahead of the speech, its timing drew attention. It came soon after Trump...

The United States and Iran traded attacks on Friday, with Tehran targeting American assets across the Middle East in the biggest escalation since the two foes returned to outright war. A month after the two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that began in February, Iran accused US forces of hitting civilian and energy infrastructure on Friday – including an airport, a railway station and two bridges, with state media reporting at least eight dead and 20...

Mandatory evacuations across the Texas Hill Country are under way as life-threatening flash floods wreck bridges and roads with more heavy rain expected overnight. A wide swathe of Texas is forecast to receive as much as 20cm (eight inches) of additional precipitation through Friday morning to cap off a week of downpours that revived memories of the catastrophic deluge that killed more than 130 people a year ago. Evacuations have been complicated by almost 90 road and highway closures between...

US Secretary of State Marco ⁠Rubio told officials from more than 60 countries on Thursday that the United States would seek to refocus international counterterrorism efforts on what he called “far-left terror”, arguing that left-wing violence had long been overlooked. The conference in Washington has sparked Democratic concerns that the Trump administration is politicising counterterrorism efforts and diverting resources from other extremist threats. In a speech, Rubio said the Islamic militancy...

Italian police raided the offices of several luxury brands including Bulgari and Chanel over suspicions they used subcontractors employing Chinese workers, a prosecutor said Thursday. The other luxury brands included Brunello Cucinelli, Etro, Goyard Italie, Jacob Cohen Company, Moncler, and Stefano Ricci, Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari said, confirming information published by business daily Il Sole 24 Ore. None of the nine companies is under investigation, and prosecutors have not sought...

A teleprompter operator for Donald Trump has been suspended over allegations he placed bets with a prediction market on the content of the US president’s speeches, the White House said on Friday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the teleprompter operator was put on unpaid administrative leave on the orders of the president. Leavitt later added that he would no longer be working at the White House. Gabriel Perez is ⁠under investigation by federal regulators over potential...

It’s a term that can mean whatever the people using it want it to mean. But it’s not a compliment.

Democrats have a chance to flip a competitive battleground district in and around Scottsdale, but the winner of Tuesday’s primary will emerge bloodied and broke.

The debilitating malady has gripped Monroe County, Mich.

New York City health officials shared details of how they traced a much smaller cyclosporiasis outbreak, showing the difficulty of tracing contamination.

Christopher Nolan’s nearly three-hour epic was No. 1 over the weekend, with about $124.5 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada.

Few directors close the divide between the art film and the blockbuster like Christopher Nolan.

He and the cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema combined new inventions (like fire-mimicking lights they developed) with century-old techniques.

A battle over idealized economic systems doesn’t help Democratic candidates.

It’s a vibe shift.

In a post on social media, Mr. Vance said his wife and their son, Alec Neel Vance, were “happy and healthy.”