Minimalist News

Le Pen Would Beat Every Rival In 2027, Major French Poll Finds Marine Le Pen would win France's 2027 presidential election against every major rival now being measured, according to a major survey by Elabe published on August 29 for BFMTV and La Tribune Dimanche . Marine Le Pen, 2022. Albert Gea / Reuters France elects its president in two rounds: a crowded first round on April 18 cuts the field to the top two - no one will win outright - and the survivors meet again on May 2. Elabe has Le Pen at 34% to 35.5% in round

Is Germany Preparing To Unveil A Wealth Tax? Submitted by Thomas Kolbe Will 2027 be the year the wealth register is introduced? Labor Minister Bärbel Bas confirmed this week on Bild that her ministry plans a representative survey of citizens next year on their assets and their views on distributive justice . A classic about-face by this government: just three weeks earlier, Bas had categorically ruled out any such plans. Concretely, a tax-funded data collection effort involving roughly 5,000 citizens is planned. The rollout will run through an external research institute as part of an EU-wide tender, whose bidding deadline

Chinese Scientists Flagged Glacial Flood Danger One Year Before Nepal Catastrophe Authored by Sophia Lam via The Epoch Times , More than a year before the catastrophic flash flood devastated the China-Nepal border crossing at Gyirong last week, Chinese geologists had raised concerns about the impending danger. CCTV footage shows people running away as wall of mud and water destroys buildings in a valley at the Nepal-China border, in Gyirong, Tibet region, China, on Aug. 26, 2026. Social Media/via Reuters On August 26, a glacial-related collapse tore through Gyirong Port, one of the principal land crossings between Tibet and Nepal

Politician Busted After FBI Finds $62,900 Buried In His Backyard A Southern California corruption case unraveled in dramatic fashion after federal agents discovered tens of thousands of dollars hidden underground at the home of a longtime local politician, according to the NY Post . Ricardo Pacheco, a former Baldwin Park councilman, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for taking bribes while in office. Investigators recovered $62,900 buried in his backyard, part of more than $83,000 ultimately seized from him. Federal prosecutors said Pacheco used his position to help private interests win favorable treatment from the city. Much of the

Russia Hoaxers Quiet About Canadian Election Interference Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker , As President Trump has repeatedly pointed out , the Canadian government embraces a peculiar notion of national sovereignty : It depends upon the U.S. military for security and expects to sell its domestic products to Americans as if Canada were just another U.S. state. At the same time, it insists on censoring American sources of news, restricting the flow of American goods into Canada, and rebuking American foreign policy decisions. When former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago to meet with President Trump following

China-Linked Activist Network Preparing To Activate Against Carney's Rare-Earths Push Submitted by The Bureau's Sam Cooper (emphasis our own), The Ring of Fire sits about 500 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay in the muskeg of Ontario’s James Bay Lowlands, on Treaty 9 territory. Prospectors found it in 2007 and named it after a Johnny Cash song. Beneath the peat moss lies the Canadian Shield, deeply seamed with nickel and cobalt for batteries used in electric vehicles and smart phones, copper for the grids that power data centers, titanium, platinum and palladium for aerospace, and the largest deposit of chromite —

Iran's Pezeshkian Gets Red Carpet Treatment Alongside Putin, Xi, Modi & Erdogan At Eurasian Summit Given the Trump administration's shift from a military campaign against Iran to primarily one that seeks economic 'strangulation' and isolation - there's been a big diplomatic push by the White House to get regional allies on board. But the early case remains that reactions from other Gulf allies have so far been muted, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier confirmed that Trump has been phoning world leaders to join him in isolating Iran . via Mehr News But this is what makes images coming out

The Long Shadow Of Judge Indira Talwani Authored by Jonathan Turley via Jonathan Turley , Below is my column in The Hill on the latest controversy from the chambers of Judge Indira Talwani. While the court could be upheld in halting the executive order on mail-in balloting in this case, Talwani is one of a number of jurists who have been habitual blockers of executive reforms and policies. Talwani has been criticized in the past as something of a one-stop option for forum-shoppers. Her record reaffirms the rationale for justices in using the emergency docket, or so-called "shadow docket," to

'Betrayal': Internal Pentagon Spat Emerges Over Leaked Middle East Deployment Plans A number of US military top generals have taken the rare step of formally registering warnings to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth over potential plans for a new phase of strikes against a non-compliant Iran. The warnings reportedly emerged through the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, which enumerates the availability of US military resources and force posture around the world - with direct input from American regional commanders. via Reuters The book is typically published twice a month, but this time it was reportedly filled with pushback by those overseeing

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll Submits Resignation Amid Tensions With Hegseth Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is out. Early Monday evening The Wall Street Journal is the first to break the news, describing that he submitted his resignation to President Trump, following months of tensions with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth . Some national security sources have already been quoted as saying the development is "unsurprising" - with the WSJ writing that "Driscoll had been expected to step down this year from his role as the civilian leader of the Army after clashing with Hegseth." via Associated Press White House spokesperson Anna Kelly

Universities Could Lose Foreign-Student Certification Over Internship Rule Violations, Trump Admin Says Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times , President Donald Trump's administration has issued a memo to universities aimed at restricting certain internship work authorizations for international students. Officials cautioned that schools failing to comply could have their certification to enroll foreign students revoked. A student walks toward Royce Hall on the campus of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on March 11, 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images The memo , which is dated Aug. 24 and issued by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program

Take-Two Tumbles Most In Months As BofA Calls Grand Theft Auto Reveal "Impressive, But Unlikely To Surprise" Take-Two Interactive shares plunged the most in nearly seven months on Monday as investors weighed a series of " Grand Theft Auto VI " leaks in recent weeks ahead of the Nov. 19 release. The leaked clips reportedly expose plot details, character scenes, and gameplay mechanics, prompting Rockstar Games (a studio owned by TTWO) to call the leaks "gut-wrenching" and warn that some of the game's surprises may have been spoiled. What X users are saying: Time to address the elephant in the

FDA Authorizes Generic Ivermectin Shot To Prevent Screwworm Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times , Federal regulators have authorized a generic ivermectin injection for the prevention of New World screwworm in cattle. The Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 27 granted emergency use authorization for Bimectin, the injection, for use within 24 hours of birth. The drug can also be used when castration is performed, or when a wound appears. It cannot be used in lactating dairy cows or in calves destined for veal. Bimectin is a generic version of Ivomec, which the FDA authorized in February. The

Fauci Told Aide To Delete Email About Risky Research Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times , Dr. Anthony Fauci said an aide should delete an email about risky research his agency was funding , according to documents released on Aug. 29 by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). "Please delete this e-mail and then delete from the deleted file," Fauci told Dr. Clifford Lane, a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in a missive on March 4, 2012. Fauci, NIAID's director at the time, was commenting on an op-ed that criticized risky research that

SCOTUS Rules Trump Can Build White House Ballroom, Roberts Joins Dissenting Liberals The U.S. Supreme Court just issued an order allowing construction of President Trump’s White House ballroom project to continue while the administration contests a lower court order that would block much of the development. The justices voted 5–4 (with Chief Justice Roberts joining the three 'liberal' judges in dissent) to grant the federal government’s request to stay a lower court’s order halting above-ground construction of the ballroom while a lawsuit against the project by a historic preservation group plays out. “We do not pass upon the legality” of

The Fallacy Of Stable Prices Authored by George Ford Smith via Mises Institute , Though Herbert Hoover was a pioneer among presidents in getting the government to "do something" about a depression, he was no maverick. He had the support of distinguished court economists who promoted the idea that stable prices were the key to lasting prosperity. Common sense tells us that if we walk into a store and find prices consistently lower than they had been, we are better off, other things equal, because our money buys more. As Rothbard wrote , "Increased productivity tends to lower prices (and

Feminist New York Governor Sports Hijab While Pandering To Muslim Voters New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a self described feminist and "social justice Catholic", has raised eyebrows this week after appearing in a hijab at an Islamic Cultural School in the Bronx to make statements against "Islamophobia". The visit is part of a greater Democrat Party effort to strengthen political alliances with world immigrants and Islamic immigrants in particular. NY Governor Kathy Hochul is now wearing a hijab. pic.twitter.com/tzd7VIRxoS — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 30, 2026 Hochul received immediate backlash and criticism from conservatives, pointing out the hypocrisy of a feminist

Oh, Canada? Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Clusterfuck Nation , "Carney increasingly reminds me of Fauci . He has that exact same air of technocratic infallibility . . . ." - Hans Mahncke on X You go for decades without even thinking of the place. The Great White North. Very polite people, somewhat Scottish, seems like. There's poutine! Une invention Québécoise - an indigestible mélange of French fries, gravy, and cheese curds, like something you'd cook up at 4am after a toga party in a frat house. Ice hockey (of course, but was it necessary?) Polar bears. Puffins on

LA County Steals $5M Fire Relief For ICE-Raid Checks Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , In bombshell findings, Los Angeles County sliced a wildfire housing fund in half and steered the cash toward households claiming income loss from ICE raids, detentions, and deportations - without requiring anyone to disclose immigration status. Taxpayers who watched entire neighborhoods burn in January 2025 now watch the same government treat federal immigration enforcement as another "emergency" worthy of six-figure rent wipeouts. After the Eaton and Palisades fires, supervisors approved $10 million to help tenants and landlords dealing with fire-related rent losses. They

EU Commandos Board 6th Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tanker After Putin Threatened Reverse Action Another Russian 'shadow fleet' tanker has been boarded by European forces - and this time the provocative action took place in Mediterranean waters. In a Monday post on X, Kaja Kallas announced the action by troops under the EU's Operation Irini . They boarded the MV Sun tanker for "flag verification," following suspicions that the vessel was in violation of international law. "Illegal oil sales from shadow fleet ships are a critical lifeline for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and we’ll continue to cut them off," Kallas wrote

Three projected victories are a message to US that Carney has support of the Canadian people, says one lawmaker Canada’s ruling Liberal party has swept three special elections, a result that showed voters backing the prime minister, Mark Carney, after his face-off with Donald Trump . The Canadian Press, Canada’s national news agency, projected Liberal victories in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec, Beaches-East York in Toronto and North Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, Trump posts video of himself kicking over a Lake Ontario sign and replacing it with Lake America sign Donald Trump and Canada continued a verbal duel on Saturday over the US government’s administrative renaming of Lake Ontario, with the Ontario premier erecting a giant sign saying “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” – and the American president posting a video of him tearing down an avatar of that sign, erecting a replacement saying Lake America, and dancing to YMCA. Rhetoric over the naming of Lake Ontario is the public face of an escalating trade dispute between the US and its

Deal that will reportedly see US take control of 65bn barrels of Venezuelan oil has provoked outrage in her country Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has defended her government’s highly controversial energy deal with Donald Trump, insisting the South American country will maintain ownership and sovereignty over its massive oil reserves. Rodríguez, who assumed power in January after Trump ordered the abduction of the president, Nicolás Maduro, took to the airwaves on Saturday to push back against criticism of what the US president has called “the biggest oil deal in world history”. Continue reading...

Fighters in legal limbo after accepting ‘total peace’ plan of Petro government just days before hardliner Abelardo De la Espriella took over In mid-June, 99 guerrilla fighters were flown by helicopter to a small settlement in a rural area of southern Colombia where they lined up and, one by one, handed their weapons to government officials: rifles, pistols, machine guns and grenade launchers. They also stripped off their heavy tactical vests, field packs and camouflage uniforms, which were each piled into a bonfire to mark the beginning of a new life away from an armed conflict that has claimed nearly

US president says US will have ‘majority’ control of 65bn barrels of proven oil reserves Donald Trump announced Friday a new US oil agreement with Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez, saying the US will have “majority” control of 65bn barrels of proven oil reserves. The terms of the agreement remain to be seen, but the US president said on his social-media platform that it had been brokered “through a partnership with ⁠private business” by his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Continue reading...

Security stepped up in Pattaya before arrival of thousands of sailors and marines whose deployment was extended due to US war in Iran Authorities in the Thai resort city of Pattaya have stepped up security as they prepare to welcome thousands of sailors and marines from the USS Abraham Lincoln who have spent more than 270 consecutive days at sea . “About 600 officials will provide security and other necessary assistance,” the provincial governor, Narit Niramaiwong, told AFP. Continue reading...

Hong Kong flotation at $26bn by firm once valued at $100bn follows failure to list in US and UK Shares in the fast-fashion brand Shein slumped by as much as 10% as the China-founded company made its long-anticipated trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The Singapore-headquartered company, once valued at almost $100bn (£74bn), went public on Tuesday pricing shares at HK$48.56, valuing the business at just over $26bn. Continue reading...

Critically endangered New Zealand bird enjoys record breeding season triggered by mass fruiting of native tree, pushing its numbers to 325 The population of the world’s heaviest parrot, the kākāpō , has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in 75 years, after a record breeding season triggered by the mass fruiting of a native New Zealand tree. Ninety chicks were officially added to the population of the critically endangered birds on 1 September, pushing the total to 325 – a record high since recovery efforts began. Continue reading...

Workers thought to be stuck in underground areas at 11 sites after last week’s devastating flash floods Rescue teams are working to reach more than 900 missing hydropower workers, hundreds of whom are feared trapped in the tunnels and underground areas of 12 hydropower projects in Nepal after the devastating flash floods , ​the ⁠country’s disaster ​management authority has said. The death toll from the ⁠unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud ​and debris on Wednesday last week has risen to 939 people, with 16 more dead reported in Tibet. More than 4,400 are missing on the two sides of the

Rights group claims 300 homes were destroyed in Tibet and number of missing people is ‘far higher’ than Beijing admits A Tibetan advocacy group says hundreds of homes were destroyed on the Tibetan side of the border in last week’s deadly floods, raising questions about Beijing’s official account of the scale of the disaster. Public discussion about the flash floods has been restricted, with security officials in Tibet announcing on Sunday that it had penalised at least 10 people for sharing “false disaster information”. There was no further information on the nature of the penalties. Continue reading...

New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania just experienced their warmest-ever winters – and BoM says above-average temperatures expected to continue Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia’s two biggest cities had their hottest and equal hottest winters on record, with three eastern states also breaking temperature records. The Bureau of Meteorology’s (BoM) spring outlook shows above average daytime and night-time temperatures are expected to continue for much of the country, with an increased chance of unusually high maximums. Continue reading...

Male police officer caught on camera during 9 February protest against visit of Israeli president Isaac Herzog Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Video footage has emerged capturing a New South Wales police officer boasting about “punching” a protester in the head “when he was down”, before the protester was charged with assaulting police. Police body-worn camera footage, which was leaked to a social media account and widely shared over the weekend, reveals a male police officer telling his colleagues during the 9 February protest at Sydney town hall against a visit by the

The PM wants to combat One Nation through core Labor values such as education and health, even as his popularity takes a beating Sign up for Guardian Australia’s new Politics, really newsletter here At the height of her 1998 re-election fight, Pauline Hanson was challenged to give her honest assessment of John Howard. Two years on from her firebrand maiden speech, the One Nation leader was contesting the Queensland seat of Blair when she was bailed up by a group of punters at a country race meeting. The men had been drinking and one demanded to know if Howard was

Liberal party figure tells inquiry he never asked Jean Nassif ‘for payments for political outcomes’ as lawyer tells him she is ‘gobsmacked’ by his ‘obfuscation’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The younger brother of Dominic Perrottet has insisted he never asked a fugitive property developer for money for political outcomes – including at a meeting at fine-dining restaurant Nobu in Crown Casino, an inquiry has heard. On Tuesday, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) heard that developer Jean Nassif had withdrawn from a scheduled videolink appearance from Lebanon later this

Dowling tells budget estimates that Michael Daley called to tell her he was appointing a senior counsel and ‘raised quite a number of names’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The top prosecutor in New South Wales says she discussed a list of barristers to lead an independent review into controversial findings against her office with the state’s attorney general, before he appointed someone she had known “professionally and socially” for nearly 30 years. Last month, a state parliamentary committee voted 4-3 to find that

Zelenskyy says dozens more injured as strikes leave thousands without electricity in Odesa region Over in Brussels, the European Commission is just starting its first midday briefing of the autumn. It opens with an announcement that Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will receive Nato’s Mark Rutte tomorrow. This comes amid growing scrutiny of Russia’s activities on the eastern flank. Continue reading...

Latest purchases take value of deals to leave capital’s stock market this year past $100bn Three more London-listed companies are set to be taken over as the value of deals removing firms from the capital’s under-pressure stock market passes $100bn (£74bn) so far this year. On Tuesday, Bodycote, the FTSE 250 industrials group that has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1972, agreed a £1.84bn takeover by the US private equity group Veritas. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy says Moscow is capitalising on shortage of US-made Patriot interceptors to lower morale in capital Europe live – latest updates At least 12 people have been killed in and around Kyiv overnight as Ukraine’s capital endured a sixth consecutive night of Russian drone and missile attacks aimed at shattering infrastructure and lowering the morale of the city. Eight of the dead were reported killed in Kyiv, including seven at a railway depot on the city’s left bank, and four more in the surrounding region, after hours of air alerts culminating in a wave of strikes at about 2.30am. Continue

City council emphasises economic case for Madring amid local outrage over disruption and environmental impact Opponents of Madrid’s newly constructed Formula One circuit have accused the regional authorities of putting profit before people’s wellbeing after tests for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the track later this month yielded noise levels that were many times the legal decibel limit. The regional government of Madrid and the city council are hoping that the 5.4km-long (3.3 miles) Madring circuit – which has been built in the north-east of the Spanish capital at a cost of €83m (£71m) – will attract visitors, boost

A yes to membership would have given Brussels a boost but Icelanders have not voted to isolate themselves Iceland’s 52.8% to 47.2% vote against reopening EU accession talks is, undeniably, a blow for Brussels. But claiming it as a Brexit-style victory for “national sovereignty” or evidence of broad rejection of the EU misrepresents the reality of the island’s relationship with the bloc. For the EU, Iceland was a dream candidate: small, stable, prosperous and strategically located in an increasingly contested Arctic. Eager as it is to wield more geopolitical clout and revive flagging momentum around enlargement, a vote in favour

Iran responded to an assault on its Larak Island by targeting US bases in Jordan Trump threatens further action as US and Iran exchange fire in new flare-up Coinciding with this week’s G20 meeting , the EU has issued a statement saying it will work with the US and other allied countries to maintain economic pressure against Iran. “The ‌EU welcomes efforts at ensuring that Iran ceases its destabilising activities and engages in peace negotiations with good ‌faith, also through additional economic pressure, including through ​the US-led Operation Economic Outcast,” it said in reference to the pressure strategy the White

Washington says it acted after observing Iran was planning to deploy fresh mines in strait of Hormuz The US and Iran have exchanged fire for the first time in a month, with missiles and drones fired at Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the strait of Hormuz, and Iran targeting US military bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in response. The US president, Donald Trump, on Monday threatened further action. The US is trying to prise open Tehran’s grip on shipping going through the strait, which before the war accounted for a fifth of the world’s seaborne

Trump’s Operation Economic Outcast is expected to push many Iranians into deeper poverty as food inflation soars For many Iranians, the new US sanctions campaign, called Operation Economic Outcast, seems superfluous given the grim economic situation in their country. Iranians are facing runaway food inflation, closed petrol stations and a seemingly never-ending depreciation of the nation’s currency caused by a lack of foreign exchange reserves. Continue reading...

US attacks Iranian rocket launchers on island in strait of Hormuz and Tehran targets US bases in Jordan and UAE The US has reverted to military attacks on Iran for the first time in a month, firing missiles and drones at Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the strait of Hormuz, prompting the Iranian military to attack US military bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. US Central Command said it acted late on Sunday after it detected the Iranians planning to fire fresh mines into the strait. Last week Donald Trump claimed the US navy had cleared

Matt Bradley and crew assaulted while interviewing woman who said settlers had driven family out of home A Palestinian woman and an NBC News team are reported to have been attacked and injured by masked Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, amid worsening confrontations in the area. Benjamin Netanyahu said he condemned the violence committed “by a handful of rioters”. Continue reading...

Relatives of missing tourists asked for blood samples and photos, as efforts continue to rescue trapped hydropower workers Nepal-Tibet floods – latest updates Visual guide: How the Nepal-Tibet flash flood unfolded Nepali rescuers have built temporary bridges to reach remote areas and dug through the ruins of hydropower projects in the Himalayas to rescue hundreds of trapped workers, as the death toll passed 1,000 nearly ⁠a week after devastating ​floods left a trail of destruction across the country’s towns and valleys. About 600 people remain stuck in several devastated hydropower stations that have become the focus of rescue efforts. The

As families await news of missing loved ones, the disaster is a stark reminder of how the climate crisis is creating a fast-growing threat. Plus, the town considered India’s ‘Jurassic Park’ • Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up here It has been hard not to despair while watching the ruinous floods swallow parts of Nepal , and harder, still knowing that the agony compounds each passing day for dozens of Indian families whose members remain unaccounted for. Social media is awash with desperate pleas, photos and details of the young and old, men and women,

Organisers say people must revive spiritual relationship with food amid double threat of climate crisis and conflict Mending the broken food system under the threat of climate-driven weather extremes will require more than economic fixes and intensive agriculture, according to the organisers of a pioneering summit this week, who say the world must revive its spiritual relationship with food. Delegates from more than 60 countries and the UN will gather for the next five days in Paro in the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan for the world’s first “conscious food summit”, which will bring together governments and farmers, mindfulness experts

In today’s newsletter: As rescuers search for survivors after catastrophic floods, the disaster offers a stark warning about the climate risks facing the region, and the world Good morning. Over the weekend, rescue workers in Nepal and Tibet raced to find people who are still trapped in villages affected by catastrophic flash floods. As of this morning, the death toll stands at 903, and more than 4,000 people are missing. For those of you reading this in a place where life continues as usual, the scale of devastation is hard to fathom. In a matter of minutes, a torrent of

Total of 804 confirmed dead and more than 3,000 missing amid threat of fresh inundation ‘Their whole village has disappeared’: frantic hunt for survivors in Kathmandu hospital Rescuers in Nepal and Tibet have battled through leg-sucking mud amid the threat of fresh flooding to search for thousands of people still missing after a deadly wall of water swept through the Himalayan border zone, engulfing entire villages. The latest updates on Sunday put the number of missing at 3,048, including hundreds of foreigners. There was a total of 804 confirmed deaths across Nepal and Tibet, and reports of some bodies swept

Yield on 30-year government bonds jumps to 5.88%, the highest since 1998, in bond rout triggered by global factors Business live – latest updates The UK government’s long-term borrowing costs jumped to their highest level since early 1998 on Tuesday as a global bond sell-off gathered pace. The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year UK government bonds, known as gilts, hit 5.89% as traders fretted about a fresh increase in oil prices driving up inflation. Continue reading...

Seven-year-old girl and aunt, 34, died and four others were injured in blaze near Middlesbrough last week A 23-year-old man has appeared in court charged with murdering a seven-year-old girl and her aunt who died in a house fire. Natalie McDonald, 34, and Valentina Foster died and four other people were injured in the blaze in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, in the early hours of 26 August. Continue reading...

PM will tell Commons he wants to unlock ‘positivity’ after a summer of policy announcements and improved poll ratings Andy Burnham has vowed to “stamp out antisemitism for good” in a tribute to the victims of the Manchester synagogue terror attack. In a post on social media , he said: We send our love and support to the Jewish community in Manchester and beyond who last night gathered to remember Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who were killed defending their synagogue last year. My thoughts are with their families and all those who have been affected by the attack. I

Average price of home rose 0.2% month on month in August to £275,465 as market awaits interest rate vote Houses near top state secondary schools ‘cost £40,000 more’ UK house prices increased for the first time in four months in August, according to a leading index, as buyers and sellers remained in a “holding pattern” before an expected increase in interest rates later this year. The average price of a British home rose 0.2% month on month in August to £275,465, the first increase since April, according to Nationwide. Analysts had forecast a 0.1% rise. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Some staff call decision a betrayal of young apprentices who are often selected to increase diversity The BBC is facing internal anger after a group of apprentices were told they could no longer expect jobs they had been promised, as a result of the corporation’s sweeping cuts. In a sign of the pressure the BBC is under to find savings , apprentices working with BBC News were told that “exceptional circumstances” meant the broadcaster could no longer stand by its pledge to find them permanent positions. Continue reading...

Speaker Mike Johnson to launch a floor vote designed to prevent any federal shutdown before the November midterms Thousands of American service members are about to descend on eastern Thailand, as the USS Abraham Lincoln makes a port call near the city of Pattaya. The aircraft carrier sailed past Singapore over the weekend on its way back to the US after a lengthy deployment in the Middle East as part of the US war against Iran. Continue reading...

Jury took about three hours to reach verdict in case that relied heavily on confessions from the defendant. Plus, the woman who lived with and loved Freddie Mercury as her fiance Good morning. A Las Vegas jury has found the former South Side Compton Crips gang leader Duane Keith Davis guilty of the murder of Tupac Shakur , bringing the case to a close nearly 30 years after the rapper was gunned down. The jury took about three hours to reach a guilty verdict in a case that relied heavily on multiple confessions from Davis himself. The 63-year-old, who was

Inquiry come after conservative thinktanks claim unions are using member dues to support Democratic causes House Republicans are investigating several US labor unions based on claims from far-right nonprofits alleging union dues are being used for illegal political funding. Republicans on the House’s education and workforce committee opened the investigation this summer after multiple reports from the conservative thinktanks targeted unions and their spending, claiming that unions are using member dues to support Democratic causes. Continue reading...

Age on the agenda in Massachusetts but octogenarian leftwinger leads younger rival Seth Moulton in primary poll Democrats have spent the summer ousting long-serving incumbents in primaries across the country. On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will decide whether that generational revolt extends to the 80-year-old Ed Markey, whose younger Democratic rival has argued that the incumbent is simply too old to serve another term. But the Senate primary in this heavily Democratic state flips a central dynamic of previous contests, where youthful progressive insurgents have targeted – and in several cases, toppled – older incumbents they derided as avatars of an

Experts say ruling could undermine the ‘actual malice’ standard and make publishers more wary of critical reporting A $300,000 jury verdict won recently by a Louisiana supreme court justice who sued the Advocate , the state’s largest newspaper, for libel over an editorial has caused concern among some US press freedom advocates. One said the decision demonstrated a misunderstanding of a key legal principle governing such cases. And another worries the verdict could have a chilling effect on the media industry’s efforts to report on powerful people and institutions. Continue reading...

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, the White House said Monday, in the latest departure of a top military leader during the Trump administration. No reason was given for the departure of Driscoll, who is a friend of US Vice-President J.D. Vance, but tensions with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have been widely reported. It marks the latest in a series of shake-ups of the military leadership, with the US Army especially seeing major upheaval. “Secretary...

The US Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to continue construction of his White House ballroom, granting him a major victory as he works to leave a permanent mark on Washington. The conservative-dominated court ruled 5-4 to lift a lower order demanding most construction be halted, saying that the plaintiff in the case likely did not have legal standing to sue. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberals in dissenting, writing in an opinion that the major...

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial on Monday spent a third day deliberating without reaching a verdict on whether the former labour and delivery nurse is criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023 – a case that has drawn attention to maternal mental health after childbirth. The jurors began discussing the case on Thursday in Plymouth County Superior Court in Massachusetts after hearing testimony from more than 70 prosecution witnesses, including her former husband, and 10...

A Chilean court on Monday fined a Chinese man caught with cocaine inside a Santiago prison, where he is being held on charges of homicide, kidnapping and drug trafficking. It was the second such ruling in five involving a Chinese inmate in five months, with prosecutors linking the two men to the same criminal network. Officers had searched Haifeng Tang at Santiago Uno prison on August 12, a day before his move to La Laguna, the maximum-security jail at the centre of President Jose Antonio Kast’s...

A man refusing to eat food while jailed on charges he shot two National Guard troops near the White House, killing one of them, can be fed against his will under a judge’s emergency order. US District Judge Amit Mehta agreed on Saturday to order “non-consensual” nutrition and medical treatment for Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was rushed to a hospital in July after he stopped eating. Mehta said Federal Bureau of Prisons medical staff can feed Lakanwal intravenously or through a medical tube to save...

Top fashion designer John Galliano announced on Monday he is cancelling an exhibition of his work that was to kick off New York’s Met Gala next spring, following criticism from donors and political leaders over his past antisemitic remarks. “After much reflection and discussion with all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time,” Galliano, 65, wrote on Instagram. “I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my...

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda said he has been briefed by the US on the content of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s talks in Moscow, describing the visit as aimed at reducing regional tensions. “I can say at this stage that the meeting achieved its stated objectives, and it was aimed at reducing tensions in the region,” Nauseda said in Vilnius, according to Lithuanian media reports on Monday. “I very much hope that this message reached the Kremlin regime in good time.” He did not provide...

An ex-street gang leader accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting death of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur three decades ago in Las Vegas was convicted of murder on Monday for his role in a long-unsolved crime that silenced one of rap music’s most influential voices. A jury in Clark County, Nevada, ‌deliberated for nearly three hours before finding Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, guilty of a single count of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, capping an 11-day trial in a downtown Las Vegas...

US President Donald Trump will meet oil refining executives on Tuesday as he tries to tame fuel prices sent spiralling by the Iran war ahead of midterm elections in November, the White House said. The talks at the White House also come days after Trump announced a deal for a huge US stake in the oil reserves of Venezuela, whose leader Nicolas Maduro was toppled by US forces in January. Republicans fear voters will punish them in November’s crucial US midterm elections after high fuel prices...

France will from Tuesday impose a fee on ultra-fast fashion items that will eventually reach almost €20 (US$23.20) per garment, as the government targets major Asian e-commerce platforms including Shein. The levy follows legislation passed by the French parliament in June to regulate “ultra-fast fashion” companies, known for selling large volumes of lower-quality clothing at rock-bottom prices. It is part of a push to rein in Asian e-commerce giants including Shein, Temu and AliExpress, which...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese executive filmed taking cash on Colombia metro project Colombian prosecutors are investigating allegations that executives of a Chinese state-owned contractor building the Bogota metro demanded cash from a local subcontractor in exchange for releasing payments owed for work on...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Harvard, MIT among 30 US universities ordered to audit China research ties Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University were among 30 American institutions ordered to audit their foreign research relationships, according to US officials, as...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday there were signs Russia and Israel had spread the disinformation over Spain’s migration policy that triggered last month’s rush of migrants into Ceuta, but no evidence of Moroccan involvement. Over 72,000 migrants irregularly crossed ‌from Morocco into the tiny Spanish territory between July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union’s only two land borders with Africa, prompting alarm across the bloc. At least 100 people...

Israel signed a multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Greece, the largest between the two Mediterranean countries, as Israeli defence exports soar. Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Monday the nearly €3 billion (US$3.5 billion) defence export deal, coined Achilles Shield, was one of the country’s largest and included a multilayered air defence system for Greece using Israeli technology. “Israel and Greece share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges. At a time when actors...

A UN committee has said countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and take other measures to address the enduring legacy of racial discrimination it says persists today. Guidance published on Monday by the Committee on the Elimination of ‌Racial Discrimination stated that the obligations arise from a legally binding 1965 convention on racial discrimination, not from the legal standards that existed when the slave trade took place. The committee...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. What Japan’s coming fighter jet deployment to India means for China Japan plans to deploy fighter jets in India for the first time next month, a decision experts say reflects Tokyo’s desire to strengthen security cooperation with “like-minded” countries in the Indo-Pacific region as it ramps up...

Google has updated its maps application to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States, reflecting a recent order by US President Donald Trump that changed the name of the lake, the global technology giant said. The Google Maps update comes days after Trump’s order amid an escalating trade war with Canada that has led both countries to impose billions of dollars in added tariffs on each other’s goods. It echoes what Google did in 2025 when Trump issued an order to rename...

At least one person was killed and around 15 others are missing after a flash flood at the Grand Canyon, one of the most popular tourist sites in the United States, the National Park Service said in a statement on Sunday. The floods hit the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area on Saturday, forcing dozens of people to evacuate and damaging the sole water pipeline serving the park. The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered on Sunday evening near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River in...

US forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Vowing to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack, Iran later said it had launched missiles at US sites in Jordan. Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the US...

A prominent leader of the dissident factions of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia who operated in a volatile area in the country’s southwest region was killed on Sunday during a military operation, said President Abelardo de la Espriella. The president said the death of a man known as “Felipe” or “Arcadio” was a “crushing blow” to the dissident faction led by a man who goes by “Ivan Mordisco”. De la Espriella posted a video on social media presumably showing a person in a body...

US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened a prominent NBC broadcast journalist with possible punishment by US media regulators as the Republican expressed disappointment with coverage of his candidate endorsements ahead of November’s midterm elections. Trump took to his Truth Social platform to attack Kristen Welker as the “unpopular ‘hostess’ of the once great Meet the Press” talk show. He objected to her having said the president had had “mixed results” on his endorsement of political...

Ukraine is preparing for a new round of talks with representatives of US President Donald Trump, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, expressing hope that diplomacy can prevent open conflict from remaining the only path forward. “There will be more details tomorrow. We will do everything we can so that war does not remain the only option for how events unfold further,” Zelensky said in a televised address. “It is important that America shares many of our views on the situation”. US-led...

Iceland’s voters rejected restarting negotiations to join the European Union in a referendum that pitted concerns about geopolitical stability against keeping national control of Iceland’s prized fisheries, officials said on Sunday. Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8 per cent to 47.2 per cent, the National Electoral Commission said. The result puts the divisive issue to rest for now – more than a decade after a Eurosceptic government ended EU talks that had begun after the 2008...

A passenger ferry capsized and sank off Northern Cyprus Sunday, killing at least eight people and leaving more than a dozen missing, officials and media reports said, as police took the captain and seven crew members into custody. Several rescued passengers told local media a blast had gone off at the bow of the ferry before it rolled over, and said the boat had an insufficient supply of life-vests. The vessel capsized 6.5km (4 miles) off the coast of Cyprus, shortly after leaving a Northern...

Andy Burnham has enjoyed a honeymoon first month as UK prime minister, but the hard trade-offs involved in governing are about to get real as parliament returns from its summer break in the coming days. Since succeeding Keir Starmer on July 20, Burnham has pleased voters with several low-cost sweeteners, including cutting electricity bills and bus fares, while burnishing his casual man-of-the-people vibes. He has poured pints of beer with his finance minister, played guitar in Ukraine, and kept...

Earlier this month, when US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened sanctions against any nation continuing to purchase Iranian crude oil, he did not name China. He did not need to. China, the Islamic Republic’s largest oil customer, is squarely in Washington’s crosshairs. The US has already unveiled new sanctions against 60 individuals, companies and vessels linked to Iranian trade, including some in mainland China and Hong Kong. Just three months after the May summit between President Xi...

Venezuelan hardliners and opposition forces alike criticised acting president Delcy Rodriguez for agreeing to grant the US exclusive access to the country’s valuable oil resources. She may be betting that the deal with US President Donald Trump is her ticket to a tighter grip on power. One potential advantage for Rodriguez is if the deal to give the US majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan crude hems in the Trump administration’s incentive to press for swift election. “I think...

Zurich, Aug 31, 2026 (AFP) -A 43-year-old Swiss man was arrested on Monday on “strong suspicion” of being behind a rare deadly gun attack at a rave in Switzerland, police said. Gunfire erupted in the early hours of Sunday morning as an annual rave was winding down at the racecourse in Aarau, capital of Switzerland’s northern canton of Aargau. The attack triggered an international manhunt for the shooter, who left an Italian woman dead and wounded five others, some seriously. “A 43-year-old Swiss...

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said he did not believe ⁠Russia would risk ⁠an attack against a Nato country, ⁠telling Germany’s Bild newspaper it would “make no sense” to test the resolve of the alliance. Western officials have warned of a growing risk of Russian hybrid operations, including cyberattacks, against European countries potentially leading to a direct ‌confrontation with the Nato alliance. German officials have said they assess Russia would be in a position to attack a Nato...

From trolling Canada about a lake to suddenly talking about Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump’s recent distractions speak louder than words. The former reality television star has long been known for his reliance upon a simple tactic: when you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation. But the 80-year-old’s recent stunts appear to be even more targeted than usual at wrestling the news away from the Iran war and the economy as difficult midterm elections loom in November. “This...

British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported back to the UK after his arrest by American immigration authorities, US officials said on Saturday. The US Department of Homeland Security said Yiannopoulos was returned to his home country on Friday after being accused of overstaying after entering the US legally in May 2019. An immigration judge had issued a final order of removal on July 22 after he failed to show up for an immigration hearing, a Homeland Security spokesman...

Scientists in South Africa are investigating why masses of sardines have washed up dead or dying along parts of the country’s west and south coast – and if a herpes virus detected in the fish is responsible. The mass mortality of sardines this month has so far stumped the country’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, though scientists have come to at least one conclusion: it is the first time that the virus in question – pilchard herpesvirus, or PHV – has been identified in...

Mutinying soldiers led armed clashes in Niger’s capital on Saturday, alarming residents, but the ruling junta said it had largely wrested back control after hours of heavy exchanges around some of its most sensitive sites. While the fighting had subsided later on Saturday, the rebel troops were said by a regional security source and an African diplomatic source to be holed up in an airbase near the capital’s airport. Niger’s ruling junta declared, in a statement read on state television, that it...

At least 37 people have died after a Russian drone struck a depot near Kyiv’s western suburbs overnight, sparking a huge fire and explosions, authorities said on Saturday. The depot, near the capital’s western suburbs, appeared to have been storing “explosive objects”, Ukrainian prosecutors said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested ammunition was to blame. “Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions... ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other...

Norway’s new King Haakon VIII on Saturday addressed Norwegians for the first time since taking the throne, paying tribute to his 89-year-old father who died the day before. “Above all, you were a person who always stayed true to your values and commitments,” Haakon said of the late King Harald V in a televised speech. The new regent said it had been a “powerful and moving experience” to see the thousands of Norwegians who had gathered since Friday outside the Royal Palace in Oslo with “flowers,...

Mukti Patel has huddled with family and friends at her parents’ Richmond, Virginia, home since her dad, sister and two other relatives went missing in the catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal-China border. She knows the hotel they were staying in was swept away. But as she shared memories of them on Friday, she caught herself. “I shouldn’t talk in past tense yet,” she said. “We don’t know anything.” As rescuers continued pulling survivors from the mud, family members of some of the more...

Iranian leaders are acknowledging the economic toll of war with the United States, with the supreme leader calling on the government to address the hardship while the president reported foreign trade has shrunk 35 per cent due to the American sanctions and blockade. The warnings came even as other leaders threaten the US with military retaliation and declarations that the Iranian navy maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway giving Iran ‌leverage through its ability to...

A former White House teleprompter operator accused of using inside knowledge to make bets on the prediction market Kalshi has been ordered to turn over more than US$100,000 in profits and pay a US$65,000 fine as part of a settlement with federal authorities. The settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced on Friday, also dealt Gabriel Perez a three-year trading ban. Perez was placed on unpaid leave from his job at the White House after reports emerged that he used his...

In contemporary discourse, the bogeyman of “debt traps” is almost exclusively tied to Beijing. Western media, think tanks, NGOs and policymakers from Washington to Brussels frequently warn developing nations of the perils of bilateral loans from China. Yet, Grenada’s debt dispute from a decade ago and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ (SVG) current troubles offer a starkly different, and often ignored, counter-narrative: the weaponisation of debt by Taiwan. For years, Grenada has grappled with...

President Donald Trump’s administration is considering giving a section of the renowned Yosemite National Park to a private developer, a lawyer for the company confirmed on Friday. The National Park Service had been holding talks with Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital to build an access road from a 33-hectare (83-acre) private property just outside the park to Yosemite’s entrance, in exchange for land elsewhere, lawyer Lanny Davis said. The news was first reported by NOTUS on Friday. The...

President Donald Trump on Friday said the US had entered an agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American country’s oil reserves. Trump in a social media post announced the agreement he said was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. “The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!”...

US immigration officials arrested controversial British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday in New Orleans, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration officials announced on Friday that Yiannopoulos was arrested at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and accused him of overstaying after entering the United States legally in May 2019 through New York. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on July 22 after Yiannopoulos failed to show...

Artificial intelligence (AI) poses risks that do not respect national borders, from cyberattacks and misinformation to system malfunction and potentially dangerous misuse. In a geopolitically charged world, does greater incompatibility between countries make AI safer? UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres offered a clear answer at the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance: “When countries align on how to test systems, measure risk and assign responsibility, safety travels with the...

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced the creation of a “Space Academy” to train future civilian and military recruits for an arena where the United States faces rivalry with China. Speaking at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Trump said the institution would be modelled on the famed US military academy at West Point. “It’s called the US Space Academy. That’s a big deal,” Trump said as he signed an executive order creating the new school. “It’ll serve both the United States Space...

President Donald Trump arrives at an awkward moment for his presidency on Friday as the US-Israel war against Iran reaches the six-month mark, a notable milestone for a conflict that the Republican leader repeatedly assured Americans would be a “little excursion” lasting a matter of weeks. The war is not over, though Trump claims that through bombs and blockade, he has already devastated Iran’s leadership, military and economy. And this week his administration said it would turn its focus to...

Questioning a state’s investigation is highly unusual for the public health agency, but reflects tensions between the Trump administration and many states over health issues.

After Justice Scalia died, the justices held private negotiations about locking away their papers. We may not see the ultimate record of the Roberts court for decades.

Lower-court rulings would have blocked construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom after finding that the Trump administration should have first sought approval from Congress.

Duane Keith Davis, 63, was found guilty of first-degree murder after he went on an interview tour discussing his role in the 1996 drive-by shooting.

Duane Keith Davis, once a high-ranking member of the South Side Compton Crips, long said he was in a Cadillac with the shooter in 1996. Then he began to recant his accounts.

Shortly before he was murdered in 1996, the rapper had released “All Eyez on Me,” a landmark album that turned him into a superstar.

Because you’re busy.

Big technology and management changes are greeting John Ternus, whose long-serving predecessor, Tim Cook, will stay on as executive chair.

Vice President JD Vance also told Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee, to “keep my wife’s name out of your mouth.”

Senator Edward Markey, who began his congressional career in 1976, faces a challenge from Representative Seth Moulton.

Rajendra Dawadi had less than 15 minutes to act on a warning of approaching floodwaters. His swift evacuation plan saved hundreds of lives.

The country is seeking urgent help from a special U.N. climate fund, but the program lacks money because the United States and others have been reluctant to contribute.

The latest measures have forced the cancellation of English proficiency and graduate exams, isolating many Iranians most eager to foster ties with the world.

With a global audience, Ma models a way of being that goes against the grain of cynicism, polarization and isolation. It’s up to us to pay attention.

We must be honest about the seriousness of the situation we’re in.

How senior leaders of the armed forces dodge accountability.

The police fired at the woman, who was holding two knives, after trying to use less lethal force, officials said. A woman, 32, was killed, and a man, 68, is in stable condition.