Minimalist News

Pitch For Defense Treaty And Moving US Military To Israel Is Insane Authored by Jennifer Kavanagh via Responsible Statecraft , On August 18, Israel bombed a non-operational Syrian air base , reportedly to derail Turkish plans to deploy military forces to the installation. The move drew swift condemnation from the United States, which did not receive prior notification despite its growing support for Syria, its alliance with Turkey, and the presence of thousands of U.S. military personnel based nearby, in Jordan and other parts of the region. Is this the behavior of a " model ally "? The Jewish Institute

This Is The Income A Family Needs To Live Comfortably In Every US State Here’s the short version of what it takes for a family of four to live comfortably in 2026 by state: In Massachusetts, you’d need nearly $330,000 a year - the highest figure in the entire country. Only three states clear the $300,000 mark: Massachusetts, Hawaii, and California. At the other end of the spectrum, Mississippi is the most affordable at about $188,000. That’s a full $142,000 less than what you’d need in Massachusetts. So… how much does a family of four need in your state? This

DEA Seized 47 Million Fentanyl-Laced Counterfeit Pills In 2025 Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times , The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confiscated more than 47 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and almost 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2025. Just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose. Courtesy of the DEA The seized narcotics are equivalent to 369 million lethal doses of fentanyl, according to an announcement made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in an Aug. 21 post on X as part of the National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. So far this year, the

Scandal-Plagued KPMG To Cut Australian Workforce Following Government Contract Suspension A major consultancy firm under fire for misconduct in its audit business is cutting its local workforce following a suspension from applying for new government contracts. KPMG’s U.S. headquarters at Two Manhattan West. Photo via Emily Louick Photography and Entropy Film Works Inc. KPMG - one of the "Big Four" accounting firms alongside Deloitte, PwC, and EY - revealed on Aug. 24 that its annual revenue dipped 1 percent to $2.26 billion (US$1.62 billion) in fiscal 2026 . The firm also warned of a rocky road ahead, with new CEO

Macroeconomic Data Is Really A Tool For Government Intervention Authored by Frank Shostak via Mises Institute , It is common for commentators and economists to refer to something called the "economy," which sometimes performs well and, at other times, poorly. The "economy" is presented as an entity apart from individuals. Within this framework, the "economy" is assigned paramount importance, while the role of individuals is barely mentioned. It must be realized that, at no stage, does the so-called "economy" have a life of its own, independent from individuals. According to this way of thinking, the "economy" produces goods and services.

Is ICE Investigating Ilhan Omar? Trump 'Truths' Report On Withheld Fraud-Probe Records President Donald Trump drew fresh attention to a long-running controversy on Sunday when he reposted a Just the News article on Truth Social headlined "ICE refuses to disclose records on Ilhan Omar fraud probe, cites ongoing 'enforcement proceedings .'" His decision to amplify the report, without comment, renewed scrutiny of allegations that have dogged Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for years - though ICE's response stops short of confirming she is personally the target of any active proceeding. The Trump administration has said for months it possesses evidence that

Limits On Border Patrol Arrests In California Lifted By Federal Appeals Court Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times , A federal appeals court on Aug. 24 rescinded a preliminary injunction that limited U.S. Border Patrol stops and arrests in California's Central Valley. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that a federal district court failed to properly analyze whether the plaintiffs had standing to seek forward-looking relief based on alleged harms in the past. Standing refers to the right of someone to sue in court. The parties must show, among other things, a strong enough

Bluetooth Glitch Exposes Alibaba's Secret Tracking Of Users, Developer Says A San Francisco-based developer discovered that Alibaba Group's AliExpress marketplace secretly hijacked his computer's audio system through hidden browser scripts , allowing the website to run inaudible sound waves at zero volume to create "fingerprints" used to track devices without relying on cookies. The privacy-focused Brave browser revealed in a series of X posts that the AliExpress marketplace was keeping the developer's computer audio system active through hidden browser scripts, potentially allowing the website to generate a unique identifier for his device. The issue emerged when the developer's Bluetooth headphones

Judge Rules For Doctor Who Prescribed Ivermectin For COVID-19 Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times , A doctor's lawsuit against Maine's medical board can proceed, a federal judge has ruled. An order from the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine that Dr. Meryl Nass undergo a psychological evaluation for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19 was "based on no evidence or process," including no probable cause, U.S. District Judge Lance Walker said in an Aug. 20 decision. "In judicial proceedings, at a minimum probable cause findings ordinarily are required to justify pretrial impositions. In this case, as alleged, the

Dear Truck Owners: Secure Your Tailgates First, thieves were cutting catalytic converters off petrol-powered vehicles because of the valuable platinum, palladium, and rhodium inside the exhaust systems, which convert toxic engine gases into safer emissions. Now, it appears thieves are targeting trucks in one part of the country, not for precious metals, but for entire tailgates. CBS affiliate KHOU 11 , which serves Houston, Texas, recently reported on a vehicle-parts theft ring targeting trucks for their tailgates. The outlet interviewed a Texas truck owner whose tailgate had been stolen. While searching Facebook Marketplace for a replacement, he stumbled across something

"The Magic Deportation Bus": US Prepares For Largest-Ever Mass Visa Revocation In History Shortly after AP News reported Monday evening that the Trump administration was preparing the largest mass visa revocation in US history, targeting up to 200,000 foreigners , the White House posted a meme on X spoofing the animated series The Magic School Bus and renaming Ms. Frizzle's vehicle " The Magic Deportation Bus ." Please let this be a normal field trip... pic.twitter.com/YkhmpEQpvb — The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 24, 2026 The report states that the State Department is expected to announce the rolling cancellation of B1

Report: Taxpayers Funding $230 Million In Federal Grants Tied To 'Intersectionality' Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness , The federal government has awarded about $230 million to programs referencing "intersectionality," with much of the funding originating during the Biden administration, according to a new report from two policy groups . The Defense of Freedom Institute and Legal Insurrection Foundation identified 249 federal assistance records that used the term "intersectionality," an ideological framework that examines race, sex, class and other characteristics in assessing discrimination and privilege. According to the report, about $140 million has been spent, while another $90

'I Thought It Would Rise Forever'; World's 'Craziest' Stock Market Suddenly Faces Billion-Dollar Outflows Over the past few months, we have been closely following the chaos (rise and fall) in a once only marginally-monitored market on the other side of the world. Namely, the AI/chip-driven KOSPI rally and subsequent sharp unwind concentrated in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix... “From FOMO To Oh No! Koreans Face Massive Forced Liquidations As AI Bubble Bursts” (June 9, 2026) - Aggressive leveraged retail buying of Samsung and SK Hynix (via margin and new single-stock 2x ETFs) turned into forced liquidations and a self-reinforcing sell-off

A Teachers' Union Hits The Wrong Target Authored by Stephen Soukup via American Greatness , The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) is the largest teachers-only public pension system in the country, with more than $400 billion in assets under management. As of December 31, 2024, CalSTRS directly held three-quarters of a million shares of Target Corporation, worth more than $100 million. If one were to add in the Target holdings of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (the second and third-largest teachers-only plans in the country, respectively), then the total value

Approval Of Trump's Presidency And The War On Iran Hit New Lows Americans' approval of the US-Israeli war on Iran has reached another record low, pulling Trump's approval rating down with it, to the worst reading of either of his two terms in office , according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The new findings also show likely spillover effects for the November midterms that will benefit Democrats seeking to retake the majority in Congress. 18 US service members have died in Trump's war on Iran, and more than 700 others have been wounded or injured (AP) Early on, the Trump

Only 35% Of Women Under-25 Have Positive View Of Men; Survey Finds 'Heteroflexible' Is The Fastest Growing Sexual Orientation In America Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog, Our culture is being transformed at a pace that is difficult to comprehend. The numbers that I am going to share with you in this article paint an undeniable picture about where our society is heading. That doesn’t mean that the trends that we are witnessing now are permanent. We have been through so many societal pivot points in recent decades, and it is probably inevitable that

Amazon's New Warehouses May Process Packages 2.5 Times Faster With Far Fewer Workers Amazon is developing a new warehouse concept aimed at automating one of the most stubbornly manual parts of online retail: preparing a chaotic mix of packages for the final trip to customers’ homes, according to Business Insider . Known internally as Project Tetromino, the proposed facilities would sit at the end of Amazon’s logistics network. Packages would arrive from fulfillment centers and then be sorted, temporarily stored, placed in delivery order and staged for drivers with far less human involvement than at current delivery stations. The name

Washington Backs Brazil's Serra Verde Mine In $1.55 Billion Rare-Earth Push The U.S. Department of War has announced a $750 million investment aimed at securing long-term supplies of critical rare-earth elements from Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine in central Brazil, as Washington accelerates efforts to reduce its dependence on China for strategically important minerals, according to a DOW press release out this week . The investment, announced Aug. 24 through the department’s Economic Defense Unit and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, will support an offtake agreement for mixed rare-earth carbonates produced by Serra Verde. It forms part of a

Trump Says All Mines Cleared From Strait Of Hormuz, Warns Military Options Still On Table President Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to declare that all mines have been removed from the Strait of Hormuz - it what seems yet another attempt to declare all is well at a moment Washington has shifted from prior military operations to an economic 'strangulation' and siege policy targeting the Islamic Republic. “I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” the President wrote

Here's How AI Is Impacting America's Mental Health Crisis Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times , When Americans are feeling down, instead of calling a mental health professional, a growing number are reaching for their keyboards. Artificial intelligence chatbots have become confidantes, sounding boards, and even substitutes for therapists . Some say this could have a significant impact on the U.S. mental health crisis. This shift is unfolding against the backdrop of a substantial mental health burden in the United States. An American Psychiatric Association poll revealed 62 percent of respondents reported high levels of anxiety. Meanwhile, the

Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo, deported to Honduras, is latest military spouse to face removal amid Trump 2.0 The wife of an active-duty US soldier was deported on Monday to her native Honduras , according to her family and the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo is at least the seventh spouse or parent of an active-duty US soldier to be deported under the immigration crackdown during Donald Trump ’s second presidency. Continue reading...

Gang leader threatens to kill hostages after attack in Kenscoff in which homes were also set alight ‘A massacre’: Haiti gangs carrying out mass killings At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped when armed men attacked a once peaceful community near Haiti’s capital at the weekend, the UN has said. A gang leader has threatened to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community of Kenscoff, nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince. Continue reading...

US president has been obsessed with restricting the ability to vote by mail, despite using it himself. Plus, why we are still fascinated with Meg from the White Stripes Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. The US supreme court has sided with Donald Trump in his effort to crack down on mail-in voting , though it is unclear whether or not his administration will be able to take action before the midterm elections in November. The court’s justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to lift an injunction that a judge in Massachusetts had

Far-right leader echoes ally Donald Trump and says operations to ‘track down illegal immigrants’ should begin this week, amid earthquake aftermath Colombia’s far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced a crackdown on immigrants, ordering authorities to detain and deport people who are in the country irregularly or have committed crimes. In office for just over two weeks, the millionaire former lawyer made the announcement on Sunday as the country continued to grapple with the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on 10 August that killed more than 300 people and destroyed more than 30,000 homes. Continue reading...

US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugs The US military has launched a deadly strike on a vessel in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of drug trafficking. On Monday, US Southern Command (SouthCom) announced it “executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific”. Continue reading...

Heavy rain expected in parts of Vietnam and southern ‌China, as another storm system, Typhoon Saudel, heads for Japan and Taiwan Widespread flooding triggered by Typhoon Narra has submerged homes and forced mass evacuations in southern China, as another storm system tracked towards Japan and Taiwan. Authorities in Chongzuo, in China’s Guangxi region – famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains – on Tuesday evacuated more than 15,000 people after water ⁠levels surpassed a record high set in 2008. Continue reading...

Among those charged are two Super Micro employees and one from Nvidia, marking another flashpoint in US-China AI rivalry Taiwanese prosecutors charged nine people Monday, including one from Nvidia and two from Super Micro, for illegally exporting “high-end AI servers” to mainland China, adding another wave of turbulence in the AI ​​rivalry between China and the United States. Prosecutors said the servers involved were graphics processing units known as “B300,” which have been banned from sale to China. Continue reading...

Beijing says it will take ‘all necessary measures’ to protect its interests as US steps up efforts to isolate Tehran Explainer: could US sanctions threaten China-Iran ties? China has denounced the threat of US sanctions for its trade with Iran , saying any such measures would be illegal, and warned it would take “all necessary measures” to protect its national interests. Beijing’s rejection of the US threat of secondary sanctions for any country or entity continuing to trade with Tehran had been predicted. China buys an estimated 80% of Iran’s oil exports and has defied previous US efforts to limit

Gao Zhen sentenced to three years in prison after already spending two years in detention Gao Zhen, a prominent Chinese artist known for provocative sculptures of the former leader Mao Zedong, has been sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of slandering China’s “heroes and martyrs”. The sentencing came two years after he was detained while visiting the country with his family, according to his wife and human rights groups. The case has attracted international condemnation , largely because the artworks at the centre of the case were created more than 10 years before China created the

In Indonesia’s Kalimantan, fires have ravaged tens of thousands of acres, with suffocating smoke reaching Malaysia and putting Singapore on alert Suwadi can barely see five metres in front of him when he steps outside his home in Indonesian Borneo. Each breath, he says, feels “like smoking a cigarette”. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Angela Jackson, the commissioner of the Productivity Commission, said the body stands by the interim report into the GST, which found the deal with Western Australia to be a costly mistake that should be reversed. Jackson spoke to RN this morning after WA premier Roger Cook said “east coast clowns” didn’t understand the state and any changes would “rip $6bn out of the Western Australia economy”. We are aiming, of course, to inform public policy debate, which can often get heated. Our view

About 400,000 juvenile Sydney rock oysters were taken from an oyster farm on state’s mid-north coast earlier this year, police say Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Police are on the hunt for a seafood swindler after 400,000 oysters were allegedly stolen from a farm at a river on the New South Wales mid-north coast. About 320 bags of juvenile oysters, worth an estimated $350,000, were taken from an oyster farm in Scotts Creek, Oxley Island, earlier this year, according to NSW police. Continue reading...

Commissioner Angela Jackson also said it was ‘disappointing’ that Anthony Albanese had ruled out changes to Western Australia’s GST arrangements Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Productivity Commission has condemned attacks on its integrity as “unacceptable” after its scathing assessment of Western Australia’s sweetheart GST deal as a costly mistake sparked a fierce political backlash and name-calling. Angela Jackson, a productivity commissioner and co-author of the report, said the country’s leading independent economic advisory body welcomed criticism and comments on its work. Continue reading...

Labor put ‘levy on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria’ since January 2025, auditor general finds, as questions raised over premier’s involvement Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Questions have been raised about Ben Carroll’s knowledge of a “secret tax” the Victorian government has slapped on public transport fares to help pay for the Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects. The existence of the levy was revealed in an auditor general report tabled in parliament on Wednesday, which also

Bureau of Statistics says CPI was 3.5% in July, casting doubt on Reserve Bank meeting its 2.5% inflation target without further hike Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Fears are growing that the Reserve Bank will hit millions of mortgage holders with a fourth rate hike this year, after inflation eased in July but by far less than expected. Consumer prices climbed by 3.5% through the year, down from 3.8% in the previous month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Continue reading...

Protests and petitions planned amid growing concerns over impact of climate crisis on numbers of Alpine rodent Animal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots. Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation. Continue reading...

Yorgen Fenech tells jury he had nothing to do with killing and alleges top adviser to Malta’s then PM was instigator A businessman on trial for the murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has spoken about the charges for the first time in court since his arrest seven years ago, telling the jury he was framed by police and had nothing to do with the killing. During four days of questioning by defence and the prosecution lawyers, Yorgen Fenech, 44, accused the most senior adviser to Malta’s prime minister of giving the go-ahead for the murder. Continue reading...

Lawyer Baltasar Garzón, representing Chambers, said case against his client is ‘very strange’ as US requests extradition FBI agents raided the Ibiza, Spain, vacation rental of 41-year-old James “Fergie” Chambers, a US citizen and wealthy donor to leftwing and humanitarian projects worldwide, in the days following his arrest last month, the Guardian has learned. Baltasar Garzón, a human rights lawyer representing Chambers, revealed the details in an exclusive interview. Chambers is wanted for extradition by the Trump administration for alleged financial support of Hamas , as well as other charges. Continue reading...

UK PM to join delegation of leaders lobbying US president to step up supplies, as Kremlin accuses Burnham of wanting to continue war Burnham plans trip to New York as Ukraine pleads for US-made missiles Vatican envoy Paul Gallagher met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow earlier today, and Reuters has some snap quotes from Pope Leo XIV’s representative following the meeting. He is quoted as saying that “The Ukrainian war must end” and that the pair discussed “avenues for pursuing lasting and just peace in Ukraine”. In relation to the post on a US military plane landing in

Unannounced trip reported by US media is said to be Ratcliffe’s first known visit to Russia as CIA chief The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has made an unannounced visit to Moscow, US media reported, after flight data showed an American military aircraft flew to the Russian capital, where a US diplomatic motorcade was later spotted. CBS News quoted sources familiar with the situation as confirming Ratcliffe’s trip, saying it was his first known visit to Russia as CIA chief. Axios separately confirmed the visit, quoting a US official. Continue reading...

As photojournalist sentenced to 15 years, rights groups warn law would turn civic engagement into security crime Iran has taken the first step towards criminalising contact with foreign media, in a move human rights groups have said attempts to “sever the entire Iranian society from the rest of the world”. For journalists, researchers and even ordinary citizens, the proposed law being discussed by Iranian lawmakers this month could make speaking to international audiences and groups a potential criminal act and restrict coverage of events such as January’s mass anti-regime protests . Continue reading...

Internal calls to end war get louder as Gulf neighbours plan alternative pipelines to cut reliance on waterway Is the strait of Hormuz, recently cited by the office of the Iranian supreme leader as “the pillar of Iran’s new security order”, and as transformative as possessing a nuclear weapon, in reality becoming a fast-diminishing asset, leaving Iran increasingly vulnerable to the new planned US wave of economic sanctions? It is the key debate that is raging inside Iran, with many different conclusions being drawn for Tehran’s negotiating strategy. Those who warn the strait’s value as a chokehold on the world

Washington launches campaign to isolate Tehran but it is unclear whether it will apply measures to China The US has threatened to impose severe sanctions against any country or entity maintaining economic ties with Iran, hoping to achieve with economic measures what military means have so far failed to do. It is unclear, however, how far the Trump administration is prepared to go in confronting China, Iran’s biggest trading partner, which has signalled its resistance to US economic pressure to cut off links with an ally. Continue reading...

Incident marks apparent escalation by Tehran in its in retaliation against UK over allowing US to use British bases Hackers linked to Iran have been blamed for a cyber-attack that caused a British power plant to be temporarily shut down. The incident involved a small-scale energy generator, according to the UK government, which said that at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system. Continue reading...

Abbas Araghchi says country is unbowed but president Masoud Pezeshkian admits its people face ‘many problems’ Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed the threat of a fresh round of US economic sanctions as a “desperate” ploy, even as its president acknowledged that the Iranian people are facing “many problems” amid Washington’s efforts to isolate and debilitate the country’s economy. Last week, Donald Trump announced a new campaign to increase the pressure on the Iranian economy , calling it “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country”. The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is expected to announce further punitive economic

Authorities at biggest state hospital in Islamabad say 15 babies were in the ward when fire broke out At least 14 newborn babies have died in a fire that broke out in the maternity ward at one of Pakistan’s most prominent state hospitals. The blaze began in the early hours of Wednesday and engulfed the ward at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the biggest state hospital in Islamabad. Continue reading...

The flagship environmental initiative has achieved ‘negligible’ results. Why so little progress, and what are the risks as the planet gets hotter? Plus, fusion dance pioneer Usha Jey • Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up here India set out to expand its forested areas a decade ago. Last week, however, we learned that the forest cover programme had barely taken root when the government’s auditors released their findings of the flagship Green India Mission. The shortfall of 97.57% from India’s initial pledge in 2014 was stark enough to alarm the government’s own auditor, who described

Supreme court ordered transfer of ex-leader whose health is reportedly deteriorating, but he was returned to prison several hours later Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan was briefly taken to a hospital in the country’s capital on supreme court orders after weeks of uproar about his deteriorating health. Khan, 73, was transferred to the hospital in the early hours of Friday, but then moved back to Adiala prison in Rawalpindi after a ⁠few hours, a spokesperson for his party said on Friday. Continue reading...

UK has refused resettlement application despite ‘years of loyal service’ that have resulted in ‘constant fear’ of reprisals A man has received threats from the Taliban after his work for the Afghan police was revealed by a Ministry of Defence leak and the UK refused his application for resettlement. Hamid* worked for the Afghan national police special unit and received certificates for his work signed by senior British figures praising his “dedication, unparalleled service and leadership”. His details were also included in an accidental 2022 leak by an MoD official that identified 18,700 Afghans who had worked with or for

Campaigners fear deeper diplomatic contacts are undermining demands for improvements in human rights The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses. Five years after the Taliban took power , an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare. Continue reading...

Prime minister spoke to press while on visit to a Sainsbury’s supermarket this morning Andy Burnham was asked about his previous criticisms of Donald Trump and describing US politics as “poisonous” and “polarised”. In 2021, as rioters stormed the US Capitol, Burnham posted on X: “Any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now.” Continue reading...

ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further records Over 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths . The UK Health Security Agency announced on 30 July that an estimated 2,877 people had died in the May and

Uber and Wayve had said they would start trips ‘later this summer’ but launch now looks unlikely this year Business live – latest updates The rollout of robotaxis on the streets of London is unlikely to happen this year, as regulatory and technical hurdles push back the ambitious schedule set out by the UK government. Only weeks ago Uber and London-based Wayve were granted the first minicab licences in the capital to allow them to offer self-driving taxi rides to paying customers – but with a human safety driver in place, for now – and said they would start trips

Former England forward crashed on M3 in late May Sterling is also accused of failing to provide a specimen The former England forward Raheem Sterling has been charged with dangerous driving and possession of nitrous oxide after a crash involving a Lamborghini on the motorway, police have said. Hampshire and Isle of Wight constabulary said the charges followed a single-vehicle collision on the M3 southbound, near Minley interchange, on 28 May. The 31-year-old is accused of dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation and failing to provide a specimen. Continue reading...

Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissions Dozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer’s extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport. This summer’s heatwaves and wildfires were “immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency”, the groups said, making reform of transport – responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector in the UK – an urgent priority. Continue reading...

Reproductive Freedom for All – one of the country’s oldest pro-choice groups – backs Jackson in his fight against Republican Susan Collins One of the oldest abortion rights groups in the US is endorsing Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee in Maine’s critical US Senate race, according to details first shared with the Guardian. Reproductive Freedom for All is supporting Jackson, the former state senate president, in challenging Susan Collins – the five‑term Republican incumbent who has been dogged on the campaign trail for her role in overturning abortion access in the US. Continue reading...

Legendary country singer died surrounded by loved ones after being diagnosed with cancer, her team says; Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Dionne Warwick lead tributes Dolly Parton dies aged 80 Celebrity tributes A life in pictures Parton’s peerless career turned country music cliches inside out Share your tributes and memories of Dolly Parton Our picture editors have collated Dolly Parton ’s life in pictures: In the UK, top radio presenter Jo Whiley introduced her BBC Radio 2 evening show by playing I Will Always Love You , Jolene and 9 to 5 in tribute to Dolly Parton after her death was

Lily Tomlin, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Céline Dion and Oprah Winfrey are among those remembering the queen of country after she died aged 80 Alexis Petridis on Dolly Parton’s peerless career that turned country music cliches inside out Dolly Parton – a life in pictures Country music legend Dolly Parton dies aged 80 – latest updates Tributes have poured in for Dolly Parton , the country singer, songwriter and actor, after her death aged 80. News of her death was shared by her nephew on social media . “Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus,”

In today’s newsletter: A collapsing trade deal has united Canadians more than ever, in an existential confrontation with the US president Good morning. When the Guardian asked Canadian readers whether they planned to boycott US products after dramatic escalations in the ongoing DC/Ottawa trade war, we received more than 2,000 responses within 12 hours. This inundation is perhaps evidence of the existential crisis many Canadians feel they now face, something often lost in the granular reporting of trade negotiations: this is about so much more than the price of lumber. US news | Dolly Parton, one of the greatest singer-songwriters

The incumbent senator Dan S Sullivan has condemned ex-school teacher Dan J Sullivan, claiming he is running at the behest of Democrats to confuse supporters Republican senator Dan S Sullivan will be joined on the November ballot in Alaska by a challenger with a nearly identical name from the same party, election officials confirmed on Tuesday, adding a twist to what is expected to be one of the most hotly contested races of the midterms. The Republican senator is running for a third term against Democrat Mary Peltola , a former US House representative whom polls show is neck-and-neck with

The US Secret ⁠Service is aware ⁠of a video ⁠broadcast by Iranian state television discussing a potential plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump’s youngest son, a spokesman said on ‌Tuesday. “The US Secret Service is aware of the video and investigates anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees. “Out of concern for operational security, we ⁠do not discuss matters of protective intelligence,” Secret Service spokesman Nate Herring wrote in an email. A three-minute...

Six Chinese nationals were killed and nine ‌more are missing after a fire broke out at a gas chemical complex in Russia’s far eastern Amur region, the plant said on Wednesday. A total of seven people died and 152 people were treated for injuries, including 36 ⁠who were rushed to hospitals, the plant said on the Telegram ‌messaging app on Wednesday. The fire, which broke out on Tuesday, was extinguished, it added. An emergency services ‌plane had arrived to transport the injured to other...

A shipper needing to transit the Panama Canal bid a record US$5.3 million to secure its spot, according to people familiar with the matter. South Korea-based SK Gas Ltd agreed to pay the sum to travel the canal on September 1, said the people, who could not be identified as the information was confidential. The fee, determined through an auction run by the canal authority this week, breaks the previous high of US$4.6 million set earlier this month, also paid by a shipper controlling a South...

Dolly Parton, the country music star who rose from grinding poverty in Tennessee to become a rhinestone-studded cultural icon with hits like “Jolene” and “9 to 5”, has died at 80, her family said on Tuesday. Parton was more than a singer – she wrote 3,000 songs, acted in major Hollywood films and donated millions of dollars to charities in her home state and beyond. She was also an accomplished businesswoman, with her interests spanning from her popular Dollywood theme park to cosmetics, pet...

Canada announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 per cent on US$19.94 billion (C$27.6 billion) of American goods on Tuesday, escalating its trade confrontation with Washington days after negotiations collapsed and the Trump administration imposed sweeping new duties on Canadian products. The tariffs, which take effect on September 8, will apply to more than 700 categories of US goods at rates of 15, 25 or 50 per cent, according to the Canadian government. The targeted products range from steel,...

Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to overturn her sex trafficking conviction and be freed from prison was rejected by a federal judge Tuesday who said the claims by Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and long-time associate that new evidence had emerged were “demonstrably meritless”. Maxwell filed a habeas petition last December seeking to set aside her conviction and free her from a 20-year prison sentence, claiming exonerating information was withheld and false testimony presented at her trial,...

US CIA Director ⁠John Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow ⁠on Tuesday for meetings ⁠with Russian officials, US media outlets reported, citing unnamed sources. The visit would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by a US spy chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, ‌held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. CBS News and Axios reported the visit by Ratcliffe,...

Brazil’s data protection authority fined ByteDance US$30 million on Tuesday over its handling of children’s data on TikTok, the largest penalty it has imposed since it was created in 2020. The National Data Protection Authority, known as the ANPD, found five breaches of Brazil’s data protection law and gave ByteDance 10 working days to appeal. The company must also erase the records of users aged 13 to 18 whose parental authorisation is not regularised within 60 working days, instruct every...

Long queues formed at petrol stations in Tehran on Tuesday after the United States announced fresh sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran into submission. Washington has turned to pulling economic levers six months into a war on Iran that has ground to a stalemate militarily, with peace talks stalled and most traffic through the crucial Strait of Hormuz blocked. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday laid out plans for the “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, saying the “objective is to sever...

The Mecca security pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan stipulates that an armed attack against one shall count as an attack against all three. Yet the real message is directed at the United States: if being an American ally offers no immunity against attack, there is little point in waiting for Washington to honour its security guarantees. That there has been no official White House statement casts some doubt on whether Donald Trump is really “very happy to see that Saudi Arabia,...

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as the trade war between the United States and Canada intensifies. Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s unilateral action last year by executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The US and Canada are locked in a trade dispute, with Canada expected on Tuesday to announce retaliatory measures after the Trump administration enacted...

China and the US should strive for “normal stability with controllable disagreements” in their relations, a senior Chinese official has urged in the latest semi-official dialogue with Washington. During the talks on Tuesday, Liu Haixing, head of the Communist Party’s International Department, said the two countries should expand the “pie” of shared interests to achieve positive stability anchored in cooperation. “[Both sides] should reject zero-sum games to achieve healthy stability with...

Like many Kuwaitis, Ghanim Alsulaimani still vividly remembers Iraqi tanks rolling through his hometown when his small Gulf state faced extinction had US troops not liberated it from invasion. Now, decades later and six months into the US-Iran war, some are seeing those same American troops as more of a liability than an asset, as their presence has put Kuwait in Tehran’s line of fire. Since the Middle East conflict first erupted in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, the Islamic...

A coalition may call itself a commitment. It still has to say what that commitment is. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to send a letter to dozens of countries, pressing them to choose sides in the US-China artificial intelligence race. Those that join Beijing’s proposed AI cooperation framework would be excluded from the US-led AI coalition. “To be part of everything is to be part of nothing,” the draft says. An American official summarised the message more bluntly: countries...

Israel’s escalating campaign to stop Syria rebuilding its military with Turkish help looks set to backfire, after Damascus signalled it was considering joining the new mutual-defence pact formed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Securing a Washington-mediated security deal with Israel was still Damascus’ top priority, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani reportedly told Roman Gofman, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, at a meeting in Amman on Sunday. Such a deal would see...

For months, Masoumeh Zakeri has endlessly replayed the last night she spent with her nine-year-old daughter before she was killed in a strike on her school during the opening hours of the US-Israel war with Iran. Motahreh excitedly talked about coming holidays, planned weddings and the clothes she wanted to buy. She had a Ramadan pre-fast meal shortly before dawn and then Zakeri tucked her into bed. “I never saw her again. (That was) the last time,” the 44-year-old mother told Agence...

At least 47 people were killed and 22 more injured in an overnight gang raid on a neighbourhood overlooking Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, the UN said on Monday, prompting anger over the lack of protection from repeated deadly attacks. The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti ‌said estimates could still change. The hillside community of Kenscoff, in a strategic position overlooking routes into the capital, has suffered a dozen attacks by armed gangs since last year, forcing thousands to...

Scientists have recorded the highest temperature ever measured in the world’s oceans, as climate change combines with a powerful El Nino in the tropical Pacific. The global average sea-surface temperature hit a record 21.1 degrees Celsius (70 Fahrenheit) on August 22, according to Europe’s Earth observation agency Copernicus, which has been tracking the metric daily since 1979. The previous single-day record of 21.09 degrees was measured in March 2024. “El Nino is adding heat to the system, but...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran had attempted to assassinate one of his two sons, without offering further details. “Something incredible happened: Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill one of my sons,” Netanyahu said during a phone interview with Israel’s Channel 14. The claim came during a discussion about reports that the Shin Bet domestic security agency had declined to provide a security detail for Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is...

South Korea and the US agreed to maintain close coordination on efforts to revive dialogue with North Korea, days after Pyongyang rebuffed President Donald Trump’s overtures and launched a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call late on Monday that Seoul would work to ensure that Trump’s recent messages lead to renewed US-North Korea discussions and peace on the Korean peninsula, Seoul’s Foreign...

“Nothing bad can happen. It can only good happen.” Donald J. Trump It would be easy to write off the regular word salads of America’s 47th president as the increasingly incoherent ramblings of an elderly man in obvious mental and physical decline. However, one can also argue that Trump’s seemingly dyslexic struggles with the English language reflect a deliberate disregard for grammar rules that resonates with his support base. It’s the level of language that up to half of Americans happily use...

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he and other European leaders plan to travel to the US next month to lobby President Donald Trump to let Ukraine access some of its Patriot air defence missile stocks ahead of the winter. “I’m looking forward to going to New York in September,” Burnham said in an interview with Bloomberg in Kyiv on Monday evening, referring to the coming UN General Assembly meeting in New York. It would be his first trip to the US since becoming prime minister. “I’ve not fully...

A federal judge on Monday postponed a trial in the US for a former Libyan intelligence official charged in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, citing the discovery of new evidence that defence lawyers want to examine in the nearly 40-year-old case. Jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the federal trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in Washington DC. His trial will be the first in the US for the December 21, 1988, bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270...

The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status in the United States. If it happens, the move would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in US history and would likely face legal challenges. Unless challenged or revised, the State Department was expected to announce in the coming weeks the revocation of so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose...

The US Supreme Court gave President Donald Trump a temporary victory on Monday, lifting a lower court block on his executive order curbing the use of mail-in ballots. The Republican president signed an order in March seeking to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections but it was immediately met with multiple legal challenges. Democratic-led states sued the administration on grounds that under the US Constitution, states – and not the federal government – retain broad...

US President Donald Trump invested as much as US$50,000 ⁠in Elon Musk’s SpaceX in June, according to a public financial disclosure, giving him a financial stake in a major government contractor run by his former adviser. Trump bought between US$15,001 and US$50,000 in shares on June 23, according to a financial disclosure signed ‌by him on August 12 and made public on August 22. The purchase was part of more than 1,000 stock trades the president made in June. SpaceX priced the biggest-ever US...

The United States on Monday removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, rescinding a decades-old designation that came with severe economic restrictions and marking another step in warming ties between the countries. The US Department of State also revoked its designation of al-Nusra Front – latterly known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – as a global terrorist organisation. The Treasury Department announced corresponding sanctions relief. Rebels led by HTS overthrew long-time...

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed optimism she can reach a trade deal with US President Donald Trump as her chief negotiator leads talks in Washington, just after negotiations between the US and Canada collapsed. “As President Trump said, we hope to reach an agreement with the US,” she told reporters on Monday after being asked about the escalating US-Canada impasse. “I’m optimistic an agreement can be reached.” Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, Sheinbaum’s top trade negotiator, will...

China has condemned fresh US “Economic D-Day” sanctions imposed on Chinese entities over their ties to Iran, pledging “all necessary measures” to protect its interests. Launching the measures on Monday against Iran and its trading partners, the United States unveiled new sanctions against 60 entities, individuals and vessels around the world, including some in mainland China and Hong Kong, and demanded “immediate action” from nations maintaining economic and commercial ties with Iran. The...

The football with which Diego Maradona scored his “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has sold at auction for US$3.35 million. The sale price achieved by Heritage Auctions in the United States was around US$6.7 million below the US$10 million estimate. The Dallas-based auction house had placed a US$2.5 million starting price on the Adidas Azteca ball. Maradona scored twice in Argentina’s quarter-final victory over England on June 22, 1986 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. He...

US authorities are conducting a national security review of Shein Global Holdings’ purchase of American clothing retailer Everlane after Shein sought approval for the deal, people familiar with the matter said, adding to a growing list of regulatory hurdles for the China-founded fast-fashion giant in one of its most important markets. The review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius), an inter-agency panel led by the Treasury Department, began after the US$80 million...

After a pause of more than two months, the US military announced Monday that it once again carried out a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of trafficking drugs. It brings the overall death toll to 223 people killed in 67 strikes during the nearly year-long US campaign of bombing alleged drug boats off Latin America’s Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. US Southern Command says the campaign has resulted in the destruction of 64 speedboats,...

British police have arrested 12 people after a car pursued by police crashed while driving the wrong way on a major road, killing five youths and two officers. The deaths on Saturday came as officials warned of a trend for young people to carry out dangerous driving stunts to post on social media. However, police on Monday denied the collision was linked to filming for the TikTok online platform. Police in the Cleveland area of northeast England said there was “no evidence to indicate that...

The French government said on Monday it would press ahead with a ban on mobile phones in high schools from next month, but trade unions warned that the measure might be hard to implement quickly. In July, France’s parliament approved legislation banning both social media access for children under 15 and mobile phone use in high schools. It is part of a push by President Emmanuel Macron for children to spend less time in front of screens, which the government fears is arresting their...

US tariffs on all cars and trucks, automotive parts and steel would be increased to 50 per cent starting January 1 next year, President Donald Trump said in a social post on ‌Monday after trade talks with Canada collapsed over the weekend. “Build in the US and there are ZERO TARIFFS. Canada will be treated like a State no longer!” Trump wrote. “On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in ⁠the World to deal with. They feel entitled, and yet, WE ‌DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY...

Police have arrested four suspects in an investigation ⁠into the deaths ⁠of 18 elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli ⁠ecosystem, where authorities also seized assorted substances including chemicals, the tourism and wildlife ministry has said. A Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that the four had since been released on bail. Preliminary laboratory ‌results pointed to the probable involvement of a toxic substance, the ministry said in a statement released on Saturday, with...

There is no shortage of Western commentary on US President Donald Trump’s second term. What’s missing is an honest account of how 1.4 billion of us in China see it – or at least how China’s officials and scholars do, since that’s who I can speak for here. I’ve spent a decade watching that view change, from real alarm in 2017 to something closer to a shrug today. Four things now count as consensus among Chinese scholars. One, Trump is undermining America’s alliance system. His first term rattled...

⁠Ukraine wants peace but will not just give in to Russia at any price, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a defiant speech as foreign leaders gather in Kyiv to mark its Independence Day celebrations. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and European Council President Antonio Costa were among the foreign dignitaries present on Monday for celebrations of the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s break from the Soviet Union. Burnham, making his first visit to the Ukrainian capital as prime minister,...

The Netherlands will not take part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, its broadcaster has said, adding that the event can “no longer be considered neutral” given divisions over the Gaza war. “It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division,” said Taco Zimmerman, director general of AVROTROS in a statement from the broadcaster on Monday. The...

Military officials from Uganda and Burundi visited Israel last week to discuss deploying troops to Gaza as part of an international security force envisioned by US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for the fragile ceasefire, according to officials. An official with the board said that Ugandan officials had joined a Burundian military delegation and that Uganda was finalising details of its participation after its parliament approved the troop contribution this month. Nothing has been...

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. Why Chinese foreign minister’s trip to South Korea ‘dealt a low blow’ to Seoul 2. How much of an impact will retiring expats have on Hong Kong’s luxury property? 3. Electrochemist Liu Jiawei moves from Singapore to Hong Kong to start her own lab 4. Malaysia’s Anwar traded reform for power. Now...

The Philippines is positioning itself as Latin America’s bridge to Southeast Asia, testing whether shared history and culture can translate into hard trade figures as Asean and the Mercosur bloc look beyond their traditional partners. Manila’s Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro made the pitch during visits to Brazil and Chile from August 10 to 13. “Upon this human foundation, commercial bridges thrive: the Philippines stands as the premier strategic gateway for Latin American firms expanding...

Londoners are facing historic levels of subsidence risk after five successive heatwaves dried out the clay soil on which much of the British capital is built. Insurance claims tied to subsidence – a phenomenon associated with bouts of hot, dry weather that shrink the soil and destabilise the foundations on which buildings stand – hit a record last quarter, according to data provided by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). On average, households claimed £20,000 (US$27,200) for the risk,...

A party led by allies of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won a landslide in parliamentary elections on Sunday, hours after he hinted that he may stay in power beyond his current term. The Adilet party won 71.2 per cent of votes in the election to a new single-chamber parliament, Kazakhstan’s central election commission said on Monday. The Auyl party representing agrarian interests was second with 6.3 per cent. “I have the right to be re‑elected in accordance with the law,” Tokayev...

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will visit Kyiv on Monday on his first international visit since taking office last month, his office said, as Ukraine marks its 35th independence anniversary. Burnham has vowed to give strong support to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion. The Labour Party leader’s visit comes as he announced that Britain had “agreed that defence firm MBDA can release classified information on UK components for the long-range missile, SCALP, to establish local assembly...

The country music star kept her home state at the forefront of her music and work. “She inspired Tennesseans to be better,” one resident said.

President Trump went all in for Senator Darline Graham in a primary runoff on Tuesday. It worked, preserving his undefeated streak in Republican Senate primaries this year.

Mike Mazzei, a former state senator who lent more than $11 million of his own money to his campaign, narrowly defeated the state’s attorney general, Gentner Drummond.

Everton Blair Jr. will serve until January in the seat long held by Mr. Scott, who died in April. Mr. Blair is not competing in the general election for the next full term in the deep-blue district.

A long-shot candidate with the same name as the incumbent Republican senator will be on the ballot in November. That could be a problem for the G.O.P.

The leadership vacuum comes as the Army is trying to adapt to a new kind of war dominated by deadly drones.

Our favorite restaurants of the moment in the city that never stops eating.

The United States threatened sanctions for any country or entity that engages with Iran’s gold, digital assets, aviation, shipping and tech industries. Here’s why that matters.

President Trump’s “Economic D-Day” is intended to break the stalemate with Iran. But decades of sanctions have done little to change the country’s behavior.

Bank Melli, Iran’s largest lender, already faces waves of sanctions that severely limit its ability to operate abroad. Every foreign branch must be shut down, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

The prospect that the kingdom could enrich uranium has drawn opposition from Democrats and revived concerns about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

Canada said the higher levies, on items from aluminum foil to dishwashers to fish, would help protect workers, producers and manufacturers harmed by new Trump tariffs.

The president has invoked a long dormant section of law to hit one of America’s closest allies, a move that has troubled courts in the past.

A surrogate refused to have an abortion after the fetus was diagnosed with a serious heart problem. She fled to Texas and had the child. Now she wants a judge to give custody to her instead of the biological parents.

In an hourlong interview, he said his industry was downplaying the risks, which he believes include mass unemployment and bioterrorism.

The National Museum of Korean Democracy, which opened last year, documents an era of brutal suppression. But that dark history has resurfaced in troubling ways.

Williams and Carlos Alcaraz coasted to an early victory in mixed doubles before losing their second match.

The star-studded sporting and social event runs until Sept. 13 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.

We might have worked on different sets, for different directors, in different eras, but every child actor bears the same recognizable wounds.

Blue-book exams are fine, but we need to address the issue at its root.

Mamdani administration officials said they had used new data to shrink the pool of properties potentially subject to the tax and extended the deadline for homeowners to prove city residency.