Minimalist News

"The City Screwed This Up": Judge Temporarily Blocks Mamdani's Pied-A-Terre Tax Scheme A New York judge temporarily halted Mayor Zohran Mamdani's socialist experiment to impose a new tax on luxury second homes, ordering far-left City Hall officials to remove a controversial list doxing more than 900,000 homeowners from the public domain The publicly accessible database exposed names, addresses, and property values, effectively creating an easily accessible targeting list for radical activists , including Luigi-worshipping far-left activists , amid City Hall's escalating war on property owners. Related: "I've Been Doxed": Lefty Podcaster Scott Galloway Rips Mamdani After Landing On Socialist's Rich

US Existing Home Sales Disappoint (Again) In July, Hover Near Record Lows With mortgage rates rising and the 'low hire, no fire' economy leaving many anxious about their household finances, the ugly spring selling season has not been followed by a consistent rebound in existing home sales in the US. After falling 1.4% MoM in June (revised up from a 2.4% MoM decline), US existing home sales fell again -1.7% MoM in July (worse than the -1.0% MoM exp). This dragged the annual increase in sales down to just 0.74% YoY... Overall, existing home sales SAAR is holding very modestly

A Modest Proposal: Performance Reviews For Senators Authored by Frank Miele via RealClearPolitics , It seems as though only one thing motivates Congress to act - the threat of elections. That's why both the House and Senate have moved to pass a continuing resolution to keep funding the government until December. Originally funding was going to run out on Oct. 1, the date that was decided during the last shutdown crisis. But with virtually every member of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate up for election in November, almost no one in Congress wanted to call attention

Residents Storm City Council In Texas Over Islamic Center Approval Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , Outrage is boiling in North Texas after the McKinney City Council voted 7-0 to greenlight a major new Islamic center complex, brushing aside hours of public testimony that included a direct warning from an Iranian Christian who fled Sharia law. Citizens packed City Hall for a marathon session that stretched past midnight. More than 150 people signed up to speak. The approved site plan covers roughly 5.5 acres at Virginia Parkway and Crutcher Crossing. It includes a 15,000-square-foot sanctuary, a 10,000-square-foot classroom

Ex-DSA Member Blows Whistle Over "Mob Tactics" Used On Dissenters, Debates Over Levels-of-Leninism Via RealClearPolitics , Former Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organizer Jake Altman argues that over the past 10-15 years, the organization has transformed from a relatively pragmatic working-class social-democratic group into a much more radical movement driven by younger activists and open to more extreme ideas. He describes internal pressure against dissenters, increasing openness to communism, and a demographic shift toward younger and more affluent, less experienced, and more radical members during an interview with The Free Press. "When I joined in 2013, it was much more

US Fires On Ship Attempting To Break Iran Blockade, Amid Several Regional Maritime Attacks Summary Iran rejects peace push narrative: Tehran says Hormuz stays closed until the US accepts all its conditions. Hardliners take control : Iran reshuffles top military leadership, signaling a tougher stance. Pakistan pushes talks : Interior Minister arrives in Tehran for mediation efforts. US enforces blockade : American forces reportedly fired on a ship trying to breach the Iran blockade. Shipping attacks escalate in region : A Houthi attack reportedly killed three crew members, while another vessel was struck in the Gulf of Oman. * *

Fauci Privately Flagged Miscarriage Risk Before Telling Pregnant Women There Were 'No Red Flags' Newly disclosed text messages show Dr. Anthony Fauci privately entertained the possibility that the COVID-19 vaccine could trigger first-trimester miscarriages, months before he told the public there was no risk. The messages come from a trove that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) released, containing more than 34,000 texts and 522 voicemails the Senate Homeland Security Committee pulled from Fauci's government-issued phone. Among the trove is a January 2021 text chain between Fauci, Dr. Vivek Murthy and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who went on

Futures Jump, Oil Tumbles As Well-Timed Comments Spark Latest Round Of Hormuz Optimism US equity futures were trading near session lows with bond yields at August highs of 4.74% and Brent rising above $90 for the first time in two weeks when - with just hours until the market open - we had the now standard double-whammy of well-timed "imminent deal optimism" thanks first to the Qatar foreign ministry, followed less than an hour later by comments from the Pakistan defense minister - a man repeatedly used by the Trump admin to spread market-moving propaganda - which sparked instant algo

South America Just Rejected Socialism. So Why Is North America Buying It? Authored by Kaizen Asiedu of Clear Thinker Academy , I've been in Colombia for the last three months. Yesterday, right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella, aka "The Tiger," was sworn into office, succeeding left-wing self-proclaimed socialist Gustavo Petro. This is what the streets of Medellín looked like when The Tiger won in June. Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador — all of these Latin American countries had explicitly socialist, far-left, or Marxist governments that they rejected within the last three years: Bolivia. Last October, voters ended

Democrats Shocked By The Cancel Culture They Built Authored by Sasha Stone via SashaStone.com , I've heard the new talking point on the Left trying to explain away Hasan Piker's truly vile comments on 9/11. Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Abdul Sayed have all used the term. The memo went out, and now they're repeating it like parrots. You can see for yourself in these videos [click on SashaStone's blog above to see a montage]. CNN: “Hasan Piker said America deserved 9/11. Are you comfortable with that?” Bernie Sanders: “No, I think that was a dumb statement. But he has lots

China's Unitree Robotics IPO 5,526 Times Oversubscribed By Retail Investors Unitree Robotics' initial public offering was heavily oversubscribed (5,526 times) by retail investors as China's first publicly traded humanoid robotics company prepares to enter the public markets. The IPO will help usher in physical AI to the equity market. The Hangzhou-based humanoid robot maker raised about 6.1 billion yuan, or $904 million, after selling 40.4 million shares at 150.8 yuan each, according to Bloomberg . The offering values Unitree at roughly 61 billion yuan, or $9 billion, ahead of its expected STAR Market debut this month. The IPO will make

Everything You Wanted To Know About Building A Cheap AI Setup (That Still Works) But Were Afraid To Ask Authored by Christopher Penn via 'Almost Timely News' substack, I’ve been putting together a new course for Trust Insights, AI for Writing (and Writers), which will be coming out August 25th, and during the process of creating that course, I realized I’ve never walked through setting up a discount agentic AI system. For a while now, many of us who work in “corporate” have had access to what feels like unlimited amounts of AI (though that free ride is coming to

Russia's Only Anti-War Party Banned From Parliamentary Elections Over 'Foreign Funding' It's been no secret that Russian authorities have increasingly cracked down on public speech which opposes the war in Ukraine, or as the Kremlin calls it - the special military operation. Any speech deemed 'unpatriotic' has also come under a legal microscope of late. Currently, Yabloko (Apple) is the only officially registered Russian political party which openly oppose the war , calling "for peace and freedom". But the party has just suffered a huge setback, having been banned by the nation's top court from running candidates in upcoming parliamentary

Trump Finally Responds To Iran's Demands, Counters US Is Owed "Compensation," Stops Short Of New Threats Summary Trump demands Iran compensate the US and families of fallen soldiers, but issues no new military threats . US again pivots to economic warfare : Trump says Washington is "low-keying it" and betting Iran's economic weakness will force concessions. Iran digs in on Hormuz : Tehran says the Strait will not return to pre-war conditions without major concessions. Hardliners gain influence : Former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei is set to take Iran's top security post. Deal remains elusive: Tehran appears intent on prolonging

'How Can We Help You Kill More Russians?' German Reporter To Zelensky At Belgrade Meeting It has never been a secret that much of the Western mainstream media "journalist and pundit class" are in reality warmongers and armchair interventionists and chickenhawks - or also activists and advocates operating under the guise of "objective reporting". One German journalist was surprisingly open with his lust for blood at a press conference in Belgrade on Saturday. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung correspondent Michael Martens posed a surprisingly blunt question to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic looking on at the other

Retired Syrian General Who Fought ISIS 'Disappears' Inside Embassy In Beirut Via The Cradle A retired Syrian general who commanded forces fighting ISIS was abducted by personnel from the Syrian embassy in Lebanon , Al-Akhbar reported on Saturday. Adel Issa, an Alawite brigadier general from Tartous, entered the Syrian embassy in Beirut at 12:30 pm on Friday to arrange a power of attorney for a relative. His Syrian driver waited outside for him, but he never returned . As his driver waited outside, a car with several young men stopped and demanded that the driver hand over the retired general's

Spy Cams On UK Navy Drones Secretly Transmitted Data To China An investigation into surveillance equipment fitted to Royal Navy unmanned vessels has raised concerns over military supply-chain security after cameras containing Chinese-made components were found communicating with an internet address in China. The camera on top of a K3 Scout uncrewed vessel, used by the Royal Navy in Portsmouth harbour. Parts of the camera were made in China. Via The Telegraph The cameras were installed on K3 Scout unmanned surface vessels used by Royal Marines and other specialist British forces, according to a report by The Telegraph . The

After Mass Migrant Invasion, 5 Girls Under 14 Reportedly Raped In Ceuta Via Remix News, Health sources have confirmed that Ceuta University Hospital has treated at least five girls over the past week for alleged rapes following the mass migrant invasion of Ceuta last month. All the girls are Moroccan and were reportedly under the age of 14 when they were raped, with an emergency doctor verifying the cases and noting that many of these minors are sleeping on the street because of a shortage of places in shelters. Susana Ascaso, an emergency-room doctor at Ceuta University Hospital, confirmed in

How A Fake IRGC Quote On Nuclear Weapons Reached Netanyahu's Speech Via Middle East Eye Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated an alleged quote attributed to a senior Iranian commander about Tehran's determination to develop nuclear weapons , even though the statement had no identified primary source and was later traced to an Indian pro-Israel account on X. An investigation by Israeli news outlet Ynet and New York Times journalist Ronen Bergman found that Netanyahu used the alleged quote, attributed to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Ahmad Vahidi, in an official address to warn Israelis about Iran's nuclear plans.

Gun Owners Of America Lawsuit Strikes Down Parts Of National Firearms Act via Gun Owners of America , On August 5, we at Gun Owners of America won our "One Big Beautiful Lawsuit," against the registration requirements of the National Firearms Act at the district level in Texas. This is definitely one of the biggest wins for gun rights - ever. 🚨BREAKING🚨 In GOA's case, a federal court just stuck down NFA registration for: ❌Suppressors ❌Short-Barreled Rifles ❌Short-Barreled Shotguns GOA & our allies in Congress eliminated the tax. The National Firearms Act of 1934 is now UNCONSTITUTIONAL as applied. —

Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failed A Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to wear a seatbelt. The child was standing in their chair as the 6 August Porter Airlines flight taxied towards the runway, the airline said. Repeated attempts by an accompanying parent and crew to secure the child in their seat failed, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark as “the aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition”,

Quake of 7.4 magnitude collapses and severely damages buildings in several major cities, including Cali and Pereira More than 100 people died after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia, collapsing and severely damaging scores of buildings in major cities including Cali and Pereira. The US and Colombian geological surveys reported that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 7.34am local time on Monday, with its epicentre in the western department of Chocó. It was felt in neighbouring Venezuela, still reeling from a deadly double earthquake on 24 June. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed – a full report is here People remain trapped in Cali, one of Colombia’s largest cities, ​after more than two dozen structures ‌collapsed, mayor Alejandro Eder said. ‌ He added that the city had asked authorities in Bogota and Medellin to send disaster teams ‌to support rescue efforts. Continue reading...

Gabar Choli tells of how, for months, he was shackled, pinned and forcibly fed – and the physical and emotional scars the ordeal has left In June 2025, a sluggish and thin Gabar Choli, with sunken temples and bones visible under his skin, braced himself for the immigration detention center guards to charge into his cell once again. Choli was in a solitary confinement medical cell inside the Port Isabel service processing center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) detention facility in south Texas where immigrants arrested in Donald Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown are detained. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Film-maker Gabar Choli describes how he endured coercive treatment over eight months in detention in Texas A Kurdish man who was force-fed over the course of eight months while on hunger strike in US immigration detention has spoken out about it for the first time, describing how much the process harmed him physically and psychologically. Gabar Choli, a film-maker and activist now living in Canada after being deported, described how he endured the coercive treatment – a practice widely considered torture by international human rights groups – often twice a day after being detained by US Immigration and Customs

Drought and wildfires intensify across continent, while tropical storms bring heavy rain and disruption to east Asia High pressure has dominated central and eastern Europe in early August, breaking temperature records across the region. Austria recorded a high of 41.2C (106.2F), while Slovakia reached 42.2C. Hungary hit a peak of 41.8C, surpassing a record set in 1905, while overnight temperatures remained above 28C in some areas, marking it as a tropical night. The extreme temperatures have been driven by a heat dome beneath the high-pressure system, which traps warm air close to the surface. Continue reading...

Authorities warn that days of intense rain could trigger widespread flooding and landslides as storm moves north and further inland More than a million people were moved to safety across eastern China by Sunday evening as powerful Typhoon Dolphin made landfall amid fears torrential rain would cause flooding and landslides. Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, said it relocated more than 900,000 people and opened more than 1,500 emergency shelters. In neighbouring Fujian, 98,900 people were moved from high-risk areas. Continue reading...

Observatory says 36.9C posted on Sunday is city’s highest official temperature since its records began 142 years ago, with storm driving intense heat in region Hong Kong has officially recorded its highest ever temperature as Typhoon Dolphin swept warm air over the city, the meteorological service said. The city’s weather observatory posted a temperature of 36.9C on Sunday, the highest recorded since records began in 1884, the Hong Kong Observatory said in the afternoon. Continue reading...

Tropical cyclone brings torrential rain and high winds to east coast after hitting Japan’s southern Okinawa province Typhoon Dolphin, the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit China this year, has made landfall on the country’s east coast, bringing torrential rain and strong ⁠winds and triggering warnings ​of flooding and landslides. The storm has already swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings. Continue reading...

Imports this year now account for 14% of the market amid claims vehicles are being dumped in the EU and UK Chinese electric car sales have risen across Europe to a record high driven by strong demand and low tariffs in the UK and a surge in buyers in Italy. Against a backdrop of claims that Chinese carmakers are “dumping” state-subsidised vehicles in the EU and UK to gain market share, the figures will give impetus to calls for quotas and higher tariffs to protect European manufacturers. Continue reading...

When it comes to the Reserve Bank, there’s a whiff of a parent making a threat they have no intention of carrying out Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Every parent makes threats in an effort to get their kids to behave – and every parent hopes they won’t have to follow through. Some (most?) parents even make threats they have zero intention of carrying out. Continue reading...

Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan will support Pauline Hanson’s migration bill despite vowing to fight her rightwing party Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Coalition will back a plan by Pauline Hanson to prevent Australian citizens with links to overseas terrorist groups from returning home, significantly elevating One Nation’s policy prescriptions on matters of national security. Despite pledging to fight Hanson’s insurgent rightwing movement amid collapsing support for their own parties, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, and Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, both signalled support for One Nation ’s bill to bar the return

Some Liberal and National MPs warn against overregulation in party-room discussion, while others argue for more stringent rules Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Coalition MPs have warned the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, not to overreach in talks with Anthony Albanese on Labor’s gambling advertising crackdown , insisting rules that are too stringent would not strike the right balance on personal responsibility. The prime minister and the opposition leader met several times on Tuesday to negotiate on Labor’s legislation on gambling, with restrictions on betting

Fair Work Commission issues a new minimum standards order for gig workers to come into effect 17 August Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Delivery drivers in Australia will be paid a minimum rate of $31.30 (US $22.05/£16.35) an hour and insured for injuries on the job under a landmark agreement approved by the industrial umpire that could set a precedent in other countries. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Tuesday issued a new minimum standards order for gig workers who perform on-demand delivery of food, drinks, or groceries, and the operators of the

Consultant Jeremy Greenwood gives evidence to Independent Commission Against Corruption as it investigates allegations linked to Christian Liberal group Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A lobbyist under investigation by the New South Wales corruption watchdog has admitted to commissioning a “shit sheet” on a former Liberal MP, knowing a reference to a purported extramarital affair was untrue, an inquiry has heard. The consultant and lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood gave his second day of evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (Icac) Operation Rosny on Tuesday.

The new president is a former judge on the European Court of Human Rights Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares visited Ceuta earlier today, as he insisted that Madrid had it all under control despite “the most unique and complex” border arrangements there. He said Spain was in direct dialogue with the Moroccan authorities on how to prevent another border crisis. Continue reading...

Rooms in Icelandic capital Reykjavík cost double usual rate and Spain also enjoying strong bookings Europe’s total solar eclipse: the best place to see it Hotel prices have surged in key European cities as hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to see the first total eclipse visible from the continent this century. Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, has seen one of the biggest jumps in hotel room prices, being one of the few accessible locations to see the full eclipse before evening on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Air transport hub in west London reports 7.86m passengers in July, compared with 8.15m for Istanbul’s new airport away from the city Istanbul airport has overtaken Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers, leading the London hub to say its “case for expansion has never been clearer”. Figures published on Tuesday showed 7.9 million passengers passed through Heathrow’s terminals in July, compared with Istanbul’s 8.15 million. Continue reading...

Flexible short-term bookings used to store and pack drugs and stash weapons and cash, says Ine Van Wymersch Airbnb-type short-term rentals are being used as stash houses by criminal gangs for money, drugs, weapons and people, Belgium’s lead official in charge of countering drugs has said. The booming e-commerce sector is helping “enormously” to facilitate organised crime, Belgium’s national drug commissioner, Ine Van Wymersch, said. Continue reading...

Attack hundreds of miles from border would be among deadliest of war as Kyiv aims to strangle Russian economy A Ukrainian drone strike on an industrial city deep inside Russia has killed at least 13 people, according to the local mayor, as Kyiv steps up its campaign of long-range strikes on targets far from the frontline. Kyiv said it hit the Taneco refinery in the city of Nizhnekamsk, about 750 miles (1,200km) from the Ukrainian border. Footage circulating online appeared to show smoke rising from the refinery. Continue reading...

Lawsuit challenges executive order targeting international criminal court for investigating Israeli crimes in Palestine Four prominent US human rights organizations have accused the Trump administration of using its “crippling” sanctions regime against the international criminal court (ICC) to undermine global efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday, the groups – the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute – argued that the administration’s targeting of the ICC, as well as of groups and individuals affiliated with it or assisting

Verdict relates to atrocities committed during the country’s 14-year civil war in which about 500,000 people died A Syrian court has sentenced the country’s former president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 14-year civil war, in which about half a million people died. The two men fled to Moscow after being ousted by a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024 which toppled the dictatorial regime in just 11 days . Continue reading...

An Amnesty International report reveals that the country is now a key part of Israel’s weapons supply chain. Plus, Assam floods, student anger spreads and a song to put in rotation • Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Hello, and welcome back to This Is India. For this week’s newsletter, I’m looking at India’s evolving relationship with Israel, and how it has deepened as conflict swept across the Middle East. Why is it that India has formed an even closer bond with a country that has faced mounting international isolation and backlash over a

Elaborate ruse was used to transport president to military flight from Air Force One in July Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey to Britain last month when the White House said he was flying aboard ⁠Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse – prompted by an Iranian assassination threat – that involved hiding the president in an airport catering container, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times. The operation took place when Trump was in Ankara for a Nato summit with world leaders, according to the Post . The president reportedly

US president’s statement is latest sign that negotations to end war and reopen strait of Hormuz have stalled Donald Trump has said he will demand that Iran pay compensation for the deaths of thousands of US soldiers and Iran’s own civilians killed in recent decades in the latest sign his negotiations to end the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz have reached an impasse. The US president is trying to end conflicts in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon, and his additional demands of Iran are likely to provoke anger in Tehran at the same time as Israel has rejected Trump’s

The wild capture and release of a female big cat into a nature reserve is the first step towards reintroducing a population that hasn’t been seen for 70 years On 31 July, “Umit” – which means hope in Kazakh – was released into a nature reserve on the edge of Lake Balkhash after more than a decade of careful planning to return the caspian tiger to the region. With this release, Kazakhstan became the first country to restore its tiger range after they had been thought extinct, with the last reliable sighting in the country recorded more than 70 years

Demonstrators accuse authorities of failing to tackle irregularities in exams for sought-after civil service jobs Thousands of angry young job-seekers clashed with police in Jharkhand, one of India’s poorest states, on Monday as a weeks-long protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment drives for coveted government jobs escalated into a march on the state legislature. Police fired water cannon and teargas and swung batons as they tried to stop flag-waving demonstrators from clambering over barricades and surging towards the assembly in Ranchi, the state capital. Some of the protesters responded by dancing and cheering as jets of water drenched the crowd.

Mohammad Akhtar, 50, from Peterborough killed during clashes between authorities and protesters A British national was shot dead in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during clashes between security forces and protesters, the Guardian can reveal. Another Briton has been held in a regional prison for more than two months despite his family’s efforts to secure his release through the Foreign Office. Continue reading...

Dhaka accuses India of giving platform to a ‘convicted genocider’ by allowing Sheikh Hasina to address journalists Bangladesh has lashed out at India for allowing the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to address journalists in New Delhi, plunging already strained bilateral relations to a fresh low. Dhaka accused India of giving a platform to a fugitive it labelled a “convicted genocider” and of undermining efforts to repair ties, after Hasina vowed to return to Bangladesh in December despite facing a death sentence on charges of “crimes against humanity”. Continue reading...

Tarun Tejpal, ex-editor of Tehelka magazine, was initially acquitted in 2021 in case that drew nationwide attention An Indian court has sentenced a high-profile former editor of an investigative news magazine to 10 years in prison after convicting him of raping a junior colleague, overturning his acquittal in a case that drew nationwide attention. Tarun Tejpal, 63, the founder and former editor of Tehelka magazine, was accused of raping a journalist in the lift of a five-star hotel in the western coastal state of Goa during an event in November 2013. He was arrested and spent seven months in jail

Key tourist route closed and residents rallying round as battle against wildfire expected to go on for several days The battle to contain a large wildfire spreading across the New Forest will go on for several days, experts have said, as wind changes and a desiccated landscape fuel the flames. Smoke billowed above the deserted A31 road, the main tourist route into the New Forest national park where tens of thousands of families are on holiday, late on Tuesday while a helicopter flew above the blaze. Firefighters at the scene said they were trying to contain several hotspots across the

Union chief says vote is about staff ‘warning they cannot protect the public properly’ In his pooled TV interview, Andy Burnham repeated the point he made in his Facebook post earlier (see 9.58am ), saying he was confident that more could be done to free up space in the prison system (which would allow the early release system to be changed so that PC Andrew Harper’s killers are excluded). Burnham said that since becoming PM he had been pushing the system “every single day” to go further. Explaining how extra space could be found (see 9.19am ), he particularly singled

Prediction comes amid warning of ‘extreme heat’ this week with temperatures of 38C possible The Guardian’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey , has written a useful explainer about the UK public services that are struggling in the extreme weather. You can read it in full here: There’s only one solution in the end to the drought now declared across most of England and that’s rain, says Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology at the University of Reading. An important consequence of drought is that very dry soils can become less able to absorb rainfall when it does arrive. This can increase surface

Prof Wyn Evans, who raised concerns over treatment of female staff at Institute of Astronomy, was subject to ‘baseless’ investigation, judge rules A University of Cambridge whistleblower who alleged bullying of female staff inside the university’s Institute of Astronomy has won a tribunal against his employer. Prof Wyn Evans told a tribunal hearing in June that the institute suffered from “a bad history of misogyny”. He claimed that one woman in the department had been “hounded out of a job”, another was “left a frightened woman”, and a third had faced “aggressive professors” at the institute. Continue reading...

The new PM could bring in revenue for social care or defence with a land levy or by reforming council tax Residential property is the largest store of wealth in the UK, and has long been a target for those who believe homes should be taxed more. Real estate remains a juicy plum for Andy Burnham to pick as he searches for ways to pay for an overhaul of the social care system and higher defence spending, to name just two fiscal priorities. Yet how to tax property, or possibly the land it sits on, has vexed economists and politicians

Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms’ climate accountability case Supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows. The analysis from the non-profit advocacy group and judicial watchdog Court Accountability , shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that even at the lowest range of estimates, Alito gained almost $400,000 from his oil and gas interests since being tapped for the high court by George W Bush in 2005. Continue reading...

Robert Gilman had been deteriorating rapidly in prison and was said to be in a catatonic state Russia has freed a former US marine who had been in jail since 2022, after Vladimir Putin granted the ailing American a pardon on humanitarian grounds. Robert Gilman, 32, an English teacher who briefly served in the US Marines, was travelling by train when he was arrested in the southern Russian city of Voronezh in January 2022 for allegedly kicking a police officer while drunk, according to Russian state media. He was later sentenced to four and a half years in prison, though

Reporter says media got no extra guidance about president’s movements amid questions over secretive plane swap Sign up to the US Breaking News email Pete Hegseth ’s appointments to a key Pentagon advisory body include two men with ties to the venture capital fund where Donald Trump Jr is a partner, which has lucrative investments in military and space technology. Defense Policy Board appointee Marc Andreessen’s firm, Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital firms and known by the name “a16z”, co-invests alongside the Trump partnership 1789 Capital in three defense contractors. Fellow DPB appointee Blake Masters also

Jacob ‘Jake’ Whisenant died in Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness in ‘climbing-related incident’, authorities say A 30-year-old California climber known for breaking speed records died after falling in the Sierra Nevada wilderness last week, according to authorities. Jacob “Jake” Whisenant, from Mammoth Lakes, California, died in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness on 3 August, according to the Tulare County sheriff’s office coroner unit and the National Park Service (NPS). Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege that Mangione gunned down Brian Thompson outside New York City hotel in December 2024 Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson , appeared Tuesday morning in Manhattan state court for a final pre-trial conference, where the judge addressed contentious issues surrounding media access at the highly anticipated trial. Judge Gregory Carro announced that there would be an overflow courtroom for the 8 September trial. The media access plan for Mangione’s case did not initially include an overflow courtroom – which is common in high-profile cases, such as Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial. Continue

A Syrian court sentenced ousted leader ⁠Bashar al-Assad ⁠to death on Tuesday ⁠after a trial in absentia, convicting him of crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country’s nearly 14-year war. It was the first conviction against ‌Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024 that ended decades of his family’s iron-fisted rule over Syria and the brutal war that killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Assad fled the capital Damascus as rebel fighters...

US President Donald Trump secretly flew out of Turkey last month on a smaller plane than previously known due to an assassination threat from Iran, The Washington Post reported on Monday. According to an anonymous US official who spoke to the Post, Trump boarded an Air Force One jet in Ankara on July 8, but then moved into a catering container attached to the plane. The container then ferried him to a smaller C-32A aircraft that flew him to Britain, while media and some officials were led to...

Despite representing nearly half the world’s population, accounting for about a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product and covering more than 60 per cent of the Eurasian land mass, the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the international arena remains relatively limited. While the SCO has long been a priority in China’s neighbourhood diplomacy, the grouping also serves as a platform through which all member states pursue their own foreign policy goals. What would it take for...

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held but discredited theory that childhood vaccines should be spaced out into separate medical visits. The order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and administering all childhood immunisations at separate appointments whenever possible. It also directs the nation’s health department to...

US President Donald Trump has extended for 90 days a waiver allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport oil and other commodities between US ports but imposed new limits after shipbuilders and their allies in ‌Congress argued the policy was undermining the domestic maritime industry, the White House said. The extension, finalised on Monday, comes as the war with Iran disrupts global crude flows and pushes up fuel costs, increasing pressure on the administration to find ways to ease transport...

China has asked to join World Trade Organization consultations that Brazil opened against US tariffs of up to 37.5 per cent. Beijing filed the request in Geneva on Monday, telling the trade body it held a substantial commercial interest in the case. The move was first reported by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo and independently confirmed to the South China Morning Post by a Brazilian government source. In the request, China said Washington could apply comparable measures to Chinese...

US President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, was sworn in on Monday as attorney general after a bruising confirmation fight that exposed bipartisan concerns about the Justice Department’s direction under the Republican president. Another former Trump lawyer – Emil Bove, now a federal appeal court judge – administered the oath of office to Blanche at the White House following early Saturday’s Senate confirmation vote by the narrowest of margins. Soon after, the newly sworn-in...

A US judge on Monday dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, after the Justice Department said it had decided to abandon the fraud and bribery case. Brooklyn-based US District Judge Nicholas ‌Garaufis’ decision to grant federal prosecutors’ rare bid to toss the case came after he inquired into their reasons for doing so, including by asking Adani whether anything was promised in exchange for the dropping of the case. In November 2024, before the charges were unsealed,...

Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer questioned her psychiatrist’s expertise, prescribing decisions and overall treatment as the defence sought on Monday to suggest that the mental healthcare system overlooked and even accelerated the Massachusetts mother’s decline in the months before she killed her three young children. In questioning Dr Jennifer Tufts, defence lawyer Kevin Reddington highlighted her use of 25-minute video appointments with limited time for talk therapy, the computerised forms that...

A US appeal court on Monday allowed thousands of lawsuits to move forward against Meta ⁠Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, ByteDance’s TikTok, and other ⁠social media companies over claims they designed their products to ⁠be addictive to young users. The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the companies’ bid to reverse a lower court’s ruling forcing them to face some 2,400 lawsuits over the claims filed in federal court. The companies, which also include Snap Inc’s Snapchat,...

A group of US investment giants are partnering with Nvidia on US$500 billion in funding for AI infrastructure projects, the Financial Times reported. Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs and KKR are among the firms in talks with Nvidia on a deal to invest in the AI buildout, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified sources. The deal may be announced as soon as Monday, the Times said. The named firms...

Russia’s Supreme Court barred the liberal Yabloko party on Monday from contesting September’s parliamentary elections, sidelining the only officially registered party that opposes Moscow’s ‌war in Ukraine. More than four years after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the decision highlights the authorities’ intolerance of anti-war views and further narrows the already limited space for dissent in Russian politics. “The decision will ⁠be appealed. Friends, let’s not despair,” the party said in ‌a...

Some 71.3 per cent of England is in drought, the UK government said on Monday, after the nation experienced its driest July on record, with a fifth heatwave and scant rain forecast for the week ahead. Parks and fields that are usually green at this point in the year were parched and yellow, according to Agence France-Presse photos, as river levels dwindled and farmers battling low crop yields warned of possible food shortages. “Almost three-quarters of England is now in drought as conditions...

The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record started in February, months before it was officially declared in mid-May, the World Health Organization said on Monday, as responders in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) struggle to catch up. The WHO regional director for Africa, Mohamed Yakub Janabi, told a press conference that sequencing indicated the outbreak’s start. He said some cases early in the outbreak were wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid. “So we are chasing the virus,...

Colombian volunteers and rescuers sifted through rubble with bare hands and buckets on Monday, hunting for survivors following a massive 7.4 magnitude quake that has claimed the lives of at least 181 people and levelled more than a hundred homes and office buildings. The quake struck several cities across Colombia’s picturesque coffee region and Pacific shortly after 7.30am (local time), sending panicked residents onto the streets and damaging at least 1,500 buildings. “People ran out naked,...

Thames Water has handed a delayed £1 million (US$1.35 million) “golden handshake” payment to its chief financial officer and agreed controversial retention payouts to top bosses despite its battle to secure its financial future. The stricken supplier, which is sinking under a debt pile of more than £20 billion, disclosed in a letter to the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that it had made the so-called signing-on payment to Steve Buck at the end of July from an emergency lending...

At least 13 people were killed, including a child, and 39 injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on industrial and ‌civilian targets in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk, authorities said on Monday, one of the heaviest civilian tolls in the country in months. The city is a major oil-refining and petrochemical centre in the Tatarstan republic, according to local officials. Its refining and petrochemical sites have been attacked multiple times in the past. The city is home to two major oil refineries,...

Beijing has issued a preliminary ruling that the United States and Mexico are dumping pecans into the Chinese market and harming domestic producers, according to the Ministry of Commerce. “Over the injury investigation period, the volume of dumped imports rose by a cumulative 104.56 per cent and their share of the domestic market increased by 9.69 percentage points,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday. “The import price of the dumped products fell by a cumulative 9.15 per cent and...

The ⁠United States is ⁠not disengaging from Asia and ⁠is instead “digging in” to maintain a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, but wants its partners to shoulder more responsibility for their defence, a senior Pentagon official said on ‌Monday. Seeking to counter concerns about Washington’s reliability, Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, reiterated the US interest in the region as he called for greater burden-sharing and “partnership, not dependency”. “America is...

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 Beijing struggles to win Indian hearts and minds despite diplomatic thaw Though the relationship between the Chinese and Indian governments has been thawing, Beijing has yet to win over the Indian public as it lacked a long-term strategy and communication channels, according to Chinese...

Pakistan’s foreign minister said a new defence agreement his country signed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey was not directed against any country and remained open to other nations in the region. The landmark Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Friday by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the three countries seek to deepen security cooperation amid heightened tensions between the United States and...

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the US$400 million ballroom project. Trump said that, beginning September 1, Scharf will be replacing David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Trump noted that Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented him in a...

The Canadian federal government said on ⁠Sunday it would ⁠help British Columbia ⁠as raging wildfires forced thousands of people to evacuate by providing shelter and accommodation for residents displaced in regions around Summerland and Peachland. The Bald Range wildfire, which prompted British ‌Columbia to declare a provincial state of emergency and evacuate about 18,000 people, had spread to more than 10,300 hectares by at the weekend as firefighters continued to battle the blaze. “Last night,...

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to crack down on hard-to-cancel subscriptions and fake discounts as part of measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, Downing Street said on Sunday. The announcement came as the new Labour leader was set to return to work after a holiday and begin a tour of the country to talk to people about their financial pressures, his office said. Burnham said in a statement that “people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps”, where...

Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes overnight that killed civilians and injured many others on both sides, local authorities reported on Sunday. Large-scale Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities have become almost routine in recent weeks, with Moscow exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the US-made Patriot systems – the sole air defence weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles. In the latest attacks, Ukrainian drones killed five people and injured...

US President Donald Trump signalled on Sunday he is prepared to let economic pressure mount against Iran, apparently backing away from ordering more military strikes even as Tehran issues tough demands. “We are low-keying it,” Trump said, according to the news outlet Axios, which said it spoke to him in a brief phone call. Only a week ago Trump made the latest of his series of threats to hit Iran hard, only to back off, as he presses for a deal to end the war he started along with Israel on...

Alleged Irish crime gang boss Daniel Kinahan was charged with directing a criminal organisation by prosecutors in Dublin on Sunday amid tight security at a special court sitting following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates. Kinahan, who was ‌arrested in Dubai in April, was named by the United States in 2022 as one of three leaders of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group. US authorities offered a US$5 million reward for their arrests. He was handed over to Irish authorities in Dubai...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery, ⁠they said on Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability from the US-Israeli war on Iran. The alliance with Sunni Muslim US allies, Turkey and Pakistan, was intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all. It was not clear...

A fast-moving wildfire was raging in southern France on Sunday, forcing evacuations as more than 200 firefighters raced to contain the blaze. The fire broke out around 12.45pm in the Lozere region, about 140km (85 miles) northwest of Montpellier, and was likely sparked by a vehicle catching fire on a local road. By late afternoon, the uncontained blaze had burned some 90 hectares (220 acres). Backed by four Canadair water bombers and a Dash aircraft, around 220 firefighters were deployed to the...

Around 10,000 people gathered in Cologne on Sunday for a demonstration in support of the queer community following the Islamist attack at Berlin Pride. The organisers of Cologne’s own Pride celebrations called for the rally two weeks after the shocking attack in the German capital. Participants gathered in the Deutz district on the eastern side of the Rhine River and marched across to the city centre, with turnout significantly higher than the 2,000 registered with police in advance. A dpa...

The operator of a boat that capsized in New York Harbor, killing a mother and her infant daughter, is facing criminal charges and authorities are investigating whether the vessel was an illegal charter, the US Coast Guard said on Sunday. The 22-foot Bayliner speedboat overturned at 10.25pm on Saturday near Liberty Island, home to the Statue of Liberty, the US Coast Guard said. Twelve people were rescued from the water before police arrived and police divers later located the 27-year-old woman...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a US-led Gaza plan endorsed by Hamas, putting distance between himself and President Donald Trump as he tries to shore up his base ahead of close elections. After more than a week of gradually escalating criticism of the plan, and despite receiving assurances that Israel would not need to start withdrawing in Gaza immediately, Netanyahu explicitly opposed the deal following pushback from his right-wing allies. “Israel rejects the...

Iran said on Sunday that a deal ⁠with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once the United States met other conditions. A US official said on Friday that an agreement between Iran and Oman was close and could soon reopen the waterway, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before Iran blocked it in response to US and Israeli attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas...

A defence pact among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan appears to be aimed at deterring Iran and Israel from tearing up the Middle East with their conflict amid Washington’s inability to guarantee regional security, observers say. Under the terms of the deal signed on Friday in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, an armed attack against any one of the three states “shall be regarded as an attack...

The head of German arms giant Rheinmetall is refusing to be intimidated despite round-the-clock security due to a litany of threats to his safety. On Sunday, Armin Papperger said “chickening out” was not an option in his field. “These jobs must be done and anyone that can’t take the pressure doesn’t belong in this job,” Papperger said. The 63-year-old is under police protection due to alleged Russian murder plots and has bodyguards at his side at all times, even in Rheinmetall’s Dusseldorf...

In only a few years, the surveillance start-up Flock has installed more than 100,000 licence plate reader cameras across the United States. But a grass-roots movement upset over privacy concerns is fighting back – even going so far as systematically vandalising the equipment. The first time he decided to trash one of the cameras, a self-styled vigilante wearing all black and known as Nomark, says he was “super nervous”. Now, after disabling about 30 of the devices near his home in the...

Former US president Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread to other parts of his body and is causing him pain, even as he continues to speak out on public issues, his son Hunter said in an interview. In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC broadcast late on Friday, Hunter Biden grew emotional as he discussed his father’s condition, describing it as very sad to watch. “The cancer has spread, metastasised into his bones and further,” he said. “It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many...

In northern Nigeria, 1,500 couples have tied the knot at a mass wedding organised by the state. The two-day ceremony in Kano State was aimed at people who, for financial reasons, would otherwise struggle to afford a wedding. According to the regional government, each bride received a dowry of 200,000 naira (US$147) as well as support to set up a small business. The couples were also given household items such as beds, mattresses and blankets. Before the wedding, the couples underwent screening...

The Strait of Hormuz is, by some accounts, named for a Zoroastrian deity destined to emerge victorious after a 9,000-year stand-off with an adversary. Iran’s leaders feel their own victory is at hand and will not require the same epic patience. They are betting that military pressure will ultimately force the US to accept their control over the crucial waterway for global energy – and that time is on their side. They know about the diminishing stockpiles of major US weapons such as advanced...

Ukraine on Saturday denied targeting Bulgaria after a drone exploded close to the strategic Trans-Balkan gas pipeline linking Turkey to Ukraine near the Romanian border. Bulgaria’s defence ministry said the drone was of a type “widely used by the Ukrainian military”, and the foreign minister summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for a meeting on Monday in response, her office said. Kyiv said it was “in close contact with the Bulgarian side to clarify the circumstances” of the incident, the latest...

Kosovo’s parliament had to be suspended on Saturday after an opposition lawmaker pelted caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti with eggs, as a long-running political crisis threatens to trigger another snap election. Europe’s youngest democracy has faced three elections in less than two years, with successive parliaments collapsing under deep political divisions. Kurti, who has been in days-long negotiations with opposition parties over a new president, attempted to delay a key vote when MP Time...

The United Arab Emirates on Saturday said Iran had targeted a tanker belonging to the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait and wants to charge users for passage, which the US fiercely opposes, and is in talks with nearby Oman over arrangements for the strait’s future management. The UAE foreign ministry in a statement condemned what it called a “hostile Iranian attack that targeted a...

Following Italy’s rejection of its ultimatum to lift the border checks imposed in response to the Ceuta migration crisis, Spain has in turn announced that it will carry out checks on travellers from Italy. From midnight on Saturday, travellers from Italy would initially be subject to random checks at ports and airports until September 7, Spanish state broadcaster RTVE reported, citing a decree issued by the Madrid government. The checks are intended to verify the identity and nationality of...

Four people, including a child, were killed in Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the surrounding region, local officials said on Saturday, as Ukraine hit another oil refinery in Russia. Residents endure regular drone and missile barrages that Kyiv’s depleted air defences are struggling to counter amid Moscow’s four-year-old full-scale invasion, while repeated Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities have caused fuel shortages and rattled Russians. Two grandparents and their...

Amazon has confirmed it is financing a massive, private gas power plant in Texas that could become the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. It is the latest example of tech giants going off the grid to get their AI operations online faster. The news was first reported by market intelligence company Cleanview, which reviewed satellite imagery to connect three data centre construction permits filed this week by Amazon to the gas plant, which is being developed by...

A group of Cuban men in Mexico was charged with smuggling people to the United States. One of its leaders said Raúl Castro’s grandson helped, according to interviews and court records.

As Muslim politicians like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan have become more prominent, they have experienced considerable bigotry. President Trump said Democrats were electing “jihadists.”

The party’s congressional campaign arm added Mr. Miller’s opponent, Brian Poindexter, to its highly competitive “Red to Blue” list.

The left and the middle continue to battle in Democratic primaries for governor in Wisconsin and Senate in Minnesota. In South Carolina, all eyes are on Darline Graham.

The democratic socialist is the front-runner to win the Democratic primary for governor of Wisconsin on Tuesday.

Repeated heat waves, wildfires, droughts and storms are solidifying the understanding that new investments are unavoidable.

Weather at the start of the week looks like more of the same: heat and storms across the Eastern United States. But a subtle shift is in the cards.

Some parents have been surprised to find themselves in the legal system’s cross hairs.

Body-camera video and other court evidence capture federal agents using slurs and targeting Latinos while bypassing white bystanders during immigration sweeps in Chicago and Los Angeles

President Trump is eager to declare success in Iran and Gaza, but he is struggling to impose his will in either conflict.

The Yemeni government said the ship was carrying food supplies to a port on the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The Iran-backed Houthis have not commented on the attack.

“We heard them screaming,” said one rescuer in Cali, where rescuers face a race against time to find the living.

The 7.4-magnitude quake, which killed more than 100 people and damaged hundreds of buildings, was the strongest recorded in Colombia in a decade.

The higher tempo of Ukrainian strikes has fueled discontent among Russians, but it is far from clear that it will change the Kremlin’s calculus about the war.

Glenn Beck and other pundits are turning figures like George Washington into supposedly infallible podcasters.

New technology may make it easier for men with extremely low sperm counts to have biological children.

But experts warn they may not deliver the gains in efficiency that proponents claim.

Mark Reuss became the automaker’s president seven years ago, ascending to a role his father was fired from decades before. We got the chance to speak with him.

The Democratic brand is just too toxic in large swaths of the country.

The Times columnist reflects on the seismic changes in media, religion and politics he’s witnessed in his career so far.

We look at three crucial primary elections.

Anthony Anderson, a guest host on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” said he’d “seen better weaves on ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta.’”

In a private meeting at City Hall, an invited group of rabbis told Mayor Zohran Mamdani that his relationship with Jewish New Yorkers needed to change.