Minimalist News

Elon Vows AI-Made 'Odyssey' After Blasting Nolan's Take On Homer Via American Greatness, Elon Musk says he’ll beat Hollywood at its own game, pledging that his artificial intelligence venture will produce a full-length film of Homer’s “The Odyssey” by year’s end, one he insists will stay faithful to the ancient text in a way Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation has not. Musk, believed to be the first trillionaire in modern history, unveiled the project Tuesday evening on X, posting AI-generated footage from Grok Imagine depicting a scene from the epic poem. “Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length

Futures Slide After Google Earnings, Oil & Bond Yields Jump On Houthi Escalation US equity futures are lower as WTI breaches $90/bbl and Brent approaches $100/bbl (Houthi escalation in the Red Sea as two Saudi tankers were struck), pushing bond yields higher with longer-dated yields seen making new highs, globally. But, Alphabet's underwhelming results - while dragging down Mag7 names - are boosting Semis / AI (CapEx spend) which may mean the market is returning to its barbell of longs in AI / Semis plus Energy versus shorts in Rate-sensitives. * * * Overnight saw oil prices extend their recent

Nestle Shares Plunge Most Since Dot-Com Bust As Weak Volume Shatters High Hopes Of Turnaround Nestlé shares in Switzerland tumbled the most in 24 years after North American sales volumes unexpectedly contracted, undercutting investor confidence in CEO Philipp Navratil's turnaround efforts. Organic sales rose a better-than-expected 3.7% in the second quarter, but real internal growth in North America fell 0.6%, while an infant formula recall and the Gulf conflict weighed on operations. " Given the rally, we don't think the real internal growth print is quite good enough and expect some profit taking ," Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman said in

RBC Commodities Chief Warns "War Entering Dangerous Phase" As Chokepoint Chaos Risks Oil Above 2008 Peak Brent crude futures rose nearly 5% to the mid-$98-a-barrel range after tanker attacks near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait threatened another critical maritime chokepoint as the Strait of Hormuz remained partially disrupted. Tankers are again turning away from the southern Red Sea, reversing a recovery in traffic following the 2023 disruptions. On Wednesday night, we reported that Houthi militants targeted two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea, escalating the Gulf area conflict and threatening deeper energy supply disruptions - which spiked Brent above $95

To The Woke Woodshed: Burnham Is Funding UK Populism By Liquidating The Progressive Project Andy Burnham has been UK Prime Minister for three days, and he has already settled into a routine: announce something cheap for households in the morning, pay for it by killing a progressive unicorn. The tally so far: Monday, within hours of kissing rings at the Palace, Burnham signaled he would fast-track oil and gas development in the North Sea - which is just words for now, but 'un-Labour' enough that Donald Trump welcomed it in the same post that dismissed Britain as a "Poverty Stricken

Trump Suggests He May Restart Bombing Yemen Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, President Trump on Tuesday suggested he could restart a bombing campaign in Yemen in response to the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, enforcing a blockade on the Red Sea. Trump's comments came after Ansar Allah announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, which came a week after the Saudis bombed Yemen’s Sanaa airport to prevent the landing of a plane carrying a Yemeni delegation from Iran to enforce its long-standing blockade on the country that was eased under a 2022 ceasefire deal but never fully lifted.

Wildberries - Russia's Amazon - Has Seen Four Major Hubs Attacked In Quick Succession Wildberries, which is widely referenced as 'Russia's Amazon', has seen four of its top ten distribution hubs attacked by Ukrainian long-range drones in only a matter of days, potentially putting their business operations in doubt. Stunning footage is widely circulating Wednesday of some of the latest attacks, which came overnight. A large fire broke out in the outskirts of Krasnodar in southern Russia at a sprawling Wildberries warehouse. Image via Exilenova+ Regional media has cited several separate fires in the area, before which witnesses reported hearing

What Is The UK Government So Afraid Of? Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , The British government is in court to stop the public seeing the full picture of migrant crime rates. After the Information Commissioner ordered the Ministry of Justice to release nationality-linked conviction data from 2018 to 2024, officials have launched an appeal, claiming it risks identifying offenders and costs too much. Campaigners say the real fear is what the numbers will show about open-border policies that have left British streets, transport and communities less safe. 'Apparently in Britain we are not allowed to see it,

Gay Cruise Debacle Proves Liberals Are Deluded About Alliance With Muslims In a world where "Queers for Palestine" is a real thing and a Muslim communist with an LGBT cabinet is the mayor of the largest city in the US, the far-left vision of total intersectional multiculturalism seems to be in reach. The only people not welcome in this new world order would be straight, white Christian conservatives and anyone else who disagrees with wokeness. The problem is, intersectionality requires total submission to the idea that all behaviors are permissible and morality is relative. Progressives and Muslims might agree on

The Digital Euro's New Chapter Authored by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes via the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), For years, the digital euro was presented by the European Central Bank (ECB) merely as a modern and practical alternative to banknotes and coins. It has now been openly acknowledged that the project is intended to respond to the dominance of American payment companies. Visa and Mastercard process 61 percent of card payments in the euro area, according to the ECB’s own data, and it is this dependence that Brussels intends to break. On June 23, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and

Bulgaria Draws Iranian Warning Over Hosting US Military Tanker Aircraft Bulgaria has for many years during the so-called Global War on Terror been a major Eastern European hub for US and Western weapons shipments as well as military aircraft transfers related to the Middle West. But now Iran is paying close attention, putting the Bulgarian government on notice over a planned temporary deployment of up to eight American refueling aircraft . USAF file image The large military planes are set to be housed at Bezmer Air Base in the NATO country's southeast. It is one of the few joint bases

Swedish Police Veteran Warns Islamization Is Replacing Gang Violence As Country's Defining Threat Via Remix News, A veteran Swedish police officer says tougher criminal laws have sharply improved security in Uppsala, but warns that Islamization and parallel social structures now pose a deeper long-term threat. Maria Rosander, a police officer of 17 years and Sweden Democrat group leader in Uppsala, told Samnytt that conditions for officers had changed dramatically since shootings and explosions reached crisis levels. “From a police point of view, it’s like night and day,” she said. Rosander credited tougher sentences, expanded surveillance, better cooperation between police regions,

Washington Can't Afford To Let The US Lose The Open-Source AI War Authored by Julio Rivera via American Greatness , President Trump was right about China. Long before it became conventional wisdom in Washington, he recognized that America wasn't simply competing with another trading partner. China was executing a long-term strategy to dominate the industries that would define the 21st century. From manufacturing and telecommunications to semiconductors and artificial intelligence, Beijing understood that technological leadership translates directly into economic and geopolitical power. Artificial intelligence is the next front in that competition, and the United States cannot afford to get it

Lavrov To Challenge Germany's Bid For French Nuclear Shield In Rubio Talks Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to hold an important, rare meeting on Thursday to address shaky bilateral relations in the context of the Ukraine war, as well as recent nuclear rhetoric out of European NATO countries. The Kremlin is especially alarmed at the German government's intent to gain access to nuclear weapons , based on new defense agreements with France and its 'nuclear umbrella'. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled late last week: "Alongside this work on a shared doctrine,

The Great Menopause Grift Authored by Alan Cassels via The Brownstone Institute , Well, well, look here. In its June 2026 update the venerated OED or Oxford English Dictionary, finally added the 'new' word, fearmonging . It explains fearmongering as " the action or an act of spreading fear or alarm among the public, esp. by exaggerating the dangers associated with a political, social, or economic issue; alarmism." Thank goodness, the dictionary has caught up to our society's most pernicious habit; that is, using fear to sell anything. Especially when it comes to our health. Here we find the most

Taco Bell Getting Desperate With This Shockingly Cheap Offer Amid "Explosive Diarrhea" Parasite Blowback Taco Bell is betting a buck can buy back your love. The fast-food giant rolled out $1 lettuce-free enchiritos - "for the ones who've been riding with us," as the company put it - a peace offering to customers who bolted after a cyclospora outbreak was traced to lettuce served at its restaurants, the New York Post reports. The enchiritos normally run $4.29. Regular nacho fries, usually $2.89, also went to a dollar for orders placed through the company's app. The deal ran for one day.

House Passes Defense Policy Bill That Attaches SAVE America Act Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times, The House of Representatives on July 22 passed a $1.15 trillion defense policy bill that attaches a key election integrity bill championed by President Donald Trump. The tally for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was 216–212. Six Democrats crossed the aisle to back passage of the bill, while six Republicans - among them Reps. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas) - opposed the bill. Amendments introduced by Republicans were voted on late on July 21; some of them passed and

Deutsche Bank: Humanoid Robot Market Accelerates Globally As China Ramps Production The latest " Humanoid Robot Pulse " report from Deutsche Bank states that the global humanoid robot market is accelerating, with China, unsurprisingly, leading the race. "The humanoid robot market is accelerating globally. China is leading in production, with government officials estimating 100,000 units of humanoid robot production in 2026, significantly higher than our expectation of ~40,000 units ," analyst Iris Zheng wrote in the report. The Hong Kong-based Deutsche Bank analyst specializes in Asia-Pacific automation and industrials, providing clients with key updates across the industry: Activities in the

Supreme Court To Decide If Plane Can Be Seized Over 6-Pack Of Beer Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times, The U.S. Supreme Court on July 20 agreed to hear the appeal of an Alaska pilot whose small airplane was seized for attempting to haul beer into a so-called dry jurisdiction where alcohol is banned. The court’s decision in Jouppi v. Alaska took the form of an unsigned order . No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. The aircraft was subject to a legal process known as civil asset forfeiture, under which property, including a vehicle,

AI Is Quietly Transforming Healthcare And Might Just Save Your Life Amid the broader debate over artificial intelligence's economic disruptions, the healthcare sector is quietly demonstrating some of the technology's most concrete applications. Rather than the job losses feared in other industries, hospitals report AI augmenting physicians, streamlining routine tasks and accelerating innovation in ways that could improve outcomes while controlling costs. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, roughly 150 AI models are now in use. A tool called Record Time helps internists distill hundreds of pages of external medical records into searchable summaries, saving five to 30 minutes

Trump’s 50% tariff threat means there will be no ribbon-cutting celebration of Gordie Howe International Bridge A planned joint US-Canada ceremony on Friday celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is no longer expected to take place after Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on most Canadian goods. In announcing the tariffs, the president accused Canada of unfairly discriminating against US automobiles, alcohol and dairy products, escalating tensions with one of the United States’ closest allies. Continue reading...

US secretary of state says international community should ‘join forces’ against authoritarian Ortega regime Nicaragua’s congress, controlled by the country’s long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, has announced a “work plan” to implement the authoritarian leader’s order that the country should no longer hold elections. The UN and the US strongly condemned Sunday’s announcement by Ortega, who has been in power since 2007 and, after a controversial constitutional change last year, now governs alongside his wife , Rosario Murillo, as “co-president”. Continue reading...

Researchers listening off the Caribbean island of Dominica found variations in the mammals’ audible clicks when marine traffic was close Sperm whales produce a specific pattern of clicking noises when they hear the noise of boats, researchers have found. The pattern is so distinct that the scientists who identified it said they can now use it to predict when ships are nearby. Researchers from Project Ceti (the Cetacean Translation Initiative), a non-profit research organisation working to decode sperm whale communication, spent four years tuning in on the calls of 15 sperm whales off the coast of Dominica. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Sign up for US Breaking News email US gas prices have continued to rise since the conflict with Iran resumed this month. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), a gallon of fuel is now just over $4 – almost a dollar more than a year ago. It comes as Brent Crude , the international oil benchmark, is now up by almost 2% to $90.92 a barrel . Continue reading...

Mark Carney says Canada is ‘united’ in face of threats as leaders agree to talk before tariffs take effect next month Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Donald Trump has defended his new 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, claiming the country cannot survive without the US. The White House announced the sweeping round of import duties – due to come into effect next month – on Monday, igniting fresh tensions between Washington and Ottawa. Continue reading...

Dunedin will be the focal point, having last experienced such an eclipse in 1163 – before any humans reached New Zealand Hotels are booking out two years in advance in the New Zealand city of Dunedin as it prepares for the region’s first total solar eclipse in more than 850 years. At 4.17pm on 22 July 2028, the moon will pass in front of the sun, casting a roughly 100km-wide shadowy band across parts of southern New Zealand. Everywhere within that band – from tourist hotspot Queenstown in the west to Dunedin city in the east – will be plunged

Isabel Rose, 26, sentenced to six years for blackmail and perverting course of public justice over her allegations against British man A British woman who reported being raped to police in Hong Kong has been sentenced to six years in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of public justice. Isabel Rose, 26, from south-east London, travelled to Hong Kong in early 2024 to visit a British banker she had met while travelling in south-east Asia. Continue reading...

Foreign minister Penny Wong will deliver speech criticising China’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Penny Wong will warn China that Australia and other neighbouring nations will not be bullied by its “provocative” actions, after its involvement in another “destabilising and dangerous” incident this week. The foreign affairs minister – who will deliver the address on Thursday in the Philippines, where the 59th Asean foreign minister’s meeting is being held – will also caution world leaders against placing a toll on the strait of Hormuz after both

Prosecutors seek a one-year sentence and heavy fine after chef garnished dish with insects not approved for consumption Prosecutors in South Korea have asked a court to sentence the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant to one year in prison for serving a dessert topped with ants, an insect not approved for consumption under local food safety law. The request, made on Monday, also sought a 20m won (£10,108) fine for the company that runs the restaurant, Yonhap news agency reported . Continue reading...

In April Japan coined new term kokushobi for days above 40C as country advises workers to wear shorts to the office to cope with stifling heat Japan logged its first official kokushobi or “cruelly hot day” on Tuesday since the new term for when temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius was introduced in April. The Japan Meteorological Agency coined the new designation to warn the public of the heat dangers of days that were once freak weather events but have now become more common. The central Japan cities of Gujo and Tajimi in Gifu prefecture, along with Toyota in Aichi prefecture,

Hackers access Australian customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and some bank account details, company says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Origin Energy customers’ addresses, phone numbers and partial bank account data have been accessed in a hack, the company has confirmed. The firm has 4.8m customer accounts in Australia, providing electricity, fossil gas, LPG and internet services to homes and businesses. Continue reading...

One Nation leader labels family violence leave ‘ridiculous’ and decries ‘woke’ support of women’s rights in November podcast Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Pauline Hanson has described paid leave for those experiencing family and domestic violence as “ridiculous”, and suggested the issue is taking police away from “real crime”, calling for the family law system to be “wound back”. In an unearthed interview, the One Nation leader said the advancements of women’s rights in the family law system over the decades had become “broken” because they favoured women and were now “suppressing the

This blog is now closed. Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Self-reported domestic violence incidents declining in NSW but deaths and hospitalisations fail to fall New data shows self-reported domestic violence incidents in New South Wales have declined, but the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised in domestic and family violence incidents over the past eight years has not significantly budged. The decline in self-reported violence is significant because it reflects underlying levels of violence in the community, not just what is reported to police. It suggests that, despite rising reports of

Criticism comes as prime minister frames unity as point of difference to political opponents, saying ALP chooses ‘progress over protest’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Outspoken Labor MP Ed Husic claims the party has become “allergic” to dissent and dispute, warning the unity on show at its tightly controlled national conference could backfire. The former industry minister broke ranks with the government on the first day of Labor’s 50th party conference to support a gas export tax, endorse Indigenous truth-telling and press for more criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Continue reading...

NT minister for trade and business Robyn Cahill makes scientifically inaccurate claims while pushing to make territory ‘datacentre capital of the globe’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A Northern Territory minister has been criticised for scientifically inaccurate claims that groundwater in the Northern Territory needs to be used to prevent the Earth’s magnetic poles from flipping. The NT minister for trade and business, Robyn Cahill, made the claim while speaking in Darwin last week about the government’s push to make the territory “the datacentre capital of the globe”. Continue reading...

Ukrainian leader says his country’s grain corridor could be targeted as he hosts Ireland’s Micheál Martin on visit on Kyiv EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has offered a bit more detail on the new package of sanctions , saying they are “the largest round in four years,” and will “hit Putin where it hurts most.” In a statement, she said : “We have agreed on the 21st sanctions package against Russia. It delivers sweeping measures targeting Moscow’s financial system, its military-industrial complex and energy sector, that keep Russia’s war economy running. Continue reading...

Pioneering study linking noise pollution to Parkinson’s finds 3% increase in risk for every 11.5dB rise in noise levels Long-term exposure to road traffic noise is associated with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, the biggest study of its kind has found. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder in which parts of the brain become damaged over time, affecting movement and balance. Continue reading...

Reception centres open to thousands of evacuees after blaze begins in pine forest 45km west of Bordeaux Europe live – latest updates More than 20,000 people, including thousands of tourists from campsites and other holiday accommodation, have been evacuated as a “particularly intense” wildfire advances on the Atlantic coast of south-west France, authorities have said. The blaze, which began in dense pine forest near the village of Saumos about 40km (25 miles) west of Bordeaux and just north of the bay of Arcachon, a popular tourist destination, had burned 2,400 hectares (5,928 acres) in less than 24 hours, firefighters said

Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as traders fear attacks from Yemen and Iran creating ‘two-chokepoint problem’ The Houthi attacks off the coast of Yemen targeted Saudi Arabian tankers, but two Chinese vessels carrying Saudi oil appear to be trying to exit the Bab el-Mandeb strait, Reuters reports. From Reuters: Two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil are exiting the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday, shipping data showed, even as a Saudi vessel came under attack in the region. The ships’ attempt to transit the strait will

Firm told to treat third-party services that appear in its results in ‘fair and non-discriminatory manner’ Google has been fined a total of €890m (£760m) by the EU for breaches of online competition laws by its search and app store services. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Google had broken the Digital Markets Act by giving priority to its own services, such as shopping and hotel deals, in search results over those of its rivals. Continue reading...

Benchmark rises sharply over fears Houthi militia could strangle Saudi exports as US-Iran fighting intensifies The oil price has climbed back above $100 a barrel for the first time in two months, as a fresh escalation of the Middle East conflict threatens to compound disruption to global oil supplies. The benchmark oil price rose sharply on Thursday, after reaching $95 a barrel the day before amid fears that Yemen’s Houthi militia could strangle Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea while US-Iran tensions over oil flows through the strait of Hormuz intensify. Continue reading...

US president posts about deal on Truth Social, saying it is subject to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords Houthis claim strikes on two Saudi tankers as US attacks on Iran widen Earlier in the US day, before Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump issued this threat on his Truth Social platform : From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the

Residents eligible for dining and hotel packages if they can persuade family and friends to city spurned by visitors amid Iran war Middle East crisis – live updates Dubai is offering to pay residents who attract family and friends to visit the emirate in an effort to revive tourist numbers that have plummeted since the city was drawn into the US-Israel war on Iran. The Dubai Invite scheme, an initiative of the department of economy and tourism, allows residents of the United Arab Emirates to nominate friends and relatives and then to receive benefits worth more than 3,000 UAE dirham

Donald Trump approves agreement to help country make fuel for civilian nuclear programme Donald Trump signed a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that could enable the kingdom to enrich its own uranium for nuclear reactions. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, signed “a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement” and “an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement,” according to a statement from the US Department of Energy. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday with two additional missile falling in an open area, AFP reports. The two missiles that the army did not intercept fell in “two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage” the army said in a statement. Continue reading...

PM says ‘those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared’ as scandal spirals into widespread anger Narendra Modi has vowed to set up “fast-track courts” to speed up the punishment of officials accused of leaking examination papers, as the Indian prime minister seeks to quell a youth-led “cockroach” protest movement that has rocked Delhi and posed one of the biggest challenges to his government. In his first public remarks on the movement, Modi posted on X: “Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth … Those who try to harm

Proceedings suspended as politicians call for Modi government to address police violence and education scandals India’s opposition parties have shut down parliament in a protest calling for the resignation of the education minister, in solidarity with the new youth-led “cockroach” movement . Opposition politicians, led by the Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, gathered outside the parliament building in Delhi on Wednesday, many dressed in black and waving placards calling on Dharmendra Pradhan to quit. Continue reading...

Thousands of people again on the streets of Delhi calling for education reforms despite police violence on Monday Taru had come to the protest prepared this time. In one hand was an anti-government poster and in the other was a bicycle helmet. “We need to have protection in case Delhi police beat us up again,” said the 25-year-old, who stood among her friends. “We are not scared of them and we won’t run away, no matter what they do. We’ll stay here till they listen.” On Tuesday, central Delhi still thronged with thousands of protesters, as an unprecedented expression of

National disaster agency confirms ‘severe financial and human losses’ in eastern province of Nuristan Rescue crews in Afghanistan are searching for survivors and bodies among the rubble of houses destroyed by devastating flash floods that authorities said had killed nearly two dozen people and left more than 100 people missing. The Afghanistan national disaster management authority said on Tuesday that 23 people had died, 80 had been injured and more than 100 were missing after floods struck the eastern province of Nuristan on Monday, causing an undetermined number of buildings to collapse. The provincial capital city of Parun was among

Youth-led group calls on education minister to quit in one of India’s largest anti-government rallies in years Tens of thousands of protesters have defied police orders and descended on Delhi to demand the resignation of India’s education minister in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in years. A huge crowd, largely made up of students and gen Z-ers, filled the streets in the heart of India’s capital from early Monday morning shouting anti-government slogans. Hundreds had already camped out overnight. Continue reading...

The Conservative party leader accused the prime minister of ‘still thinking like the mayor of Manchester’ Kemi Badenoch is speaking in central London at the moment and is expected to say that Andy Burnham is “still thinking like the mayor of Manchester”. “Going by what he’s announced so far, Andy Burnham’s ambitions for Britain are too small,” she was expected to say. My message to British businesses is quite simple: to British businesses, to British innovators, to British investors: I will back you as your Chancellor, and I’ll back you in financial services, in technology, in retail, in industry, in

Officials ‘do not know’ how to respond to potential changes to plans to start freeing up to 6,000 offenders UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham’s pledge to review early release plans has created “a sense of chaos” across the Prison Service, probation officers have said. As Whitehall insiders confirmed the prime minister was examining possible exemptions to the law under which offenders will be freed, the Napo probation union said prison officials “do not know” how to respond. Continue reading...

Law change means renters and flat owners may be able to cut bills as energy costs soar amid Iran war British households will be able to buy plug-in solar panels later this summer after the government changed the law so the UK’s biggest retailers could bring them to market for the first time. People across the country will be able to join the millions across Europe generating their own electricity using “balcony solar panels” from 27 August, according to legislation passed last week. Continue reading...

GMP chief constable says crucial data on phones seized from Heaton Park attacker was not examined Greater Manchester police have apologised for a “missed opportunity” to act before an attack on a synagogue. The force’s chief constable, Sir Stephen Watson, said the phones of the Heaton Park synagogue attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, were seized by officers but crucial data was not examined. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysis of NHS England data reveals stark impact of air pollution in deprived areas Children living in the poorest areas across England are 40% more likely to be admitted to hospital for respiratory infections, an analysis of NHS England data shows, with experts raising the alarm on the impact of air pollution on young people’s health. The analysis, based on data obtained via freedom of information requests by the charity Impact on Urban Health, revealed 1,941 out of every 100,000 children living in the most deprived fifth of England were admitted to hospital for respiratory illnesses in 2024-25. Continue

Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran without first seeking congressional approval has sparked further controversy over the National Defense Authorization Act Sign up for the Breaking News US email Global oil prices have risen to more than $100 per barrel for the first time since May as violence escalates in the Middle East. Brent crude, the global benchmark, increased by more than 6% after Iran’s Houthi allies attacked shipping in the Red Sea. Continue reading...

Concern over US effort to prosecute Sam Tunick, accused by authorities of wiping his phone using GrapheneOS The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute an Atlanta resident in connection with the movement against the police training center known as Cop City because he had GrapheneOS on his phone, an open-source operating system that enables users to enter a passcode and wipe a phone clean. The case, which had its first hearing on Monday, centers on a little-known US federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized. Continue

Staley is latest high-profile figure to testify before House amid investigation into Epstein, convicted sex offender Former Barclays boss Jes Staley is due to be questioned by US lawmakers on Thursday in a closed-door interview about his past ties to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . Staley, who spent more than three decades at JPMorgan Chase before joining Barclays in 2015, is the latest in a series of high-profile figures to appear in front of the House committee on oversight and reform as part of its investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial

Conflict continues across the region as White House announces nuclear technology agreement. Plus, the artist who flattened a Tesla with a tank Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. The US has signed a landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium in the future. The deal will be submitted to Congress for review, where it could face opposition among lawmakers who fear a lack of monitoring safeguards. In lengthy talks stretching over more than one administration, the US has feared that Riyadh would look elsewhere for nuclear

Woolsey died of a stroke at Washington home after facing ‘Havana syndrome’ reported by some government officials R James Woolsey , a national security expert who led the CIA for two turbulent years after his appointment by Bill Clinton , has died. He was 84. Woolsey, who became CIA director in early 1993, died on Tuesday at his home in Washington, according to several newspapers. Conchita Sarnoff Woolsey, his wife, told the newspapers that he died from a stroke. Continue reading...

Wildfires raged on Wednesday in Sicily, southwestern France and central Spain, having claimed the lives of three firefighters and sparked thousands of evacuations. Temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius and gusts of hot wind fanned the flames in the southern Italian island, where wildfires have been raging for several days. Around 6,000 firefighters, forest guards and civil protection officials were deployed to battle the flames with the help of water-bombing aircraft, the head of the region,...

Adolf Hitler’s birthplace in Austria was officially inaugurated as a police station on Wednesday in an effort to destroy the building’s appeal as a site of pilgrimage for people who glorify the Nazi dictator. A memorial stone is to remain in place outside the house in Braunau am Inn near the German border with the inscription: “For freedom, democracy and liberty. Never again fascism. Millions of dead remind us”. Hitler was born in the building on April 20, 1889. His family moved to another...

In the past week, one regulation has forced many people in China to say goodbye to long-standing “relationships”. As of July 15, the government placed artificial intelligence (AI) companions under tight supervision. It comes as automated companions have experienced something of a boom over the past few years. According to the rules, AI-human interactions should not encourage violence or harm users’ physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, AI bots should not lure users into sharing...

The ⁠Iranian-aligned Houthis said on Thursday they struck two Saudi oil tankers as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening to create a second chokepoint on global oil supplies alongside Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Two weeks since the effective collapse of an interim truce meant to end the war, the US military launched another nightly round of air strikes on Iran, prompting Iran to fire at neighbouring Arab countries that house US bases. US Secretary of State Marco...

The US on Wednesday announced a landmark deal with Saudi Arabia that would establish a civilian nuclear programme in the Gulf country, with Washington insisting the agreement includes safeguards against non-proliferation. The move comes as the US under President Donald Trump fights a war with Iran that began in large part over concerns with Tehran’s nuclear programme – an issue that remains a key point of contention during now-stalled peace talks. Two agreements – one on “peaceful nuclear...

Chile wants to widen the group of countries buying its copper and attract about US$100 billion in mining investment over the next decade, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, in the most explicit move yet by the new government in Santiago to reduce its exposure to Chinese demand. “The market is highly concentrated and we need to broaden the number of places that buy our copper,” Francisco Perez Mackenna said at a Bloomberg summit in Singapore, part of a tour through the Asia-Pacific. He said...

Washington is still not receiving sufficient critical mineral exports from China, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday, even as top American and Chinese officials met to finalise key economic deliverables for President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to the White House. “We are getting a flow of critical minerals from China. It’s not as much as we would want. It’s not at the pace we would want, but we are getting them,” Greer said during his testimony before the Senate Finance...

The man convicted of trying to kill Salman Rushdie spent years researching the writer’s whereabouts before stabbing him on a lecture stage, federal prosecutors said Wednesday at the opening of his federal terrorism trial. It is a second trial for Hadi Matar, who was found guilty in a New York state attempted murder case last year. The federal terror charges focus more on Matar’s alleged motive for the attack on the renowned author and free-speech advocate in 2022. Prosecutors started working on...

A French modelling scout with close ties to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home outside Paris, prosecutors and his lawyer said on Wednesday. Under investigation in France, Daniel Siad, 69, was one of several French men accused of aiding the US financier to traffic and abuse women. Siad had not yet been questioned by investigators, but had denied the allegations. “An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the...

⁠From humble origins as a family business run out of an ⁠apartment near Moscow, Wildberries has grown in under two decades into Russia’s top online retailer and a key economic driver in the country. It has now become a target of strikes by Ukraine. Ukraine has attacked four Wildberries warehouses over the last week in a widening campaign of drone strikes against a company at the heart of Russia’s consumer economy, bringing the war closer to millions of ordinary Russians. In towns across Russia,...

US President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Tehran attacks a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating Washington’s response as the conflict spread across the region and placed another major shipping route at risk. The warning came hours before Trump was due to attend the return of four US service members killed in Iranian attacks and related operations in Jordan and Iraq. “From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran...

Why haven’t Ukraine’s drone and missile attacks on Russia triggered Moscow’s use of tactical nuclear weapons, as it has threatened? When Russia is attacked time and again, one wonders what purpose it serves to have the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. The Ukraine war is at a stalemate. Though roughly 90 per cent of the territory in East Donbas is under Russian control, its ground advances have slowed to less than 100 metres a day, according to a July 1 report by the Centre for Strategic...

More than 1,000 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Africa’s top health body, a grim toll in the fastest Ebola outbreak in history, as conflict, community resistance and an uneven response fuel its spread. Speaking at a health summit in Ghana on Wednesday, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said 1,031 deaths have been confirmed. “These are people dying. They are dying because we don’t...

A judge on Wednesday set a June 1, 2027, trial date for ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on US drug-trafficking charges, while a defence lawyer vowed to seek dismissal of the case on the grounds that Maduro is immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign state. Maduro and his wife, wearing beige prison garb, appeared during a hearing lasting about ‌20 minutes in Manhattan federal court before District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in one of the most...

On July 9, a fire burned through a shoe factory in Jinjiang, Fujian province, killing at least 28 people. The accident signals a larger problem: firms operating under financial pressure often cut costs by compromising safety. China’s low-cost business model needs reform, but why has change been so difficult? The plant that burned employed hundreds of workers, yet company filings for 2025 indicate that only a handful of them were enrolled in pension and medical insurance plans. A fire-safety...

After US strikes on Iran’s largest nuclear facilities last year, both US President Donald Trump and the White House were adamant that the Middle East nation’s nuclear programme had been destroyed. “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” Trump wrote on social media. “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated – and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News,” the White House wrote in a press release. A year later,...

Searchers have found the wreckage from a Pan Am flight that plunged into the ocean off Puerto Rico in 1952, an accident that killed 52 and led to requirements for the passenger safety briefings given on every commercial flight. The plane, the Clipper Endeavor, made a hard landing after losing engine power shortly after take-off. The 17 passengers and crew who survived told investigators everyone lived through the landing, but panic set in as many passengers struggled to find life vests and the...

US President Donald Trump has approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear programme, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly about the yet to be formally announced decision, said the agreement was expected to be announced publicly as early as Wednesday. The deal was expected to last 30 years and was also expected to involve US firms...

The cost of the United States’ war in Iran has risen to US$37.5 billion so far, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, as he faced sceptical lawmakers for the first time since heavy bombings resumed to seek urgent funding for the unpopular conflict. With just six months before midterm elections in which US President Donald Trump’s Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their House of ‌Representatives and Senate majorities, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as...

Over the past year, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has seen rapid development in Central Asia. This has been evidenced by the launch of several railway and road routes connecting China’s industrial and economic centres to logistics hubs in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. China’s improved transport to the region reflects two interrelated trends: growing trade momentum and Central Asia’s strengthening position in continental logistics. Last year, China became the largest trading partner...

US President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to help Lebanon “a lot” as its president, Joseph Aoun, sought Washington’s backing for a fragile effort to disarm Hezbollah and forge a path to peace with Israel. Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Washington since 2009, asked Trump for political support and continued backing for the Lebanese army, which has begun deploying in southern areas under a US-backed framework agreement with Israel. “We need to support the LAF,” Aoun said, referring...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday sacked his Soviet-trained army chief Oleksandr Syrsky following a political crisis triggered by the removal of a popular, young and tech-savvy defence minister. The Ukrainian leader announced he was appointing joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty in his place. Syrsky, 60, had served in the role since 2024 and was among Kyiv’s most experienced commanders, having led the defence of Kyiv at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. His...

France’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making France the first European country to bar children from apps such as TikTok. President Emmanuel Macron has championed the ban as a flagship reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September. “France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers,” Macron said in a video posted on social media, hailing “a major step forward”. He...

US President Donald Trump’s administration is using another tariff threat to put fresh pressure on Canadian provinces to end their boycotts of American alcohol. But provincial leaders are not backing off. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would not lift his province’s ban on the sale of American wine and spirits in government-run stores unless the US removes sectoral tariffs on cars and steel. “We have to negotiate through strength, not weakness. And we need to throw everything on the table,” he...

The ⁠man accused of murdering former ⁠government minister Ann Widdecombe struck her 21 times on the top of her head with a hammer during the attack at her home earlier this ‌month, prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday. Widdecombe, 78, who was a prominent figure in Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK but no longer a member of parliament, was found dead at her home in rural southwest England on ⁠July 9 after being attacked the day before. Police have said they believe Widdecombe had been...

Asia’s oil buyers are facing the risk of a second maritime chokepoint being disrupted after Iran-aligned Houthi militants threatened to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, even as shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain severely disrupted by the US-Iran conflict. Analysts said any serious disruption in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could leave Asia with fewer alternatives for Middle Eastern crude, threatening Saudi shipments and increasing the risk of oil prices rising above US$100 per...

A man suspected of fatally shooting six child welfare workers at a shelter for mothers in Stade in northern Germany last month died by suicide in jail on Tuesday, officials said. The suspect, who has been partially identified in German media as 45-year-old Fatih Khan G., was found dead by jail staff in his single cell early Tuesday, the Lower Saxony state justice ministry said in a statement. The ministry said there are “currently no indications of third-party involvement” in the suspect’s death...

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Tuesday he would cut taxes ⁠on electricity bills, the first of several early moves to signal his intent to ease a cost-of-living crisis and quell anger over successive governments’ failure to bring change. On his second day in his new job, Burnham said his government would remove the value-added tax from domestic electricity bills from October 1, cutting around £45 from the average annual bill of around £1,862 that households pay. With bond investors...

The China threat has landed in Brussels. A new European Union position paper accuses Beijing of amplifying security threats, posing “a critical long-term strategic challenge” and reviving “sphere-of-influence logic” to reshape the global order. Beijing is cast as an enabler of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while its “assertive behaviour” in the South China Sea threatens European and Indo-Pacific security, stability and prosperity. The document, “Common Understanding: The Threats and Challenges...

While Beijing has lifted refined fuel export restrictions this month amid elevated global oil prices and ample national reserves, it has also introduced compliance requirements for refiners – a cautious pivot aimed at safeguarding domestic stockpiles, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. “With the interim truce between Washington and Tehran having collapsed, Beijing has adopted a more cautious stance on easing curbs for fuel exports,” a person familiar with the matter said in...

Nvidia’s H200 chips, a step down from its most advanced Blackwell line, have resumed imports into China, albeit in small quantities. Meanwhile, China’s chip exports nearly doubled in the first half of this year. Much of these exports are mature logic integrated circuits for applications in consumer electronics and automotive sectors. While the US is the undisputed leader in the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips, China is emerging as a dominant player in mass market legacy...

A man stabbed and wounded two tourists Tuesday morning near the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece’s top tourist attraction, police said, in what appeared to be a random attack. The assailant attacked a man and a woman, both Greek Americans, with a knife on a pedestrian street near an entrance to the Acropolis itself and near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum, which lies at the foot of the Acropolis hill. The 53-year-old male victim suffered a serious wound to his arm which required a...

Nicaragua’s long-serving President Daniel Ortega said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, eliminating the possibility of an electoral challenge when his term ends next year and further entrenching the rule he shares with his wife. Ortega, who has continuously held power since 2007 following an earlier presidential term ‌in the 1980s, said the move will close off any path to the opposition, although he did not provide details about carrying out the ban. “There won’t be any...

Iran targeted US radar and air defence installations in the Gulf on Tuesday, warning Washington of “more decisive and powerful” attacks to come as the conflict threatened to widen with a blockade of Saudi ports by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked and stopped two “non-compliant oil tankers” attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, part of an effort to tighten its grip on the vital waterway while the war reignited. Following the deaths of at least three...

The US Department of Justice said on Monday it launched a probe reviewing whether some Harvard University financial aid programmes were discriminatory, marking the latest fight against ‌the university by President Donald Trump’s administration. “The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today it is opening a compliance review into Harvard University to determine whether its China-based financial aid programmes and practices exclude American-citizen students,” the department said...

US President Donald Trump signed orders on Monday to impose new 50 per cent tariffs on many Canadian goods, claiming “discriminatory treatment” by Ottawa against American alcohol, automobile and dairy products. The tariffs take effect in 30 days and cover various items including wine, hockey sticks and cement, said the White House. Trump, who saw many of his tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court this year, tapped an untested legal provision for the new duties – Section 338 of the Tariff Act...

Oil prices are set to rise once more as renewed US attacks on Iran leave the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery of oil trade, closed again. With US strategic petroleum reserves at their lowest in over 40 years, America will have trouble keeping oil prices below US$100 a barrel, as it has mostly done in the war so far. Analysts warn that sustained oil prices above US$100 risk accelerating inflation, depressing consumption and inviting recession. They have also turned their attention to China and...

A federal judge in California on Monday ordered Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery to temporarily pause their merger while a case brought by multiple states challenging the deal moves forward. The companies are prohibited from closing their US$110 billion deal for 14 days until another hearing is held on August 3 regarding a preliminary injunction, which would prevent Paramount and Warner Bros from closing the transaction before a final decision is reached. The states raised “serious...

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, their lawyer said on Monday, suggesting their arrest in Miami was politically motivated without explaining why. The Tates appeared in federal court on Monday for the first time since their arrest on Saturday and were being held in federal detention. In the coming weeks, a US district judge would consider whether they meet the conditions for...

Chess legend Judit Polgar on Monday turned down Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s offer to join his push to break with the Viktor Orban era as the country’s president. The pro-European conservative had nominated Polgar, widely considered the greatest woman to have taken to the chequered board, as a figure from outside politics to help carry out his promise of “regime change” from Orban’s hardline 16-year tenure. “I do not feel I have the strength to take on the historic responsibility of...

Chinese ⁠Premier ⁠Li Qiang on Monday extended congratulations to Andy Burnham on ‌becoming Britain’s new prime minister. Strengthening dialogue and cooperation between ⁠China and Britain will benefit ‌the two countries and “inject stability into global ‌peace”, Li said in ⁠his ⁠message, Reuters reported. “I am willing to ‌work with the prime minister ‌to strengthen exchanges, ‌enhance mutual ‌trust, promote communication and cooperation, ⁠and advance the long-term, ⁠stable comprehensive...

British prosecutors said ⁠on Monday a 28-year-old man ⁠had been charged with murdering ⁠former government minister Ann Widdecombe, and police said they were still investigating why she was attacked. Widdecombe, 78, who was a prominent member of Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK, was found at her home in rural southwest England on July 9, ‌after sustaining what police described as serious injuries. She stood down from parliament in 2010. Joshua Kerry, a white British national from northern...

Hungary’s government announced an investigation on Monday into a large foreign investment by Chinese carmaker BYD negotiated by a former foreign minister who last week resigned from parliament to take an executive position at the company. Peter Szijjarto’s announcement last Wednesday that he would take the job at the world’s top electric carmaker prompted accusations of a conflict of interest and criticism over his role in organising substantial government subsidies to the company while in...

Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was sentenced on Monday to life in prison in the US, after a plea deal last year in which he admitted to shipping millions ‌of kilograms of cocaine over decades as leader of the violent Sinaloa Cartel. Zambada is one of the most high-profile Mexican drug traffickers to be sentenced in a US court since fellow Sinaloa leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019. In handing down the sentence at a hearing in Brooklyn federal...

As trade tensions with China reach boiling point, EU officials are ramping up engagement with Beijing in search of an off-ramp. Quietly behind the scenes, though, Europe is preparing for a trade war. In Brussels, a steely determination has set in to ensure the bloc’s manufacturing heartlands are not deindustrialised by the “China Shock 2.0”. With some industries already haemorrhaging jobs, the EU’s resilience-building and de-risking plans are now laced with deterrents as Brussels looks to...

At a tense moment for trans-Atlantic trade, the European Union accused Google of anti-competitive business practices.

The technology giant again raised its projections for investing in artificial intelligence. Many on Wall Street still worry about the eventual payoff.

Democrats and Republicans are haggling about the Clarity Act, a major bill pushed by the crypto industry, as it moves closer to a Senate vote.

Agency scientists are advising against allowing widespread use of several peptide injections. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, has said people should be free to experiment.

The daughter of a Hollywood power couple, she has gone above and beyond to prove herself. Virtuosity and spiritual aspirations fill her latest, “The Thread.”

In a video message, the mayor of New York City said he could not legally arrest Israel’s prime minister but reinforced his position as a voice of the international left.

Kyiv is escalating its air war by striking commercial warehouses, trying to bring the conflict closer to home for ordinary Russians.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has pivoted from unpopular moves before, but a recent decision about military leadership and strategy could weaken his position.

There are a million people displaced by violence in the epicenter. They live in dangerous conditions and are fighting the virus with very little clean water.

Marine biologists in Mexico captured video of a strange maneuver that killer whales used to shred their meal.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has limited the shipment of diesel, depriving farmers of fuel for irrigation pumps and threatening the food supply.

It can be unsettling what Gemini and ChatGPT have figured out about you and how easily your privacy can be punctured. Here’s how to find out.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is leveraging her ties to Mr. Abe, the slain Japanese leader, as she pushes to reshape defense and the economy.

The military intelligence officer left the country after The Times reported that he was using the Aeroflot airline office in Tokyo to conduct espionage.

For Gen Z college graduates, the way millennials lived out their ambitions no longer makes sense.

A Pentagon official argues that “people can no longer take the United States for granted.”

We look at how The Times uses photographs and video to better understand what’s happening in the war with Iran.

“Right now TikTok is, like, ‘Oh, no, are we the new Facebook?’” Jimmy Fallon said on “The Tonight Show.”

Foot traffic to chains such as Chopt and Chipotle fell in recent weeks after a recall from Taylor Farms and changing messages from the F.D.A.