Minimalist News

Palisades Fire Fraud: Man Headed To Prison After Scamming $64K Out Of FEMA An East Hollywood man is headed to federal prison for a year and a day after collecting more than $64,000 in wildfire disaster relief on a Pacific Palisades home he had no connection to whatsoever. People gathered on the beach near cleared lots where houses were destroyed in the Palisades Fire at the Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates in Los Angeles on June 25, 2026. Mario Tama/Getty Images Delvonne Dashon Johnson, 32, was sentenced on July 31 in Los Angeles and ordered to repay $64,148 to the

Former FBI Agent Charged With Stealing Nearly $1 Million In Crypto, Asked ChatGPT How To Hide It Authored by Jesse Hamilton via CoinDesk.com, A supervising U.S. FBI agent who worked in intelligence at the national headquarters has been arrested and accused in a federal court filing of stealing more than $1 million in cryptocurrency. The high-level special agent, identified as Patrick Steven Yarmoch, allegedly turned himself in to agency colleagues , reporting that he dug crypto keys from FBI systems to make as many as a dozen transfers to himself from accounts tied to foreign individuals he'd investigated , according

New Signals Point To Another Possible Migrant Invasion Against Ceuta The scenes from the Ceuta invasion were deeply alarming, as 60,000 predominantly military-aged men, many carrying no supplies, crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave. The invasion set off alarm bells across the West, reinforcing concerns that uncontrolled mass migration poses a major national security risk. According to The Sun , there are new concerns that a second invasion of Ceuta could be "just days" away, as the outlet cites online posts warning it may be their [migrants] "last chance" to enter Europe. Just kidding, this is the actual footage

Oil Tumbles On Iran Deal Buzz As Rubio Still Insists 'Denuclearization' Is The 'Ultimate' Goal Summary Rubio: The "ultimate deal" is the denuclearization of Iran , while Omani talks focus on reopening Hormuz. Stalemate persists: Iran refuses nuclear negotiations until the conflict ends, leaving both sides far apart. Deal optimism sees oil slide: Brent fell below $80 on reports of progress in Oman-mediated Hormuz talks. Bessent claims a Hormuz agreement could come "today or tomorrow". Major doubts remain given Iran denies formal talks , security risks persist and the reported Oman plan could leave Tehran with broad control over Hormuz

Undrain The Swamp: JOLTS Miss Despite Shocking Surge In Government Job Openings To Biden Admin Levels After five straight months of JOLTS beats, including two blowout prints for April and May and zero misses since 2025... ... it was inevitable that the BLS would eventually pot out a disappointment, if only to preserve the myth of " accurate data." That's what happened today when in the latest JOLTS report, the US dept of labor reported that in June the US had 7.359 million job openings, down 178K from the (downward revised) May total of 7.537 million, and below the median

CLARITY Act Failure Could Send Crypto Valuations Lower: Bernstein Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com, The odds of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act’s (CLARITY) passage are dwindling as the US Senate is scheduled to begin summer recess at the end of this week, threatening another leg down for cryptocurrency valuations, according to wealth manager Bernstein. Bernstein said that the Senate’s failure to pass the legislation could trigger an immediate negative “industry knee-jerk reaction,” which may result in another leg down for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. “From a tactical standpoint, we expect the crypto market to bottom and

Waymo Robotaxi Crash Rate 68% Lower Than Human Drivers, Study Finds Though they've have racked up quite a few troubling anecdotes on America's roads, Waymo robotaxis have achieved a crash rate that's far lower than what's observed when humans are driving , according to a recent study published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. A private scientific organization funded by insurance companies, IIHS is regarded by many as a superior font of accurate scientific conclusions compared to the government-run and lobbyist-vulnerable National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. According to the July IIHS study , "Rise of the Machines: Crash Experiences

The Bond-Salesman-In-Chief Has Fired The First Shot Of The Capital Market War That Follows The Trade War By Benjamin Picton, senior market strategist at Rabobank US equity markets approached record highs yesterday as traders basked in the afterglow of Donald Trump’s decision to (again) call off Iran strikes in favor of diplomatic efforts . The S&P500 closed almost 1.5% higher and the NASDAQ 100 was up by almost 1.8%. Sovereign yields pushed lower across Europe and North America with Treasuries likely encouraged by comments from Japanese Finance Minister Katayama yesterday that Japan intended to tap the Fed’s FIMA facility to

Bezos To Dump $4 Billion In Amazon Stock After Surge As Cramer Calls Sale A "Buzzkill" Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to sell 15 million shares worth roughly $4.07 billion under a prearranged trading plan, according to a Form 144 regulatory filing. The planned sale comes after Amazon shares surged about 25% over the last several trading sessions. The shares, which Bezos acquired as founder's stock in 1994, will be sold through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. The filing showed no stock sales by Bezos during the previous three months, although he donated 220,200 shares to nonprofits in May. The stock's

Suspected Arsonist Arrested In Spokane Wildfire; Former Lefty Gov. Inslee Blames Global Warming Summary: Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Blamed Wildfires on "Climate Change" Suspected Arsonist, 37, Arrested in Connection With Old Trails Fire Spokane-Area Blazes Trigger Mass Evacuations and Emergency Declaration Suspected Arsonist Arrested in Spokane's Largest Wildfire After former Washington Governor Jay Inslee gaslit social media by blaming "climate change " for the Spokane County wildfire, CBS News reported that law enforcement officials in the county arrested a 37-year-old Spokane man on Monday in connection with starting the fire. Aaron Farinacci , who has a prior manslaughter conviction,

Five Killed In Latest Ukrainian Drone Strike On Moscow As Civilian Death Toll Climbs Ukraine has continued to conduct long-range drone strikes focused on the Moscow region, deep inside Russian territory. Zelensky has touted that he is ramping up the military pressure on Russia, and will force it to the negotiating table to end the war "by winter". The latest overnight strikes killed at least five people and injured ten when a drone hit an industrial zone near Moscow . Several fires erupted in the aftermath of the attack on the Novoselki industrial zone outside the Russian capital. Damage in

US Core Factory Orders Unexpectedly Plunge Most In A Year Despite the latest Manufacturing PMI surging to four year highs , US Factory Orders unexpectedly dropped in June (-0.3% MoM vs +0.2% MoM expected). This is the second monthly decline in the headline print in a row, but orders remain up 7.4% YoY... Source: Bloomberg Worse still, Core Factory Orders (excluding Transports), dropped 0.4% MoM (dramatically missing expectations of a 0.4% MoM rise). This is the first monthly drop since October and biggest MoM decline since April 2025... Source: Bloomberg Orders Ex-Defense also tumbled 0.4% MoM, down for the second

Bitdeer Lands $4.7B Norway Lease With a16z-, Nvidia- And Dell-Backed Volta Bitdeer Technologies Group (NASDAQ: BTDR) announced Aug. 4 that it has executed a 16-year colocation lease and services agreement for 121 IT megawatts at its Tydal, Norway campus, representing roughly $4.7 billion in contracted payments, with a renewal option that takes the potential total to $8.0 billion over 24 years . The announcement sent shares about 14% higher premarket. The tenant is Volta Tydal AS, a subsidiary of Volta Infra Holdings, an AI infrastructure platform that emerged the same morning with $300 million in venture funding at a $2.4

Trump Admin Drafting Ban On Chinese Optical Transceivers To Protect Data Centers From Spying The Trump administration is preparing to slap import bans on Chinese optical transceivers, targeting a critical component for US data centers as White House officials seek to protect infrastructure supporting the AI boom from Chinese espionage, Reuters reported. These small, pluggable connectors convert electrical signals from servers, switches, and AI chip stacks into light for transmission over fiber-optic cables, then convert the light back into electrical data at the other end. Because these modules are critical to data centers, Chinese-made transceivers could potentially allow Chinese firms

Shit Out Of Luck: 2 Dead In Outbreak Of Diarrhea-Causing Parasite: Officials Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times , Michigan authorities on Aug. 3 said two deaths are linked to the cyclosporiasis outbreak in the state, the first time cyclosporiasis-associated deaths have been reported since outbreaks began in the spring. A farmer washes lettuce in a backyard urban farm in Los Angeles, on March 25, 2020. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images "Two deaths have been identified as part of the cyclosporiasis outbreak affecting Michigan," the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. "According to

Futures Hit Record High As Oil Tumbles After Bessent Says Hormuz May "Reopen Tomorrow" S&P futures are trading at all time high with the latest push higher triggered by comments from Scott Bessent on CNBC who echoed Trump in saying that "we may have Iran deal tomorrow to open Hormuz" (or we may not). The Nasdaq also looks set to extend Monday’s gains: As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are up 0.4% to an all time high of 7655 and Nasdaq futures rise 1.1%, as Palantir soared 16% pre-market after upping its forecasts, while Caterpillar rose 9% on an earnings

Caterpillar Erupts As Quarterly Sales Top $20 Billion For First Time Amid AI Data Center Boom Caterpillar shares jumped in pre-market trading after reporting a second-quarter beat, driven by strong growth in its heavy machinery, power and energy business amid the data center buildout, reshoring, and other activities reindustrializing the nation under the Trump administration. Revenue soared 24% from one year ago to $20.54 billion, exceeding the $19.01 billion Bloomberg consensus estimate. Machinery, power and energy revenue climbed 25% to $19.58 billion, while operating income surged 51% to $4.21 billion, well above the $3.5 billion estimate. Financial Products operating income

Saudi Aramco Profit Soars As CEO Warns Hormuz Closure Removes 100 Million Barrels A Week Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer by volume, reported a 33% jump in second-quarter profits on Tuesday as the war-driven surge in Brent crude, which averaged $97 a barrel, boosted earnings. The company maintained export flows by redirecting crude around the disrupted Strait of Hormuz through its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea. Adjusted net income for the quarter surged to $33.4 billion from $25.2 billion a year earlier, beating the Bloomberg Consensus estimate of $31.1 billion. Aramco sold oil at an average of

Global Bond Market On Edge As Japanese Yields Soar After "Horrible" 10Y JGB Auction While much of the market focus has fallen on the US long-end, which saw substantial pressure in the past week, sending 30Y yields to 5.27%, the highest level since 2007, it was Japan again which stole the show overnight. But first, recall that the primary tradeoff for the BOJ preventing it from raising rates and comfortably pushing up the yen without needing to spending tens of billions in massive interventions (whether individual or joint with the US), is that raising rates risks collapsing the world's biggest

"Creepy" Smart Glasses Are Creating A Privacy Problem Smart glasses are quickly becoming the next major consumer tech battleground, with Meta leading the market and rivals including Google, Samsung, and Apple preparing their own AI-powered eyewear. But as the devices become more capable, they're also fueling a growing debate over whether convenience is coming at the expense of privacy, according to a new report from Wired . Unlike smartphones, which require users to visibly point a camera, smart glasses can quietly capture photos, video, and audio from the wearer's point of view. Critics argue that makes them far easier to

Eruption of the Fuego volcano sends lava and ash nearly four miles into the sky as country declares second-highest alert Hundreds of people living on the slopes of Guatemala ’s Fuego volcano have evacuated their homes after a huge eruption spewed lava and plumes of ash. Central America’s most active volcano erupted on Monday morning, with conditions intensifying by nightfall and prompting authorities to issue the country’s second-most severe alert warning. Continue reading...

Luis Carlos Rúa revealed himself to be Elefante blanco just three days before election for ‘his own safety’. Now he is tackling graft from senate floor When 102 senators were sworn in for Colombia’s latest parliamentary session, they included 32 women, 69 men – and one cartoon elephant. He had some difficulty making his way down the narrow central aisle of Congress’s ceremonial chamber, weaving past fellow senators in sharply tailored suits and dresses, before taking the oath in his pot-bellied white plush costume. Continue reading...

Soaring temperatures continue to sweep parts of Europe, while Okinawa faces powerful winds and storm surges Europe live – latest updates Unbearable, record-breaking heat has dominated the summer of 2026 across much of Europe. New records were set in central Europe last week, with Wieselburg in Austria registering a new July peak of 40.3C (104.5F). This is particularly significant as it is just 0.2C behind the all-time high, set in the August of 2003. However, not all of the northern hemisphere has experienced extreme heat and aridity. Vancouver recorded its wettest July since 2016 and the third wettest since 2008,

Aircraft crashes into field after departing from nearby city of Pisco, according to local authorities Police in Peru report that 13 people, among them foreign tourists, have been killed in a plane crash in southern Peru, near the Nazca Lines. Local authorities in Nazca confirmed that 11 tourists and two pilots died when the Cessna Grand Caravan crashed in Pueblo Viejo, approximately 4 miles (6km) from the city of Nazca and roughly 12km from the Nazca Lines site. Continue reading...

Injectable PrEP drug holds promise but investment in HIV prevention has declined dramatically worldwide Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email New innovations in HIV prevention could dramatically reduce the number of new HIV cases around the globe, but US foreign aid cuts will mean that those that most need the new medication will be unable to access it, according to experts at the Aids 2026 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil . One year ago, the World Health Organization recommended that governments around the world prioritize expanded access to lenacapavir, an injectable version of the HIV prevention

Most of the zoo’s 16 lions have struggled to cope with high humidity this summer Three lions from a Tokyo zoo have died from suspected heatstroke and others are undergoing treatment, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, as the big cats struggle in Japan’s high levels of humidity. Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year and parts of the country have hit 40C in recent weeks, qualifying for the new “cruelly hot day” designation . Continue reading...

Large tabby cat that wiped out dozens of rare pāteke, or brown teal, has been killed after eluding trappers with its ‘very erratic’ behaviour A notorious feral cat given the name “Nine Lives” because it eluded trappers for three years has been caught and killed in New Zealand, ending its devastating rampage against one of the country’s rare duck populations. The cat, a large grey tabby, is estimated to have killed dozens of New Zealand’s rarest mainland duck – or 1% of its population – plus a host of kiwi chicks, native geckos and other native wildlife during the three

Prime minister Sanae Takaichi visited Kumamoto prefecture almost a week after a magnitude 7.1 quake hit, killing 38 people Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has visited the south-western prefecture of Kumamoto, where recovery efforts are being hampered by heat and a lack of water supplies, almost a week after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake killed dozens and caused widespread damage. Thirty-eight people died during the quake , including one person who died of apparent heatstroke while taking shelter in a car in hot weather, officials said on Monday. Continue reading...

Pacific nation is latest country to signal a shift away from its colonial past with return to its traditional name The Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, its president said, matching the spelling and pronunciation in the national language. The country’s international code will change from NRU to NRO and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero. Continue reading...

US and Japanese governments confirm they carried out a rare joint intervention late last week Why has Trump stepped in to prop up Japan’s currency? Business live – latest updates The yen has hit its highest level in three months after Japan and the US launched a combined operation to support the Japanese currency. The yen strengthened to ¥155 to the US dollar on Monday, its highest level since early May, after Tokyo and Washington confirmed they had carried out a rare joint currency intervention late last week. Continue reading...

Education minister Jason Clare says the results showed ‘real challenges’ but numeracy scores were heartening Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Reading and writing scores are going backwards for almost every age group in Australia’s national standardised school tests, with one in three students still failing to meet Naplan benchmarks. This year’s tests were taken in March by 1.2 million students across years 3, 5, 7 and 9 to measure literacy and numeracy proficiency, with results released on Wednesday by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and

The former Liberal finance minister was questioned by Icac counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer, on Tuesday Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The bombshell came in the last five minutes of former finance minister and rightwing powerbroker Damien Tudehope’s examination before the Independent Commission Against Corruption . At 3.30pm on Tuesday, Tudehope was shown an email which he sent in February 2023, attaching a leaked draft parliamentary report into branch stacking in the Hills area by the Reformers, the shadowy group at the centre of Icac’s Operation Rosny. Continue reading...

Federal police say those who vandalised a defence manufacturer and torched nearby cars could face life imprisonment Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Anti-weapons protesters who vandalised a defence manufacturer and set nearby vehicles alight could face life imprisonment after police said the incident was being investigated as an act of terrorism by “far-left extremists”. The Australian federal police, their Victorian counterparts and spy agency Asio are examining whether the incident at Melbourne-based Lovitt Technologies on 5 July 2025 was potentially perpetrated by “far-left extremists, motivated by anarchist and revolutionary ideologies”, a joint statement

Comparisons of live and archived pages show more than 20 mentions have been removed, including in reference to the gender pay gap Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast References to “gender equality” have been removed from the Queensland Office for Women’s website amid claims by former staffers that the Liberal National party government wants to “dewokify” the public service. Guardian Australia has seen an email from a manager, sent in January, tasking staff with scanning the website for the word “gender” so that it could be “reframed”. Continue reading...

Class action claims Indigenous staff were called slurs, exposed to racist language and paid less for doing the same work Warning: This article contains racist and offensive language directed at First Nations people Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Aboriginal community police officers are suing the Northern Territory government and the NT police force alleging systemic discrimination and underpayment, the widespread use of racist slurs against Indigenous colleagues and community members, and abuse spanning nearly three decades. The class action, on behalf of Aboriginal community police officers (Acpos or Apos) who worked in the

Migration commissioner says scheme regularising undocumented people ‘not a good signal’ for Europe Explainer: Why is Ceuta a migration flashpoint? The EU’s top official on migration has criticised Spain’s plan to regularise undocumented migrants as “not a good signal” for Europe, after an emergency meeting intended to draw a line under divisions on the Ceuta crisis. Magnus Brunner, the European commissioner for migration, said that while the EU could not currently see a direct link between events in Ceuta and Spain’s regularisation plan, the policy was “definitely not a good signal for the rest of Europe”. Continue reading...

Winner called waste management team after she realised stub showing she had hit the jackpot had been thrown away A €1m lottery ticket has been recovered from the rubbish in Italy after the frantic winner called on refuse collectors to help her retrieve it, according to the waste management company. The instant win ticket was “miraculously still in one piece” after garbage workers combed through mounds of rubbish on their truck, said Roberto Nicola Toscano, the administrator of the SANB company in Italy’s southern Puglia region. Continue reading...

Minister tells reporters least 75 people died after EU ministers meet to discuss response to the crisis Meanwhile, the European Commission said it was “monitoring very closely” the situation in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania as the region faces an energy crunch caused by the ongoing heatwave and drought. Energy spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said “the low Danube levels will clearly have an impact on nuclear generation along the route,” and this “concerns several member states.” Continue reading...

A Guardian investigation finds irrigation canals polluted with microplastics in Turkey, a major destination for UK waste • ‘Nobody cares’: Turkish farmers bear the burden of UK’s plastic waste problem High levels of microplastics and other plastic contamination have been discovered in a waterway close to a major recycling hub in Turkey supplied with plastic waste by British companies. The polluted waterway, which floods into agricultural fields after heavy rain, feeds into a larger canal used for irrigating crops on the Çukurova plain, in the city of Adana, in the south of the country. It is one of the largest

Journalist’s son says his mother was examining leak from Electrogas, part owned by Yorgen Fenech who is on trial Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption by the businessman Yorgen Fenech and members of Malta’s government when she was killed, a jury has heard. The heir to one of Malta’s biggest fortunes, Fenech is on trial for murder, accused of commissioning and paying for Caruana Galizia’s killing in a car bombing in October 2017. Continue reading...

US secretary of state comments come after treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said Washington could reach a deal ‘by tomorrow’ US and Qatar report progress on Iran ceasefire and reopening Hormuz strait Iran and Oman have made progress toward a deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz, a potential breakthrough that could help end the war in the Middle East, regional officials have said. Under the emerging agreement, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, two regional officials

Masoud Pezeshkian dismisses talk of internal rift as hardline Assembly of Experts call US negotiations ‘futile’ Middle East crisis live – latest updates Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, has been forced to deny claims that he has repeatedly threatened to resign as he battles hardline factions opposed to reaching a settlement with the US over the strait of Hormuz. The US and Europe hope a deal is imminent to reopen the strait and they are putting pressure on Oman to accept a temporary agreement that officials in Muscat fear will leave Iran retaining near permanent dominance of the vital oil shipping

Remains of 112 victims, including 40 children, recovered from rubble more than two years after residential block was destroyed Mourners gathered in central Gaza on Tuesday for a mass funeral for 112 people, including 40 children, who were killed in 2023 in one of the deadliest Israeli strikes of the Gaza war. Their bodies could not be recovered until now because of Israel’s continuing strikes, which have slowed, though not halted, since the ceasefire in October. Continue reading...

Optimism echoes Trump’s claims on Monday that deal is close as mediators say they are exchanging proposals Middle East crisis live – latest updates US and Qatari officials have said progress is being made in restoring a ceasefire in the US-Iran war and reopening the strait of Hormuz. The optimistic speculation on Tuesday brought oil prices down 2%, but the strait remained closed to shipping and a cargo vessel was reportedly struck by an unidentified projectile off Oman’s coast close to the strait. Continue reading...

Exclusive: More than 60 accounts on X have been made unavailable in Saudi Arabia, after similar action on Snapchat and Facebook Elon Musk’s X has become the latest major US social media company to block the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents so they are no longer visible inside the kingdom, following orders from Saudi authorities. Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that platforms including Snapchat and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram had blocked dissidents’ accounts over allegations by Saudi authorities that they were violating local law. Continue reading...

Opposition parties say nationwide protests that forced resignation of education secretary are beginning to dent BJP support India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party has lost a byelection in a seat it had held for three decades, after the Cockroach movement student protests that have shaken Narendra Modi’s government. Prashant Kishor, a high-profile electoral strategist turned politician, scored a breakthrough win for his fledgling Jan Suraaj (Good Governance) party in the Bankipur constituency in Patna, the capital of the eastern state of Bihar. Continue reading...

Special rapporteurs say ‘transnational repression by Indian authorities’ has put Moninder Singh in danger UN rights experts have urged Canada to take all feasible measures to protect the Sikh activist Moninder Singh , who has been repeatedly warned by the Canadian authorities of credible threats to his life. In a letter to the Canadian government, the five UN experts raised “concerning allegations of foreign intimidation and reprisals” against Singh, a Canadian national. Continue reading...

Meeting follows years of questions over wellbeing of detained former leader, who was ousted by coup in 2021 Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the aid organisation has confirmed. The meeting on Monday ⁠followed years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old , whose whereabouts and health condition have been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021. Continue reading...

Other members of expedition led by world-renowned climber on Broad Peak also died, climbing company says A world-renowned Nepali mountaineer and former UK Special Forces member has died after being among 11 climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. Nirmal Purja was killed leading an expedition of 10 other people on the world’s 12th-highest mountain when an avalanche struck at around noon on Thursday. Continue reading...

António Guterres says strengthening El Niño will help push the world’s climate crisis into ‘uncharted territory’ India’s monsoon is in danger and hotter, drier conditions are forecast across much of the world as a stronger El Niño weather system is taking hold, weather experts have warned. António Guterres, the UN secretary general, said the strengthening El Niño was “adding fuel to a planet already on fire” and pushing the world into “uncharted territory”. Continue reading...

Meg O’Neill says ‘where we generate jobs, we generate tax revenue’, as company’s profits more than double Revealed: major oil firms make $93bn profits amid war and climate crisis Nils Pratley: BP boss is unsentimental in pruning portfolio and clear on North Sea advice to Burnham BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin. In a conversation with the new prime minister, Meg O’Neill said the country should prioritise using energy produced

All passengers thought to have been taken to Boulogne after large air and sea rescue operation by France and UK A dinghy carrying 173 people has capsized after its engine caught fire as it attempted to cross the Channel from France. The people onboard were rescued from the water after a large air and sea operation was launched using UK border security and French vessels along with an RNLI boat. Continue reading...

Lib Dems and many Labour MPs join farmers, landowners and firefighters in urging temporary prohibition Farmers and landowners are calling for a temporary ban on disposable barbecues in England and Wales, as they warn of the risk of igniting wildfires. The call, which has also been made by firefighters and is backed by the Liberal Democrats and many Labour MPs, comes as much of England faces further hot dry weather, despite rain in some areas. Continue reading...

Probation inspector for England and Wales says ‘clunky’ system needs huge increase in staff The electronic tagging system that will be relied upon to monitor thousands of offenders released early from prison is failing to alert the authorities of potential breaches of conditions, a watchdog has warned. Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation in England and Wales, said the system relied on hard-pressed police and probation officers looking up individual cases and then deciding whether potential breaches needed to be investigated further. Continue reading...

Survey finds party members see health, the economy, cost of living and climate crisis among biggest challenges Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling. The survey of 788 members between the end of June and the end of July shows them ranking health (43%), the economy (42%), cost of living (39%) and climate change (29%) as Britain’s most important issues, ahead of welfare benefits (7%) and immigration (6%). Continue reading...

After a bumpy confirmation hearing, Clayton replaces acting director Bill Pulte to head US intelligence agencies US politics live – latest updates Jay Clayton has been sworn in as the US’s top spy after a contentious Senate confirmation hearing during which ⁠he refused to directly ⁠acknowledge ​that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. The oath of office was administered to Clayton on Tuesday by the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in the Oval Office as the president looked on and applauded. He becomes the ninth director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down in June . Continue reading...

Max Miller says he has ‘nothing to hide’ amid domestic abuse allegations made against him by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, daughter of Republican Ohio senator Bernie Moreno Sign up for US Breaking News email The White House has called an emergency summit of artificial intelligence business leaders on Tuesday to finalize details of a voluntary compliance system for safety breaches, following reports that two major AI tools had breached their digital containment and hacked external computer systems. Anthropic reported last week that models of its Claude tool successfully hacked into the infrastructure of three separate companies during red-teaming tests by

Mount Vernon official is accused of driving getaway car after son allegedly opened fire outside Bronx court A New York state police department fired its deputy commissioner on Tuesday after she allegedly acted as a getaway driver for her son in what is being investigated as an attempted murder. The city of Mount Vernon said in an Instagram post that it had terminated Jennifer Lackard, deputy police commissioner for safety, for conduct “unrelated to her duties”. Continue reading...

The company will release its second quarter earnings on Tuesday, giving investors a look at its potential profit For the first time since SpaceX went public, the world will get a first-hand look into the trillion-dollar corporation’s financials. The Elon Musk -run business will report its second quarter earnings on Tuesday, while nervous investors look to gain more insight into the rocket ship company’s potential for profit. SpaceX had a blockbuster initial public offering in June with the largest-ever stock market debut in history. The IPO transformed SpaceX into a $2tn company and briefly crowned Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

Incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a moderate who owns an auto repair shop, hopes to retain congressional seat The two-term Democratic congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is heading into one of the country’s most closely watched contests on Tuesday after national recognition for flipping a Republican seat in 2022. Representing Washington state’s third district, Gluesenkamp Perez finds herself squeezed between Democrat and progressive Brent Hennrich and Republican state senator John Braun on her right. There are six other candidates on a single crowded ballot and the top two finishers will advance to the November general election regardless of party. Continue reading...

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. Chile’s Kast courts China day after US hits exports with forced labour tariff Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast received China’s ambassador to Santiago, Niu Qingbao, at the La Moneda Palace, in an encounter that lasted more than an hour and marked the first meeting between the two...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Nato launches defence projects to counter Russia and China Nato member states unveiled a series of defence initiatives in June aimed at strengthening weapons development, production and supply chains in response to security challenges posed by Russia and China. Read the full story here. 2....

French and British vessels saved 157 migrants after their boat caught fire while trying to cross the Channel on Tuesday, authorities in both countries said. It is one of the largest such rescue operations reported since records began in 2018. “A small boat caught fire on the boundary between French and British waters, forcing its occupants to jump overboard” on Tuesday morning, the prefect’s office in France’s Pas-de-Calais region said, adding no casualties had been reported. They had left the...

The global AI race is becoming a contest over the international order. In June, the US convened the second summit under the 24-economy Pax Silica around secure supply chains, AI infrastructure and trusted technology partnerships. In July, all 193 UN member states met in Geneva for the inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance. Days later, 29 countries signed the agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in Shanghai. Together, these developments...

US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” on Monday assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s withdrawal in Gaza would only begin after Hamas’ complete disarmament, following his objections. Two members of Netanyahu’s security cabinet had urged a vote to tear up the deal championed by Trump after the board released a text that called for Israel to begin a phased withdrawal. Netanyahu’s office said it had raised concerns to the United States, after Trump on Friday hailed as a...

Russia said on Monday that seven people, including three children, had been killed and 40 injured at its Black Sea holiday resort of Gelendzhik in what it said was a deliberate Ukrainian drone attack on civilians. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which like Russia, ‌says it does not deliberately target civilians in the full-scale war which Moscow launched in 2022. Social media videos, verified by Reuters, showed what appears to be a drone slamming into a busy beach area near the town...

In countries like France and Norway, the government census strictly avoids asking about race and ethnicity. Governed by a desire for national unity, these states operate on a firm premise: categorising citizens by skin colour risks creating divisions and reinforcing prejudice. Across the Atlantic and in the Commonwealth, you find a different philosophy. The United States, United Kingdom and Canada measure race and ethnicity. In these societies, data collection isn’t seen as a wedge to divide...

US President Donald Trump sharply criticised ⁠US Attorney Jeanine Pirro ⁠on Monday for dropping ⁠a case of alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, saying she had “choked” under pressure from a judge and “folded like an umbrella”. “Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went ‌after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened,” Trump told reporters. Pirro’s office said in a court filing on Friday...

The US State Department has notified Congress that it plans to close five foreign missions in a rare downsizing of America’s global diplomatic footprint, according to people familiar with the notice. In the notice sent to some congressional committees late last week, the State Department said it ‌planned to close its posts in St George’s, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Winnipeg, Canada. The people familiar with the notice spoke on condition of anonymity because...

Bank accounts held by US President Donald Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing over the weekend. The court filing is tied to a lawsuit filed against Capital One by one of Trump’s financial holding companies soon after he was sworn into office a second time. Trump alleges that Capital One illegally closed his accounts for political reasons, following the January 6 attacks on...

United Nations rights experts have urged Canada to take all feasible measures to protect the Sikh activist Moninder Singh, who has been repeatedly warned by the Canadian authorities of credible threats to his life. In a letter to the Canadian government dated June 3, and made public two months later, as per regular procedure, the five UN experts raised “concerning allegations of foreign intimidation and reprisals” against Singh, a Canadian national. It recalled that since 2022, Singh has...

A group of 25 Democratic-led US states sued US President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday, arguing that the president’s latest round of tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners, like most of his earlier sweeping tariffs, exceeds his legal authority to tax imports. The states’ lawsuit filed in the US ‌Court of International Trade in New York follows previous challenges by small US businesses, which sued to block the tariffs on the day they went into effect last month. States and small...

President Volodymyr ⁠Zelensky dismissed Ukraine’s ⁠ambassador to the ⁠United States, Olha Stefanishyna, in a presidential decree published on Monday. Stefanishyna had been in her job for nearly a year. Her departure had ‌been expected for several weeks. Her departure coincides with a shake-up in recent weeks of top officials, including the replacement of the prime minister and defence minister. A reshuffle of Ukraine’s diplomatic and ambassadorial appointments is also expected. Stefanishyna,...

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 the project, according to an investigation published over the weekend by Semana, the country’s leading news magazine. The consortium building the line has denied any wrongdoing, saying the money seen changing hands was a retention payment agreed upon between the two firms in a...

Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced Monday, the first deaths confirmed in the US related to the microscopic parasite. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said both people had underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by the intestinal illness and dehydration. The department said it would not provide additional information about the deaths. Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes...

The government in Madrid has rejected allegations that it ignored warnings from the CNI intelligence service about a mass arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa. It said on Monday that no intelligence reports had been received warning of a migration crisis on this scale. Meanwhile, efforts to accommodate and repatriate the remaining migrants, as well as the search for further fatalities, are continuing in Ceuta. According to the Ministry of the...

France on Monday condemned a proposal by hard-right Reform UK party to launch, if it wins power, “the largest military operation” in the Channel “since World War II” to stop migrants crossing on small boats. The party’s leader, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, at a press conference unveiled a policy to deploy Britain’s Royal Navy to return small boats to France. But the French interior ministry said that the plan “would be a violation of French sovereignty as well as a violation of maritime law...

Jay ⁠Clayton was sworn in on Monday as ⁠the US director of national intelligence after a contentious Senate confirmation hearing in which he refused to directly acknowledge that President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. He takes on ‌a role that was vacated in June when Tulsi Gabbard stepped down after a tenure marked by clashes with congressional Democrats, who accused her of advancing Trump’s political agenda and promoting debunked election claims. “The safety and security of...

The US has signed a more than US$3 billion deal with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to ramp up production of Patriot and ‌THAAD interceptor missile parts, as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain stockpiles. The deal, announced by the Pentagon and Northrop on Monday, follows last week’s announcement of a contract for Lockheed worth up to US$58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles. The United States has supplied large amounts of arms to ⁠allies while also using munitions in the...

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. Liberation Day 2.0? US slaps fresh wave of tariffs on China, 50-plus economies On June 24, the United States imposed a fresh wave of tariffs against 60 economies, including China, Japan, South Korea, India and European Union member states, hours before a temporary 10 per cent blanket levy...

A British man who kept his mother’s ⁠body in ⁠a freezer for nearly ⁠three years while he received almost £80,000 (US$108,000) of her welfare benefits was jailed on Monday. Christopher Phillips, 60, had admitted preventing the lawful and decent burial of his 89-year-old mother Sylvia Phillips after ‌she died in March 2023 until his arrest at their home in Porthcawl, south Wales, in February this year. Phillips also pleaded guilty to fraud after he received about £78,000 in benefits and pension...

With the US-Israel war on Iran entering its sixth month, Chinese policymakers have a multitude of questions weighing on their minds, with two proving particularly thorny according to a prominent economist: how much longer the conflict might last, and whether it will necessitate adjustments to previous plans. While the continuing impact on China might remain “small”, said Mao Zhenhua – co-director of Renmin University’s Institute of Economic Research and a professor at the University of Hong...

Artificial intelligence is transforming the world at extraordinary speed. It is reshaping manufacturing, finance, healthcare, education, scientific research and even the way governments make decisions. While AI advances at an unprecedented pace, one fundamental question has come to the fore: how to govern intelligence in an interconnected yet increasingly fragmented world? The question came into sharper focus after Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered the opening address at the World AI...

Only days ago, the Japanese yen’s descent showed no signs of stopping, having already dropped to a 40-year low. But by Monday morning – after a rare intervention on the currency’s behalf by Tokyo and Washington – it surged as high as 155.23 per US dollar, its strongest level since early May, according to Chinese financial data provider Wind. The joint action took on an extra layer of intrigue after a Reuters photograph revealed that a “to-do” list from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during...

Cuba’s power grid failed on Sunday, causing another nationwide blackout, a state utility said in a social media post. As the lights suddenly turned off across Havana, residents who were sat outside to get some respite from the summer heat audibly groaned en masse. Cuba has been suffering rolling power cuts due to ageing equipment and a US energy embargo that halted regular deliveries of fuel for power stations. State-run UNE said there was a “total disconnection” of the national electricity...

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. From property to portfolios: why Chinese families are walking away from homes While Chinese families grow cautious, South Korean retail investors use record leverage to chase tech ETFs despite mounting risks. 2. Chinese pilot who landed safely after cabin leak given first-class merit award Chinese...

Chinese officials tend to report only good news and bury bad news for propaganda purposes and career advancement. That is why it came as a genuine surprise when, on July 22, Zhang Enhui, the party chief of Changchun, an industrial powerhouse known for its automobile sector and technological research, publicly broke with that tradition. He warned of “unprecedented difficulties and challenges” facing the city’s economy. The remark was apparently swiftly scrubbed from the city government’s website,...

Firefighters worked to contain huge blazes in the northwestern US city of Spokane early Monday after officials reported hundreds of structures had been reduced to cinders. Around 60,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires threaten the city in Washington state, local officials said, adding the fires had destroyed 600 buildings, including homes and businesses. Three separate fires broke out in and around the city. The National Weather Service (NWS) had warned of “extremely critical...

US President Donald Trump said that new negotiations with Iran would begin on Monday after he decided to hold off on striking the Islamic republic to pursue a deal to end the war entering its sixth month. Trump told reporters on Sunday that the talks would cover the Strait of Hormuz – a route for global energy supplies that has become a key sticking point in the conflict – and ultimately, the denuclearisation of Iran. For its part, Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route...

Venezuela’s imprisoned former leader Nicolas Maduro on Sunday welcomed “any path to dialogue”, ahead of a US-backed meeting in the coming week between representatives of the Latin American country’s interim government and opposition leaders. The leftist Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in a US military raid in January and are being held in a New York detention centre awaiting trial on charges related to drug and firearms trafficking. They have pleaded not guilty. “We welcome any...

Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled his support for a written constitution for the UK, which unlike most countries, does not have one authoritative document. Since entering office just two weeks ago, the former mayor of Greater Manchester has made devolution of power to regional authorities a focus of his administration. “In the end, I think it does start to point towards a new constitutional settlement,” Burnham said of his devolution plans. Calling for a “new clear set of...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, said on Sunday he was “in great shape” as he launched his candidacy for October elections, with pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration looming over the campaign. A titan of the Latin American left, Lula is seeking a fourth and final term in office in a campaign casting him as a safe pair of hands in turbulent times and a bulwark against the global rise of the far-right. While no one mentioned Trump by name at the Workers’ Party...

Greek police on Sunday said they had arrested a suspect in their investigation into the death of a British woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens last month. The police in a statement said they had arrested a 26-year-old man, identified in media reports as an Afghan national, adding that he had “confessed his actions”. “Officers of the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime have solved the homicide of a 38-year-old UK national, whose body was found inside a suitcase in an...

The death toll from a mass rush of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week reached at least 72 on Sunday, as five more bodies were found along the North African coast, officials said. The number of fatalities was considerably higher than what was announced by Moroccan authorities on Sunday. More than 50,000 ‌people crossed into Ceuta by land and sea in an unprecedented surge that began on Thursday at one of the European Union’s only two land borders with Africa,...

Greece’s fire department says the collision of two firefighting helicopters battling a major wildfire burning out of control west of Athens on Sunday left two crew members dead, while another two were recovered alive. The fire department said the dead crew members were one Greek and one Danish national, while the two who were recovered alive were one Greek and one British national. Foreign firefighting and helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the...

Israeli air strikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medics said, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement. From dawn, Israeli warplanes hit Gaza City in the north, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern area of Khan Younis, causing the biggest daily death toll in weeks, according to Palestinian health officials. Trump’s assertion on Thursday that...

Hungary is fully shutting down its sole nuclear power plant for the first time due to the record low levels of the Danube River, straining energy supplies and posing a major test for the economy and new Prime Minister Péter Magyar. One of the two reactors still operating at the Paks plant was shut down early on Sunday, with the final one powering down later in the day, according to Magyar. He cited the progressively lower water levels, which are causing a shortage of water for cooling at the...

Ukraine attacked multiple regions of Russia on Sunday, killing at least nine people, while Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five, according to officials in both countries. Some of the strikes hit hundreds of kilometres from the front line, according to authorities. Both Moscow and Kyiv have upped attacks on each other in recent months, as US-led talks aimed at ending the conflict remain largely frozen. Kyiv, which denies targeting civilians, says the strikes are fair retaliation for...

US President Donald Trump in a Saturday evening social media post claimed that Middle Eastern allies had reached the parameters of a deal to end the Iran war and said that he would hold off on ordering new strikes in the five-month-old conflict for now. Trump added that the emerging deal “would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”. “Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the...

US President Donald Trump knows the world hangs on his every word. Now he wants you to pay for it. The social media posts of the world’s most powerful man went on sale on Saturday, when his Truth Social business began offering sneak peeks of them to Wall Street traders willing to pay up. The move raises the prospect of big profits for Trump’s company and big questions about insider trading and using public office for private gain. Similar fast speed feeds are sold by other social media firms and...

Three people were killed and seven more were injured, some critically, in a shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in southern Idaho on Saturday afternoon, a Twin Falls city spokesman said. Police who responded to the shooting found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, Twin Falls city public information officer Josh Palmer said. He did not know if the suspect was included in the fatality count. Officials were still working on notifying the family members of victims...

Iran warned this weekend against any “adventurous action” by the US and said it would retaliate decisively if American forces follow through on US President Donald Trump’s threats of fresh attacks on Iranian targets. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s comments in separate phone calls on Saturday with senior Turkish, Pakistani and Saudi officials came just ‌hours after Kuwait’s army said it destroyed hostile drones launched by Iran against several vital facilities. Speaking to Pakistan’s...

Vincent Pastore, a veteran actor who played mobsters and tough guys, and was best known for playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on The Sopranos, has died. He was 80. Bob McGowan, who had managed Pastore since his run on The Sopranos, told Associated Press that he learned of his death on Saturday from another client and actor on the show, Vincent Curatola. He said Pastore had been found in his home on New York’s City Island after not being heard from for a few days. McGowan said he had been...

At least 13 people died when a small plane carrying tourists to view Peru’s famed Nazca Lines archaeological site crashed, police said on Saturday. “We have information that 11 passengers and two crew members have died,” Police Major Jorge Andrade told reporters from the crash site in the country’s south. The incident happened just after 1pm local time after the plane took off from the airport in Pisco, located about 240km (150 miles) south of the capital Lima. “Given the severity of the...

US President ⁠Donald Trump posted on Saturday ⁠that he disagrees with his ⁠own Justice Department’s findings that a flawed installation, not vandalism, caused the lining of the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington to peel. “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of ‌Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.” In a court...

Republicans hoped a shove from President Trump would persuade the embattled congressman to drop his re-election bid in the face of abuse allegations.

Its wins have been largely confined to highly educated and heavily Democratic parts of urban America. But two races could change that.

Ronald S. Lauder, a major funder of conservative political causes, has not given a single dollar this year to Republicans in his home state, and his super PAC has gone idle.

His frozen-in-time anthems, odes to going with the flow, are the soundtrack to a summer of “hopecore.”

The ride-hailing giant promised to handle legal claims “in a way that is best for the survivor.” Its lawyers are pursuing a far more aggressive strategy.

Rick Caruso, the billionaire real estate developer and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, is reviving a property still surrounded by burned-out lots.

States are pushing to pass laws sanctioning more reasons to use lethal violence in self-defense, a distinctly American tradition.

After two steel beams buckled at a Manhattan high-rise last month, city officials conducted inspections at dozens of construction sites across the city. None of the violations posed a danger to the public, the city said.

After 14 years, the city has returned to slapping bright stickers on cars that do not move for street sweepers.

Inspire Entertainment Resort — an alternative to Macau, the world’s gambling capital — was supposed to be a “transformational” project for the Native American tribe.

The pop star has long pushed back on comments about her weight loss, urging fans to be “gentler.” As her fame reached new heights, so did the scrutiny.

The malaria-carrying mosquito is resistant to all insecticides. Scientists are scrambling to find ways to blunt the risk.

When the New York Historical realized that sunlight in its new wing would potentially damage some items on display, it scrambled to reproduce or remove them.

Nicaragua shows what happens when even dictators fear a rigged election.

Wyoming has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation.

Aaron Farinacci, 37, was arrested after a witness reported seeing him kneeling near the ignition site, officials said. Winds were forecast to increase Friday and Saturday, bringing a return to extremely critical fire weather.