Minimalist News

Doll-Heads Apparently Fooling Tesla FSD. Is Facial-Recognition Update Next? Chinese e-commerce platforms are selling miniature heads that, according to Fred Lambert at the EV blog Electrek , are being used to "trick Tesla's cabin camera into thinking a driver is paying attention." Priced at $20 to $50 and marketed as dashboard decorations or "travel companions," these miniature heads are mounted near the rearview mirror to mimic a human face while Autopilot or Full Self-Driving is engaged. via Instagram user " decentmiss_ " ... While FSD is engaged, Tesla's cabin camera monitors driver attentiveness, including whether the driver repeatedly looks away

Inflection Point Overload? By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities Inflection Point Overload? Between 250th Celebrations, heat waves, power failures, and jet lag, I feel more discombobulated than I have in a long time (I do admit that I really liked a sign that I think was in PHX airport just past security – Recombobulation Area ). I think that’s what I could use. In any case, last weekend’s ProSec Mid-Year Outlook is worth checking out. We had people send us several variations of the same theme – the concept is catching on for investors and corporations even if the name

With Dismissed Lawsuits And DOE Support, Holtec Delays Palisades Nuclear Plant Restart Further Holtec announced last week that the major refurbishment projects at Palisades are complete . Reactor vessel inspections, head penetration replacements, steam generator tube refurbishment, primary system decontamination, and operator training all wrapped up. New fuel now sits on site , ready for loading. The company called it a "watershed moment" and shifted focus to grinding through the remaining work. Yet there is still no restart date… “Holtec International remains on track to restart operations at Palisades in October 2025 ” These are the comments provided by a

Clashing Over Saylor, Strategy, And Bitcoin's Biggest Risks Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance Sometimes the best conversations happen after an argument. That's exactly what unfolded this week when I sat down with fund manager Larry Lepard for a discussion that almost never happened. After disagreeing earlier in the week over my criticism of Michael Saylor, Strategy, and the company's evolving Bitcoin strategy, we decided to hash it out publicly in a podcast/debate. Stupid thing to get in the way of a friendship, right ? The result wasn't a shouting match. It was a substantive debate between two people who actually

Devastating Evidence: Tyler Robinson Preliminary Hearing A Slam Dunk For Prosecution Did the Israelis do it? Did the US government? Did Charlie Kirk's wife plan it? Did Trump have Charlie killed? Nope. It turns out that all the theories raging online about the "real" assassins behind the Charlie Kirk murder were complete bunk - A distraction away from the obvious suspect and the leftist movement that inspired him. Anyone waiting for concrete evidence to be produced before forming conclusions on the Tyler Robinson case was richly rewarded in the past week, because the preliminary court hearing did not disappoint. The

"The Same Monstrous Theme... Collectivism" Authored by The Federalist Papers Project ( @TheFederalist1 ) via X , Ayn Rand was right when she wrote these words, and she is still right now. “Fascism, Nazism, Communism and Socialism are only superficial variations of the same monstrous theme: collectivism.” That is the part too many people refuse to understand. These systems may use different slogans. They may wave different flags. They may promise different futures. One may speak in the language of nationalism, another in the language of equality, another in the language of compassion, another in the language of revolution. But

Mexican President Seeking Legal Action Against The US Over Deaths Of Alien Migrants Should foreign governments be allowed to support or fund lawsuits against the US government over its immigration and enforcement policies? US sovereign immunity aside, the very idea of foreigners trying to influence American immigration law through indirect civil suits sounds insane. Why, oh why, should Americans care what Mexico thinks? To put the issue in context, it's important to understand that the Mexican government has been actively encouraging and enabling mass illegal immigration into the US for decades. This strategy accomplishes a few things simultaneously: First, the

'Witness List Expanding...': A Seth Rich Scenario Authored by James Howard Kunstler, "Witness list expanding in multi-conspiracy probe out of Fort Pierce. . . ." - Paul Sperry, Real Clear investigations. The scene: February of 2027, a federal courtroom in Fort Pierce (St. Lucie County), Florida, the third day of trial in the RussiaGate matter. Defendants seated on the right (from the judge’s vantage) are so numerous they require two tables, including John Brennan, James Comey, James Clapper, Andrew McCabe, Rod Rosenstein, Strzok & Page, Bruce Ohr, Lisa Monaco, Mary McCord, Christopher Wray, Marc Elias, and seven other former federal

Ukrainian Expert Dismisses Trump Pledge On Patriot Missile License As Empty PR President Trump's declaration from the NATO summit in Turkey this week saying that he'll give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot defense systems has been met with a lot of skepticism, both among Ukrainians and internationally. "We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it," Trump had said. "I think they can produce them pretty quickly . " via Associated Press Zelensky seized on the opening, telling reports on Thursday, "America has recognized Ukraine as a country that is ready to do

"Planet's Strongest Heat Dome" To Bake America's Heartland What some meteorologists are calling the "planet's strongest heat dome" is set to build over America's heartland next week. Triple-digit temperatures are expected across the northern Plains, with dangerous heat pushing eastward into parts of the Mid-Atlantic. " The planet's strongest heat dome will develop over the Intermountain West and Plains into next week ," meteorologists Ben Noll wrote on X, adding, " This will produce rare levels of heat up to around 110 degrees in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas. On Sunday, Billings, Montana, could be hotter than Phoenix !"

"What Makes It Even Stranger...": Trump Describes Saturday Night Phone Call With Lindsey Graham Hours Before Senator's Death Update (1815ET): Officially, Graham died of an aortic dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, according to preliminary findings by the DC Medical Examiner - so who knows. An aortic dissection is characterized as a tearing of the aortic wall. Update (1135ET): President Trump has weighed in on Graham's death, telling Meet the Press that Graham called him in the 'early evening,' to tell Trump he was 'all set for the Save America Act,' and that it may have been the last call

Tehran Declares Hormuz Closed, But Ships Are Still Transiting The Strait of Hormuz’s southern shipping channel remained open Sunday morning despite a sharp escalation in tit-for-tat attacks, with the US launching a third round of airstrikes on Iran and Tehran retaliating against US-linked targets across Arab Gulf states. " Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continued at reduced levels, with vessels transiting via both the southern Omani corridor and the northern Iranian-controlled route ," the Joint Maritime Information Center wrote in a note early Sunday. JMIC added, " Traffic patterns continued to reflect operator caution following recent attacks ."

US Population Growth Prospects Corrected Downwards The population of the United States is projected to keep on climbing beyond 2100 . However, the rate of increase that can be expected until 2050 has been significantly corrected downwards over the last couple of years. As Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports, according to the Congressional Budget Office , 349 million people live in the United States in 2026. In 2050, this is expected to have risen to 364 million. In 2019, previous to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2050 forecast had still shown a U.S. population of 389 million. You will find more infographics

EU Eyes 2040 Electrification Target To Slash Oil and Gas Dependence Authored by Charles Kennedy via OilPrice.com, The European Commission is set to unveil next week an electrification target for 2040 in a bid to reduce the need for fossil fuels and strengthen the renewable energy sector in the EU, according to a draft proposal seen by Bloomberg News . The Commission, the EU’s legislative arm, is expected to propose on July 17 a target for the share of electrification, still unspecified, as part of the energy consumption in the bloc by 2040. “With decisive action at all levels, Europe

IMF Downgrades Global Growth Forecast Second Time In A Row The IMF downgraded global growth prospects for the second time this year, saying it expects the global economy to grow by just 3 percent in 2026. As Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports, in January, this projection had still stood at 3.3 percent. While the downgrade is slight, it still conveys the multiple risks to the global economy currently present. As shocks from the Iran war persist, driving up the price of energy and other traded goods, disinflation has stalled and financial markets continue to be at risk of negative reactions. The

Record High 53% Of Gang Rape Suspects Were Foreigners In 2025 In Germany Via Remix News, The share of foreigners involved in gang rapes hit a record high in 2025, reaching 53 percent. A total of 751 victims were gang-raped in the country. The data comes from a response by the German federal government to a parliamentary request by the Alternative for Germany (AfD). According to the statistics, 53 percent of the suspects — a total of 574 — did not have German citizenship in gang rape cases. Broken down by nationality, 110 suspects came from Syria, 64 from Afghanistan,

The Economics Of The Surveillance State Authored by John Wilder , “That was a Beria operation in Stalin’s time. It was deactivated twenty years ago.” – The Living Daylights How did KGB agents commit suicide? Two shots to the back of the head. (all photo content as-found) Remember Lavrentiy Beria’s cheerful advice: “Show me the man, and I will find the crime”? Back in the Soviet Union they had so many laws on the books that everybody broke at least one before lunch, I mean, when lunch was available. And if they didn’t, they could make up something. Beria just

Which States Produce The Most Food In America? From California’s fruit and vegetable farms to the Midwest’s vast corn and soybean fields, agriculture looks very different across the United States. Using the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( USDA ), this graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, ranks every state by its agricultural production value in 2024. America’s Largest Agricultural Economies The table below shows each state’s agricultural production value in 2024. Together, the top 10 states account for well over half of America’s agricultural production value. Geography, climate, water availability, and decades of specialization have helped

Next-Gen Ramjet Fuel Propulsion System For Future Offensive, Defensive Missions Tested Authored by Prabhat Ranjan Mishra via Interesting Engineering , L3Harris has taken a significant step toward advancing next-generation propulsion technology for future offensive and defensive missions. The approach marks an essential risk reduction step in enabling solid fuel ramjet propulsion to help close a critical performance, and cost gap. (Representational image) The company revealed that a recent test demonstrated progress toward a high-performance, lower-cost propulsion option. The test also met the Department of War's goal to provide superior advanced weapon systems, at affordable mass, that will outpace adversaries and

California Ex-Police Official Tops State Payroll With $1.2 Million Payday Former Redlands Police Deputy Chief Travis Martinez received nearly $1.2 million in wages in 2025, the highest reported compensation for any city employee in California, according to newly released data from the State Controller's Office and reporting by the New York Post . Payroll records show Martinez collected $81,804 in regular pay, $890,467 in other compensation and $231,099 in lump-sum payments before retiring in April. The city also contributed roughly $55,900 toward his retirement and health benefits, bringing his total compensation package to about $1.26 million. The State Controller's Office

Discontent with Trump-backed government mounts as Chávez heirs struggle to respond to disaster for which they seem ill-prepared Even before two powerful earthquakes reduced the OPPE 25 government housing project to an anarchy of shattered concrete and broken lives, the foundations of Hugo Chávez’s populist “Bolivarian” revolution were shaking in what was once a hotbed of support. Gabriel González remembers his elation when, in 2013, he received the keys to his freshly completed apartment in one of the 12-floor tower blocks El Comandante had ordered to be built in an affluent corner of the resort town of Caraballeda. Continue reading...

Police say two people exchanged gunfire in shooting that mayor called an ‘irresponsible act of violence’ in festival attended by families A shooting near a Toronto street festival killed two men and wounded four other people on Saturday evening, police said, adding that what initially prompted an active-shooter warning was an exchange of gunfire between two people targeting each other. Toronto police deputy chief Frank Barredo said investigators recovered two firearms after the shooting, which was reported at 8.12pm near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, where the Salsa on St Clair festival was underway. Continue reading...

Nearly 17,000 injured and thousands more listed as missing amid calls by president Delcy Rodríguez and UN for financial help The death toll in Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes has passed 4,300, the government said on Saturday. At least 4,333 people were killed and 16,740 injured in the back-to-back quakes on 24 June that flattened entire districts in the coastal state of La Guaira, the Venezuelan parliament chief, Jorge Rodríguez, wrote on Telegram. Thousands more people are listed as missing. Continue reading...

Reporting suggests FBI involved in seizure of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García from Mexican territory in 2024 Mexico has launched an investigation into whether the US lied about its involvement in the capture and secretive transfer of a top Sinaloa cartel member in 2024, in what would be a potential violation of the country’s sovereignty. The US has long denied it played any role in the operation to detain the drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, a founder of the Sinaloa cartel, inside Mexico. Recent reporting by the local media outlet Pie de Nota , however, suggested that the

Activist is challenging ruling last year that restored colonial-era homophobic law against same-sex intimacy Some of the UK’s top judges are hearing arguments over whether a Trinidad and Tobago court had the legal right to overturn a 2018 ruling to remove colonial-era homophobic laws that criminalise anal sex between consenting men. The country’s “ buggery law ”, often referred to as its “sodomy” law, was created in 1925 and was written into Trinidad and Tobago’s 1986 Sexual Offences Act . In 2017 a Trinidadian LGBTQ+ rights activist, Jason Jones , challenged the law, and in 2018 a high court ruled

Fire is one of the deadliest such incidents in the popular tourist destination in ⁠recent years At least 27 people have ⁠been killed in a ⁠fire ​at a pub in Bangkok, Thailand’s prime minister and other officials said ⁠on Monday, in one of the deadliest such incidents in the tourism hub in ⁠recent years. “There are more than 27 dead,” said ​Anwut Pho-ampai, of ‌the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, which ‌operates a voluntary emergency rescue service. Continue reading...

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

SK hynix, a supplier of advanced memory chips, has seen profits skyrocket thanks to the global race to build AI datacentres South Korean chip maker SK hynix set pricing for its mega US listing on Friday, aiming to raise $26.5bn as it takes advantage of the AI boom in what will be one of the world’s biggest ever stock sales. The Asian semiconductor giant plans to issue the equivalent of about 18m shares on Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq index later in the day. Continue reading...

Plans to build a NZ$3.5bn datacentre in Makarewa in the country’s south has drawn concern about electricity and water use, and potential noise pollution People living near the site of New Zealand’s first planned AI datacentre are calling for more transparency about the project, especially about how the centre’s huge electricity and water use and potential noise pollution could affect them. Singapore-based company Datagrid has secured approval to build a NZ$3.5bn (US$2bn) AI datacentre on a 49-hectare site in Makarewa, just north of New Zealand’s southern-most city, Invercargill. Construction is due to begin this year, with the centre becoming operational

Local media in Hengzhou report king ratsnakes and cobras among hundreds in flood waters caused by typhoon Maysak Hundreds of snakes, including cobras, have escaped from flooded breeding farms in southern China as severe storms continue to batter parts of the country. State media reported that a snake farm in Hengzhou, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was hit by flood waters after days of heavy rainfall caused by typhoon Maysak , prompting warnings for nearby residents. Continue reading...

Almost 55% of homes at auction were sold, weekend figures show. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Great news for travellers: Australia to ditch paper arrival cards for incoming travellers The days of filling out paper arrival cards are to end for millions of travellers arriving in Australia on international flights. Continue reading...

Exclusive : Many aged care residents in Australia are charged for services they can’t use or understand, prompting an investigation from the regulator Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Jeff Gilling was surprised when he looked at the contract for the aged care home his mother, Dorothy, was about to enter. Contained within it was a $52 daily fee for Foxtel, outings, newspapers and a choice of wines. Continue reading...

Digital customs declaration to be phased in at all international airports and seaports after successful Qantas trial Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The days of filling out paper arrival cards are to end for millions of travellers arriving in Australia on international flights. The Albanese government has announced it will roll out digital passenger cards to all Australian international airports and seaports after a “successful” trial on Qantas flights into Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Continue reading...

Data shows the rightwing party faces an obstacle in the form of urban seats – and the effect of preference flows is harder to predict Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast One Nation’s spectacular rise from a distant 6% of the vote in the last election to first or second in some recent polls has upended Australian politics. It has also made it a lot harder to predict what exactly will happen at the next election. Traditionally, pollsters and election experts would look at how

Higher education chiefs, academics and students to give evidence this week at royal commission Australian universities will be required to adopt definitions on antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from next year, under a legally enforceable standard designed to stamp out discrimination on campuses. Details of the anti-racism standard will be published on Monday as university bosses, students and academics prepare to appear at the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion. Continue reading...

Pair airlifted to hospital in two-hour rescue operation after Guardia Civil searched area for survivors A British couple have been found badly burned and semi-conscious in a Spanish ravine amid deadly wildfires that have swept through the country’s Almería province, according to local media reports. The couple were on holiday in the region and were thought to be out hiking when they were caught up in the wildfire, which has so far killed 13 people and burned more than 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) . At least 23 people are missing. Continue reading...

Political leaders in both countries rebuke Mariano Rajoy after he writes team ‘does not have any French players’ The former Spanish conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy is facing growing accusations of racism after writing in a World Cup newspaper column that the French national team “does not have any French players”. Rajoy, who was in office from 2011 to 2018, pondered Spain’s looming semi-final showdown with France in an article for the online newspaper El Debate on Friday. Continue reading...

Authorities confirm worst toll in more than 20 years, as extreme temperatures in Europe force early closure of Eiffel Tower Nearly 100 people, the largest proportion of whom were young men, died by drowning in Germany last month, authorities have said, as extreme temperatures in western Europe that have been blamed for hundreds of excess deaths geared up again. In Germany’s worst death toll from drowning for more than two decades, 99 people died in June, according to official figures, after temperatures rose as high as 41.7C (107.1F) in some areas. Continue reading...

Vital maritime corridor closes after 90 vessels – including shadow fleet oil tankers – are attacked in under a week Russia has been forced to suspend shipping in the Sea of Azov after 90 vessels were targeted by Ukrainian drones in less than a week. Ukraine’s drone forces chief, Robert Brovdi, said on Sunday that his units had hit 10 tankers and four ferries overnight, as well as a major oil refinery in the city of Syzran. There had been several strikes on electricity substations in occupied Crimea, he added. Continue reading...

Disruption at Channel crossings expected to rise amid new fingerprint and facial recognition checks France and the UK have agreed to increase staffing at border controls in response to warnings of travel chaos caused by new fingerprinting and facial recognition checks. Disruption at Channel crossings is expected to rise sharply next weekend at the start of the summer holiday season, with MPs saying there would be “utter chaos and miles of tailbacks” unless the EU’s entry-exit system (EES) is fixed or checks are suspended. Continue reading...

Israeli ambassador to US accuses Ro Khanna of political stunt to distract from support for Graham Platner Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of “lying” on Sunday about the US congressman’s detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khanna – a California Democrat – had posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking the path of his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed

Ceasefire at the point of collapse after almost a week of tit-for-tat exchanges escalate tensions across Gulf region Donald Trump has rejected Iranian claims to have closed off the strait of Hormuz as both sides battled for control over the waterway, leaving a ceasefire agreed last month at the point of collapse. US forces said they had attacked 140 targets in Iran on Saturday night and Sunday morning after Tehran struck and disabled a container ship in the strait, whose transit it said had not been approved. In a statement, US Central Command (Centcom) said its targets had included missile

Ro Khanna said settlers were armed with US-made weapons and Israel Defense Forces refused to intervene The US congressman Ro Khanna says armed Israeli settlers detained him during a visit to the Israel -occupied West Bank recently, describing the experience as a first-hand view of the realities faced by Palestinians living under occupation. In an interview with Reuters on Thursday from a Palestinian village, the progressive US House Democrat from California said his detention happened the previous day while his delegation visited an area of the southern West Bank that has experienced repeated attacks by Israeli settlers. Continue reading...

Plans specify tolls must not be compulsory as US officials urge Iran to make public guarantee of safe passage for shipping Europe is studying proposals that could allow navigation fees to be charged in the strait of Hormuz, provided the payments are not compulsory and have the support of the UN agency that regulates maritime transport. Britain’s deputy prime minister, David Lammy, said imposing mandatory tolls would be disastrous. But some cabinet colleagues said they recognised that payments for specific navigational services were permissible in many natural waterways, including the strait of Malacca and the English Channel. Continue reading...

Renewed attacks the largest since an interim memorandum was signed this June, with Trump saying fragile truce is ‘over’ The US and Iran traded retaliatory strikes on Thursday as US president Donald Trump threatened to escalate the conflict unless Iran stopped attacking ships in the strait of Hormuz. Iran responded to the latest round of attacks by targeting US-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the US of striking near its sole nuclear power plant. Continue reading...

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

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

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

Amnesty International says Albanese has opportunity to ‘reaffirm mutual commitment’ to rule of law as thousands in diaspora expected at stadium event Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Australia in three years has sparked calls for the federal government to raise human rights concerns, as excitement builds within the nation’s Indian diaspora. Modi’s visit begins on Wednesday evening and marks his third since becoming prime minister. It will see him return to Melbourne after more than

Thousands of women are killed in dowry disputes each year, despite the practice being banned in 1961 Dowry deaths in India no longer provoke the public anger they once did, despite thousands of women’s lives still being lost every year, according to new research. The killings – women who are murdered or driven to suicide following dowry disputes between families – have also faded from political debate, despite an increase in cases. Continue reading...

Fire in Walthamstow producing a ‘significant amount of smoke’, says London fire brigade More than 100 firefighters are tackling a fire at a railway embankment in east London. Twenty-five fire engines and about 125 firefighters were called to the incident near Vallentin Road in Walthamstow. Continue reading...

Politicians should not comment before facts established, says ex-chief constable, as Farage calls killing ‘premeditated murder’ Senior police figures and politicians have warned against speculation during the murder investigation into Ann Widdecombe’s death, after detectives said there was “nothing to suggest” political motivation following an intervention from Nigel Farage. Devon and Cornwall police said on Sunday the killing was not being treated as terrorism nor as politically motivated. Officers said they remained open-minded about the motive and urged the public not to speculate, warning it was both unhelpful to the investigation and distressing for Widdecombe’s family. Continue reading...

Youngsters confirmed safe but men pronounced dead after being brought out of water at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool Two men have died after going into the water at a beach in County Durham to try to help two children who had gotten into difficulty, police said. Officers were called at about 3.45pm on Sunday after concerns were raised about two youngsters in the water at Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Party’s average registered donation was £137, 496 last year, almost six times that of Labour or Tories Reform UK would have held just 15% of the donations it received last year if a proposed £100,000 cap on political donations had been in force, according to analysis shared with the Guardian. The analysis by Friends of the Earth using Electoral Commission data highlights the party’s reliance on a handful of wealthy backers in advance of a showdown over political funding. Continue reading...

Owner Christina Bluhme feared the worst after Tokyo began to lose consciousness while climbing the UK’s tallest mountain A dog has been rescued from Ben Nevis after falling ill from eating cannabis discarded on the mountain trail. Christina Bluhme was halfway up the UK’s highest mountain last weekend when her black labrador, Tokyo, lost the use of her legs and began drifting in and out of consciousness. Continue reading...

Senator says in statement he has undergone battery of tests after weeks of mounting speculation about his health US senator Mitch McConnell on Sunday revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about the Kentucky Republican’s condition after weeks of mounting speculation about his health. McConnell, 84, said in a statement that he has undergone a battery of tests as doctors try to determine what led to his fall. He explained the long silence about his condition by saying that “folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with

Republican served in Senate since 2003 and was sharp Trump critic before becoming one of his most loyal backers US politicians and foreign leaders pay tribute to Graham Lindsey Graham, a longtime US senator and key ally of Donald Trump, has died from a sudden illness, his office said on Sunday. He had just turned 71. Graham’s abrupt death will send shock waves through Washington and the Republican party. He had served in the Senate since 2003, representing South Carolina, and was running for re-election in November. Continue reading...

Congressman says Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s ‘blood is on Trump’s hands’ after federal agents killed Texas builder The builder got up every morning long before dawn, left home to pick up his construction crew and then headed out to work on yet another house somewhere across the sprawl of Houston . Fourteen hours later, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo would return to the wife he’d met as a teenager in Mexico and the modest house he’d built for his family on the city’s east side. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Graham’s death triggers a scramble to replace him – what happens next? US politicians and foreign leaders pay tribute to Graham Sign up for the Breaking News US email Under South Carolina state law , governor Henry McMaster may appoint a temporary replacement to fill Graham’s now-vacant seat. As Graham was up for re-election this year and won the GOP primary last month, there is also now a vacancy in the Republican nomination for his seat. After McMaster appoints a replacement, state law requires a special primary for voters to select a new nominee

Trump says US senator was ‘a true American patriot’ while Zelenskyy says he’s ‘deeply saddened’ by his death Graham’s death triggers a scramble to replace him – what happens next? Lindsey Graham dies after sudden illness aged 71 Washington woke up to the unexpected death of Republican senator Lindsey Graham , 71, who changed the course of modern history with his hawkish Iran platform and key role in establishing the stridently conservative US supreme court. Donald Trump was one of the first to pay tribute to the controversial South Carolina lawmaker, a close ally despite past differences, in a social

Israeli attacks killed at least six people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including a 9-year-old girl, Palestinian health officials said, as mediators held ‌more talks to safeguard the US-brokered ceasefire. Medics said Israeli gunfire directed at a tent encampment on the eastern side of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed 9-year-old Tala Abu Matar. The Israeli military said it was not aware of the incident. An air strike at a metal foundry in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood killed...

Syria’s transitional parliament began its first session on Sunday, tasked with drafting the country’s new constitution and laying the groundwork for democracy after decades of authoritarian rule. Syria’s new authorities dissolved the country’s rubber-stamp legislature after toppling long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, and adopted a temporary constitutional declaration to cover a five-year transition period. In October last year, and in a process criticised as undemocratic, local...

Europeans are reconsidering who their countries should partner with in an increasingly uncertain world. A June survey of 24 European Union countries by Public First on whether to have closer ties with the United States or China found opinion divided. Eight leaned towards China, nine favoured the US and seven were split. This is not just a question of economics or geopolitics. It is about reputation as well. China has sought to portray itself as a more stable and reliable long-term partner as...

A band of white Democratic pastors has a striking message ahead of November’s US midterm election: Republicans have hijacked Jesus for political gain, and we are not going to stand for it. For decades, it has been a truism that Republicans have cornered the Christian market – at least when it comes to white voters. But these ministers are so fed up with US President Donald Trump, and particularly his policies against immigrants, that they are running as Democrats in November to rein him in. “The...

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican who went from a vocal critic of Donald Trump to one of his most loyal allies after Trump became president, has died, his office announced on Sunday. He was 71. The South Carolina lawmaker died after a “brief and sudden illness”, his office said early on Sunday. US media said emergency staff had responded to a call for cardiac arrest at his ‌Capitol Hill home in Washington on Saturday night. Preliminary finding from the medical examiner found Graham...

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who as ruler of Qatar transformed the tiny Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media and investment, and then shattered tradition by voluntarily turning over power to his son, has died, state media reported. He was 74. The state-run Qatar News Agency reported his death. It offered no cause. Sheikh Hamad, who stepped down in June 2013 after 18 years as emir, was the architect of energy-rich Qatar’s stunning ambitions that turned it from a backwater...

Last month, China Eastern ordered 25 A330neo jets from Airbus, which come at a catalogue price of US$9.35 billion. The airline, which operates the inaugural commercial routes of the C919, China’s home-grown passenger jet, had placed another Airbus order just three months earlier. Why is this major Chinese airline transferring billions to a European company China’s government is trying to supplant? As a widebody jet, the A330neo competes in a segment where the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of...

Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was closed on Sunday while the United States insisted it remained open, after the confrontation over the vital waterway again sparked US and Iranian strikes. The strait, essential to global oil and gas supplies, has become a central point of contention between the two foes, repeatedly leading to exchanges of fire despite an agreement aimed at ending the Middle East war that was struck last month. The latest exchange was prompted by another Iranian attack on a...

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. Here, Khushboo Razdan looks at how books shape public perceptions and inspire lifelong connections between the US and China even as their geopolitical rivalry intensifies. Alexander Boyd was 14 when a book about China altered the course...

Taylor Swift shelled out six figures to cover the cost of NYPD officers and other city resources required to protect her massive Madison Square Garden wedding to Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce earlier this month, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani revealed. The Grammy winner “has paid already the cost of the permit that was lodged, which was over US$160,000 for that event and for the response to that event”, Mamdani said during a Friday press conference, after a reporter asked him whether...

Shortly before US President Donald Trump ended a ceasefire with Iran this week, Israeli officials presented his team with intelligence indicating Tehran was hatching new plots to kill him. It was not the first such warning. US law enforcement and intelligence agencies have tracked evidence for years of Iranian efforts to target the president, with signals only increasing since the start of the war. Their desire to target Trump and his top aides began six years ago, just outside Baghdad...

A runner was gored in the face and many more were fortunate to not be seriously injured during a chaotic bull run at Spain’s San Fermin festival on Saturday. The six bulls and accompanying steers charged through crowds of thrill-seekers who packed the narrow street course in Pamplona. The huge animals knocked down bodies to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners caused several pile-ups during the two-and-a-half-minute run from the pen to the bull ring where bullfighters will kill the bulls...

US Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna said ⁠he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with US-made rifles during a West Bank visit this week that he cast as an unfiltered look at the human toll of Israeli occupation as he weighs a 2028 presidential run. Speaking with reporters on Thursday in a Palestinian village, Khanna said his group’s van was surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles a day earlier while touring a part of the southern West Bank where residents face frequent settler attacks. “We...

The Trump administration has subpoenaed several New York Times journalists after their report on security concerns involving the new Air Force One, according to the paper. The new jet, which President Donald Trump received as a gift from Qatar, entered service last week. The subpoenas issued on Friday seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday. Federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes. There was no immediate...

Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, killing two and wounding 19 others, officials said, as Kyiv awaits supplies of air defence munitions after a shortage has ‌left it exposed to Russian attacks. Eleven people were wounded in the capital, Kyiv, by an attack that used ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones. “Civilian infrastructure was hit even before the air raid alert was issued,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that rescuers were working on the site....

Turkey’s health ministry has fined more than 100 obstetrician-gynaecologists for carrying out cesarean sections, suspending them from duty and forcing them to undergo training. The country has the highest rate of C-section births among the OECD’s 38 nations, according to the last available data from 2023, with around 615 such procedures out of every 1,000 live births that year. Medical professionals said C-sections were more time-efficient for medical staff – 30 minutes, versus 12 hours for a...

The brave new world of artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be a mixed and divisive blessing for governments – not least those of key Asian countries – as well as for financial markets. The AI revolution points to higher economic growth for economies linked to the tech supply chain, with others being left behind. It also signals the potential for financial crises. Balancing these risks will be tricky. The relative optimism, displayed in a recent report from the International Monetary Fund...

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Saturday after the funeral of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saw open calls for his killing, further underlining the tensions gripping the Middle East, as an interim deal to end the war buckles under repeated crossfire in the region. Trump made the comments on social media after senior US officials demanded that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships crossing the vital corridor would not be attacked any...

Russia’s decision to ban diesel exports this week has roiled global energy markets, exacerbating shortages of the industrial fuel and sending prices soaring, even in countries that no longer buy the fuel from Moscow. Diesel accounts for the largest share of global oil consumption and soaring prices can ripple through the global economy given its wide range ‌of uses, from industrial machinery and farm equipment to heavy transport and electricity generation. Supply has remained tight for years due...

Apple on Friday sued OpenAI, accusing the artificial intelligence company of orchestrating a campaign to steal the iPhone maker’s trade secrets as it tries to develop its own consumer hardware device. The lawsuit – filed in a federal court in San Jose, California – paints a picture of an aggressive effort by OpenAI to poach Apple employees and extract confidential information to build its own device. The lawsuit marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between two companies that partnered in 2024...

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. Here, Xinyi Wu examines how changes to Washington’s trade policy have reverberated through the formerly secure international economic order. When US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against virtually all Washington’s...

We are all used to Western assessments of Deng Xiaoping. You may even be convinced by them, as I was for a long time. Ezra Vogel, for example, wrote in Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China: “It was [Deng] who would finally realise the mission that others had tried for almost two centuries to achieve, of finding a path that would make China rich and powerful.” And, according to Orville Schell and John Delury in Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century, “Once in...

US President Donald Trump faces questions about the security of his new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar, after he took an older jet home from a Nato summit this week. The billionaire president has barely been able to contain his excitement over the retrofitted Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which took him to Ankara on its maiden trip outside the United States. But then Trump abruptly announced in Turkey that he was sending the luxury plane on ahead to a British airbase – saying it was so US troops...

British police arrested a man on Friday on suspicion of murdering Ann Widdecombe, after the 78-year-old former government minister and Reform UK politician was found dead having “sustained serious injuries”. Police said a 26-year-old, white ‌British man had been arrested in Newton Abbot, a town about 15km (nine miles) from Widdecombe’s home in rural southwest England. Devon and Cornwall police assistant chief constable Matt Longman said there was no information to suggest the murder was related...

King Charles hosted Prince Harry and met his family for the first time in years on Friday, as they try to repair a rift that has persisted since his youngest son and wife quit royal life and moved to America six years ago. Harry, Meghan and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, met the king and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London. The Duke of Sussex had arrived on Monday in his homeland for a number of charity events that were overshadowed by...

A woman who authorities say married more than a dozen men in Las Vegas to fund her gambling has agreed to plead guilty to two felonies. Jiaying Chen, 33, waived her right to a preliminary hearing during an appearance before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Rebecca Saxe on Tuesday. Chen’s lawyer, Thomas Wells, said she plans to plead guilty later this week to one count each of bigamy and obtaining money under false pretences more than US$100,000. “It will permit the victims of these crimes to...

The absence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei from the funeral ceremonies of Ali Khamenei raised questions about his health and fear of assassination, as well as indicating he may perform a quite different function as No 1 compared with his all-powerful father. The marathon funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, killed on February 28 in an air strike on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran, culminated on Thursday in the holy city of Mashhad, with a who’s who of key figures in the...

US President ⁠Donald Trump said ⁠on Friday he would ⁠not sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill that he had called “a big yawn”, but the measure can become law without his signature. Trump said in a social ‌media post that he was withholding his signature “in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT”. The housing bill was a rare instance of bipartisan agreement on major ⁠legislation in the deeply divided Congress. Among its main...

The Strait of Hormuz faces a renewed plunge in maritime traffic after the United States ended its ceasefire with Iran, casting a shadow over a tentative commercial recovery, as analysts warn unaddressed differences in the framework agreement risk fuelling further escalation. Traffic volumes dropped again on Thursday, with only 14 vessels transiting the strait, down from 35 a day earlier, according to Veson Nautical, a maritime software and data provider. Real-time data from the vessel-tracking...

A man was nearly sucked out of the window of a Ryanair flight when it “detached” mid-air en route to Germany, with other passengers pulling him back inside, witnesses and officials said. The passenger, described as a tourist from Serbia on a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany, has been hospitalised with friction burns but was otherwise in good condition, authorities said. “Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tyre bursting,” a...

Police in Greece on Friday said they had arrested three people in connection to attacks this month that targeted ruling party politicians, killing a woman in a car explosion. Hours later, two more people were held over a 2010 deadly firebomb attack that left three dead. In the recent case, “three individuals have been arrested” by anti-terror police in Thessaloniki and the island of Crete, the police said in a statement. The July 1 attacks at dawn in the northern city of Thessaloniki targeted...

Eleven people were killed and 19 are missing after a wildfire tore through a Spanish village, with four victims who may have been British who were burned in their car, authorities said on Friday. Authorities said many of the victims may be foreign tourists visiting Bedar, a small village in Los Gallardos district, but that they were still confirming their identities. They described victims trying to flee the fast-moving blaze through difficult, forested terrain. About 400 firefighters and troops...

The United States is set to resume military sales to Turkey, Nato’s second-largest military power, after President Donald Trump said sanctions imposed against Ankara over its procurement of Russian air defence systems seven years ago would soon be lifted. “We don’t want to sanction friends,” Trump told journalists at the Nato summit in the Turkish capital on Wednesday, while emphasising his “good chemistry” with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump further said he would soon take a final...

As US President Donald Trump flew home from a fractious Nato summit in Turkey, he was poised to resume the war with Iran, whose leaders he labelled “sick” and “scum”. Trump also complained about European leaders’ failure to spend enough on arms, support him in Iran and recognise the need for the US to take control of Greenland. The sense of rising global conflict has been palpable this week. What clearly showed at the summit of the transatlantic security alliance was confirmed by the latest...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s Xi Jinping sets new precedent with July 4 message for Trump and US In a departure from convention, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the United States on Independence Day. Beijing does not usually...

Disease outbreaks, poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, and disruptions to basic medical care could pose the greatest health risks to the tens of thousands of survivors of Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes, the Americas branch of the World Health Organization said on Thursday. Venezuela has opened more than 80 shelters for those whose homes were destroyed in twin quakes ‌on June 24, with the number of displaced reaching 17,907 by Thursday. Poor shelter conditions could leave many...

Iran on Friday laid to rest its former supreme leader Ali Khamenei over four months after his killing in an air strike, as two days of US and Iranian attacks raised fears of a return to all-out war. Khamenei’s flag-covered coffin was carried aloft into the shrine of Imam Reza in his home city of Mashhad in eastern Iran as a sea of people waited outside and listened to prayers, with no sign of a public appearance by his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei. The “body of the martyred leader of the...

The former roommate of Tyler Robinson, who is accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, told prosecutors that Robinson expressed regret a day after the killing and planned to hand himself over to police, according to a video interview played in court on Thursday. The recorded interview with Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, was presented as prosecutors tried to convince a Utah judge they have sufficient evidence against Robinson to warrant a trial...

US President Donald Trump’s negative portrayal of China’s achievements in renewable energy began at a White House meeting with oil executives on January 9 and was amplified at the World Economic Forum later that month. The story he told was shaped more by domestic politics than fact – a narrative that has lingered through subsequent debates over China’s alleged clean-energy “overcapacity”. While such rhetoric might rally support in the American Midwest, it does not withstand scrutiny. Trump’s...

The US Department of Agriculture dramatically lowered its reported beef export sales for late June on Thursday, sparking fresh concerns about the quality of the agency’s data after staffing losses as part of the Trump administration’s reshaping of the federal government. USDA said exporters in late June sold a net 12,064 tonnes of US beef to foreign buyers, 90 per cent lower than the volume it originally reported ‌a week ago. Traders had largely dismissed USDA’s initial report as inaccurate....

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is the “fastest growing” ever, African health authorities said on Thursday, as the World Health Organization said the disease had killed 600 people. Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 600 confirmed deaths. “This is the fastest growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the...

What does a world leader do with a gun and six bullets? That was the conundrum Nato leaders faced after the Turkish president offered them each a revolver after the Ankara summit. Several leaders said they had only discovered the contents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s gift package much later, or had not even seen it before it was seized by their security services. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joked that his gift of maple syrup “kind of undermatched” Erdogan’s offering. British Prime...

A Florida airport was renamed after Donald Trump on Thursday, accelerating a push by the US president and supporters to plaster his name and image on everything from national landmarks to banknotes. “This will soon be one of the Greatest and Most Spectacular Airports anywhere in the World!” Trump said in a Truth Social post late Thursday reacting to the change. The Republican leader’s son Eric celebrated by landing in the private family Boeing 757 – so-called “Trump Force One” – at what had been...

A court in Hungary on Thursday sentenced an Irish citizen to 14 years in prison for strangling an American tourist to death in the country’s capital in 2024. The victim, 31-year-old Mackenzie Michalski from Portland, Oregon, was in Hungary on holiday and reported missing on November 5, 2024, after she was last seen at a nightclub in central Budapest. Police launched a missing person investigation and reviewed security footage from local nightclubs where they observed Michalski, who went by...

The proliferation of artificial intelligence models and the increasing parity in their performance suggest they are becoming a commodity. Soon, AI services will be priced by cost rather than the uniqueness of their model. With electricity the main cost of the services, the AI war between China and the United States is turning into a straightforward contest over electricity output and price. Open-source AI models are sprouting up like bamboo shoots in China. The American AI community has argued...

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s prime minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko, would step down amid a broader shake-up in Ukraine’s senior leadership.

A previously unreported encounter last summer set the stage for a rapprochement between the president and his former fixer, who has so far avoided the diatribes and prosecutions that President Trump has directed at other critics.

Key Republicans on the Judiciary Committee could push for concessions from Todd Blanche, in line to be attorney general, though they did not appear in revolt.

For out-of-work factory workers in Kunshan, a region made rich by electronics manufacturing, a park is the only place to go.

Utah Valley University doesn’t want to be known as the place where Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and even a discussion of memorializing that day has provoked division.

Many say communication was chaotic and even nonexistent as flames tore through the area, taking 12 lives in one of the deadliest wildfires on record in Spain.

State attorneys general are said to be getting ready to file a lawsuit as soon as this week to halt the $111 billion deal, a potential major obstacle.

Manosphere fitness influencers are the wrong model. Health requires looking at life as a whole, not as an exercise in “optimization.”

Something is wrong if vice is all them and virtue is all you.

India’s government wants to shut down Delhi’s Gymkhana Club, which the prime minister calls a vestige of colonialism. Some members suspect a different motive.