Minimalist News

Azerbaijan Sues CNN Over Story On Cooperation With Israel In War On Iran Authored by Jonathan Turley , There is a novel (and highly dubious) lawsuit filed in Delaware by the nation of Azerbaijan against CNN for a story claiming that it was cooperating with Israel in attacks on Iran . Republic of Azerbaijan v. CNN, Inc. borders on the legally frivolous, but it is likely politically advantageous to show Iran that it contests the allegations. In its Complaint , Azerbaijan details the development of hostilities while maintaining neutrality: Azerbaijan, which shares a border with Iran to the south, is

"Civilizational Suicide": China's Humanoids Sprint Ahead As Americans Fight Over Data Center And Socialism The five-day 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval are well underway, and on Saturday, an AI-powered humanoid robot reached 14.5 meters per second, or 32.5 mph . china’s AI robot just hit 14.5 m/s pic.twitter.com/0K4wQ4g9pB — el.cine (@EHuanglu) August 22, 2026 More than 2,000 humanoid robots are participating in the World Humanoid Robot Games across 51 disciplines and more than 1,000 competitions spanning running, table tennis, and soccer. Holy smokes... Humanoid robots are coming for tennis. 100% autonomous... pic.twitter.com/0Q3i4GuTfa — Min

The Great Burrito Debate And The Uncomfortable Solution To Inflation Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us Recently one of the most important debates in the history of conservative discourse raged across the internet, with sides deeply divided and solutions rare or nonexistent. This debate went largely unnoticed by the rest of the country but it regards the deepest underlying foundations of our economic future. I am speaking, of course, about the “Great Burrito Debate” of 2026. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating about the significance but I do think this conflict taps into the core of people’s concerns about America’s inflation problem.

Death Of Europe's Industrial Base: VW CEO Set To Announce 50,000 Job Cuts Europe's industrial demise has become impossible to ignore. The continent's automotive manufacturing base is being hollowed out by high energy costs, regulatory pressure, and a flood of cheap Chinese electric vehicles, with Germany, once Europe's industrial powerhouse, emerging as the epicenter of this terrible decline. Germany's largest manufacturer by revenue is Volkswagen Group, whose CEO, Oliver Blume, is warning employees that the coming weeks will be critical as Europe's largest automaker prepares to detail the most extensive restructuring in its history. " The next few weeks will

Alfalfa Sprouts Linked To Bacterial Infections In 15 US States Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times , A total of 55 people have been infected with E. coli and Salmonella across 15 states in an outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Fresh homegrown Alfalfa or Lucerne Medicago sativa sprouts in white bowl. Courtesy of the CDC Of those 55 people, 46 were infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC, seven with Salmonella, and two with both pathogens, according to the FDA's Aug. 21 update. Four people have been hospitalized, and no

Taiwan Tech Insiders Warn Beijing's Germanium Squeeze Is Hitting Production Nikkei Asia reports that China is restricting or delaying exports of germanium- and quartz-based materials to Taiwan , creating " painful supply-chain bottlenecks " across the island's key aerospace, semiconductor, and optical companies. The supply disruptions reinforce the urgent need for the US and its allies to accelerate supply-chain decoupling and secure alternative sources of critical materials . Beijing's ability to weaponize shipments could prove devastating during a military conflict or allow China to slow Western semiconductor and AI infrastructure buildouts while its domestic AI companies and infrastructure projects close

"Iran Is Losing Its Grip On Hormuz": Strait Traffic Explodes Nearly 400% Summary: Nearly 200 Ships Navigated Strait Last Week , Up From 150 the Previous Week Trump Views Hormuz As " an American Territory " Axios: 40 Tankers Transited Hormuz Friday Night, But Real Crisis Is Diesel Hormuz Commercial Traffic Surges Shortly after President Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz "an American territory " on Friday evening, the New York Post published a new report citing UK Maritime Trade Operations data showing that commercial traffic through the critical waterway has rebounded sharply as more vessels use a US-backed route

Georgia Refuses To Adopt EU Sanctions On Iran Citing 'National Interests' Via The Cradle Georgia officially refused to implement the EU's newest sanctions against Iran, Interpress news reported on this week, with Tengiz Sharmanashvili, a member of parliament for the ruling Georgian Dream party, saying Tbilisi backs international measures only when they serve Georgian interests . "If it goes against Georgia's interests, we do not care whose interests it serves," Sharmanashvili said. via AFP "The question of whether Georgia joins a resolution or takes steps in international affairs is determined by one criterion alone: whether it serves the country's interests

Turkey & Israel On Brink Of Military Clash After Netanyahu Ordered Strikes On Syrian Airbase At a moment of the ongoing Iran conflict, Israel and Turkey are escalating their competing claims and rhetoric over Syria, to the point that full-blown war is being threatened. NBC writes of the irony of two American regional allies on the brink : "A pair of key American allies, an attack on a strategic military base and an intense election campaign : The United States has been scrambling to de-escalate this week after Israel launched strikes that appeared aimed not just at the country’s regional

Spain's Pools Hit By Disgusting 'Brown Challenge' TikTok Filth Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , Spain's peak summer season has been disrupted once again by a revolting viral trend that has forced the closure of swimming pools and waterparks across the country, leaving families stranded and facilities scrubbed clean at public expense. At PortAventura World's Caribe Aquatic Park on the Costa Dorada this week, lifeguards evacuated both the adult and children's pools after detecting human faeces in the water. The incident, reported on a Tuesday afternoon and allegedly repeated the next day, left the popular resort's aquatic areas

Escobar: How Trump Tried To Bribe The Head Of The IRGC Authored by Pepe Escobar, Empire of Chaos, Lies, Plunder, Piracy. And bribes. Mike Pompeo, former aspiring Tony Soprano, admitted: “We lie, we cheat, we steal.” And we bribe. A Transition Protocol source, as we revealed live , is unequivocal: The President of the United States – despite having “won” the war on Iran countless times, at least in the Vociferation stakes – made a major attempt to induce IRGC Commander-in-Chief Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and senior Iranian military leadership to break with the government in Tehran through enormous financial inducements.

Visualizing Every US State's Economy Matched To A Country America’s largest state economies rank alongside some of the biggest economies in the world. Even further down the list, many individual states produce hundreds of billions of dollars in economic output each year. This map, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, pairs each U.S. state with the country closest to it in nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the IMF’s World Economic Outlook . The Big Four State Economies At $4.3 trillion, California would rank among the world’s five largest economies if

When The Rule Of Law Fails Authored by Madge Waggy , What follows emerges from seventeen months of examination into procedural collapses, constitutional erosions, and institutional betrayals that have accelerated beyond the capacity of conventional reportage to capture. Sources include former jurists who resigned rather than participate in predetermined outcomes, law enforcement officials who documented unlawful commands, and archival materials that reveal pattern precedents for contemporary ruptures. We present this analysis not to provoke despair, but to examine the anatomy of dissolution while recognition might still permit response. The reader is advised that the trajectory described has proceeded beyond the

Inside America's Drone Arms Race: What Industry Experts See Ahead Of Procurement Supercycle Our coverage of America's Group 1 to Group 3 drone industry has centered on Unusual Machines and Ondas , two companies positioned to reap the benefits from what could become a historic procurement cycle next year. The catalyst is the Department of War's Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, which is preparing to direct $55 billion toward autonomous systems. If that spending materializes as planned, companies offering NDAA-compliant drones and drone components, scalable manufacturing capacity, and field-ready platforms should be best positioned to capture the coming flood of orders

Family Structure Determines Kids' Success In School More Than Race Or Income, Researchers Say Authored by Kevin Stocklin via The Epoch Times , While universities debate whether to skip standardized admissions tests and the University of Michigan waives first-term grades for some incoming students, new research suggests that relaxing standards might not be the best way to help kids who are struggling in school. A science teacher works with her students at a high school in Homestead, Fla., on March 10, 2017. Rhona Wise/AFP via Getty Images The new report by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) and the American

US Navy Live-Fire Tests Drone Sailboat With Missile Launcher Once known primarily for capturing dramatic footage from inside hurricanes and tropical storms during the Atlantic hurricane season, Saildrone's autonomous surface vessels have evolved into dual-use platforms that recently demonstrated the ability to deploy Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM). California-based Saildrone revealed in a press release that its unmanned surface vehicle (USV) launched two Lockheed Martin JAGM missiles for the first time during the Rim of the Pacific exercise off Hawaii. According to Saildrone, the 20-meter Surveyor drone participated in the live-fire exercise in coordination with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike

For Decades, The United States Ignored Latin America. All That Changed Under Trump. Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times , In a pre-dawn raid in January, Delta Force soldiers burst in on a sleeping Nicolás Maduro, capturing the Venezuelan leader wanted on U.S. narco-terrorism charges. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Public Domain The dramatic end of Maduro's control over a country emblematic of left-wing politics underscored Latin America's shift to the political right. Since late 2025, the leadership has flipped from left to right in five Latin American countries: Bolivia, Chile, Honduras, Peru, and Colombia.

IRS Announces 7 Percent Interest Rate For Overpayments And Underpayments Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times , The Internal Revenue Service has announced interest rates for tax underpayments and overpayments for the fourth quarter of 2026, keeping them at 7 percent for individual taxpayers. The Internal Revenue Service in Washington on Jan. 6, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times When taxpayers do not pay taxes, penalties, and other charges on time, the IRS charges interest on the underpayment. Conversely, when taxpayers pay more tax than they actually owe, the agency pays interest on the overpayment. Those rates are determined

Spanish Beach Stormed As Ceuta Chaos Spreads Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , Dozens of military-age men leapt from boats onto packed tourist beaches in mainland Spain this week, sending holidaymakers scrambling for their belongings as the fallout from the Ceuta mass crossing continues to escalate. Footage from Cala del Barco near the exclusive La Manga Club in Cartagena captured the moment a large vessel packed with predominantly North African males in their late teens and twenties powered close to shore in broad daylight. The men jumped into the water, waded or swam the final metres, and charged

"They Can't Define A Woman": Bill Maher Says Democrats "Opened The Door" With "Crazy" Cultural Issues Bill Maher says Democrats are still paying a political price for cultural positions that leave voters thinking the party has "lost their minds." The 'Real Time' host argued that Republicans have benefited from Democrats continuing to focus on cultural issues where, in his telling, much of the country believes the party has gone off the rails. Bill Maher MOCKS Democrats for the "crazy stuff" that is STILL costing them elections: "They can't define a woman," and "they think the WNBA should be full of

PM Mark Carney says ‘we got attacked’ as tariffs come into force on items from hockey sticks to tongue depressors The lesson from Canada’s collapsed trade talks with the US: negotiation may be futile Donald Trump has hit back at Canada after a breakdown in negotiations plunged the two countries into a trade war . In his first public comments since negotiations collapsed on Friday in Washington, the US president wrote on social media: “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!” Continue reading...

Breakdown shows Washington now prioritises its own interests over any semblance of shared economic ground ‘No more!!!’: Trump lashes out after US-Canada talks devolve into trade war The calamitous collapse of trade negotiations between Canada and the United States is a warning to nations worldwide that pursuing any kind of dialogue with the current US administration is doomed at the outset, according to observers who say this recent episode indicates seeking a fair deal is futile. Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of political science at McMaster University in Ontario, said: “No matter the closeness of the historical relationship, the American

Collapse of trade talks could lead to job losses, but biggest impact on traditional allies is expected to be political The US has imposed 50% tariffs on some goods from Canada, and Mark Carney, the country’s prime minister, has vowed to match them “dollar for dollar” after the collapse of trade talks. The tariffs came into force on roughly $20bn (£14.6bn) of goods – ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors – at 04.00GMT. Trade experts said the tariffs could result in some job losses, but the largest impact is expected to be political, driving a further wedge between the

Audio recording of US vice-president apparently made at New York fundraiser and shared with Canadian Press Leaked audio from a private event has reportedly captured the US vice-president, JD Vance, mocking Canada for apparently capitulating in a trade deal and taunting the prime minister, Mark Carney, for trying to “out-tough” Donald Trump. The recording, which was reportedly made at a fundraiser and shared with the Canadian Press , comes in the last stretch of a difficult negotiation in which the US president has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canada. Continue reading...

With plentiful jobs and community support, one Mexico City neighbourhood has become a haven for those who have lived much of their lives in the US With its wide avenues lined with tall palm trees, its quaint cafes and old-school cantinas, as well as the mix of English and Spanish spoken on the street, the Tabacalera neighborhood in downtown Mexico City has a certain US feel – so much so that it is has become known as Little LA . The nickname is about more than appearances, however. In recent years, this corner of the metropolis has become a haven

Boy, seven, had complained of feeling tired so father left him with snacks and a soft drink and continued his climb A man who abandoned his seven-year-old son on Mount Fuji in Japan after the boy complained of feeling tired while on a family hike has been reprimanded by local police. A worker on Japan’s highest mountain discovered the child sitting alone on a bench near the sixth station of the Fujinomiya trail at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) on Thursday. Continue reading...

UK Foreign Office condemns use of national security law to convict activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 have been found guilty of “incitement to subversion” in one of the most high-profile cases in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed its national security law in 2020. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power”, a press summary handed out to reporters said. The defendants each face

Downpours break records and cause transport chaos, evacuations and deaths, as people get trapped inside vehicles South Korea and Japan were hit by extreme rain late last week and into this week. On 13 August in the city of Chiba near Tokyo there was a record-breaking 115mm of rainfall in just one hour, while the nearby city of Sakura broke its own record with 97mm in one hour. Local authorities issued a level 5 emergency warning for heavy rain, the highest alert level and the first time one has been issued since the system was implemented in May. More than

Pacific fleet launched missile drills near what Moscow calls the Kuril Islands but Japan regards as its Northern Territories Japan has criticised missile tests carried out by Russia’s navy around the disputed islands visited by Vladimir Putin last week amid continuing tensions between the two countries. Russia’s Pacific fleet said on Thursday that it had fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, the largest island in the disputed archipelago, simulating an attack on enemy vessels, hitting all of its targets approximately 300km away. Continue reading...

Hui Ka Yan also forfeits all his personal property and the company he set up is given hefty fines Business live – latest updates The founder of Evergrande, one of China’s largest property developers, has been sentenced to life in prison and had all of his personal property confiscated. Hui Ka Yan, 67 and once named by Forbes as China’s richest man, with a net worth of $42.5bn (£31.2bn) in 2017, pleaded guilty in April to eight charges. Continue reading...

Academics – and a former director of Australia’s Classification Board – say Halloween: The Game’s ban due to ‘incentivised drug use’ highlights an incoherent set of standards Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Halloween’s Michael Myers is one of film’s most feared boogeymen, responsible for some of the most brutal on-screen deaths in horror cinema. US video game developer Illfonic looked to reproduce those terrors in its upcoming title Halloween: The Game, with gruesome killings a major focus of the gameplay: for instance, you can stomp another player’s head through a toilet seat, or

Hundreds of experts write to environment minister calling for stronger protections for ‘unique and distinct’ marine ecosystems Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Australian government has been accused of leaving coastal waters largely unprotected by establishing the bulk of highly protected marine parks in remote areas. More than 270 leading marine scientists from 84 research institutes have written to the environment minister, Murray Watt, urging stronger protections for marine ecosystems, as a once-in-a-decade review of marine parks gets under way. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New entrants the only cohort making more loan applications amid interest rate rises and tax changes, mortgage broker says Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast First home buyers are still taking out a large number of loans, with government backing, even as investors step back from Australia’s property market. New entrants are now the only cohort applying for more loans than they were in June, according to new data from Loan Market, the mortgage broking company. Continue reading...

Government says it hopes clubs will end jersey deals with wagering companies earlier, but calls it a commercial decision Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Children across Australia will continue to see gambling logos on professional sport jerseys until up to 2032 despite the government’s pledge to break the link between sport and wagering. The Albanese government has banned gambling company logos on jerseys but legislated a five-year transition period to allow clubs and bookmakers to adjust. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed Victorian Labor expands on free dental care election promise The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll , and health minister, Ingrid Stitt , have held a press conference this morning off the back of their announcement yesterday that the Labor government would open 10 free public dental clinics if re-elected in November . You can’t use a Medicare card for dental unless you’ve got a healthcare card or you are a category of a particular citizen, it is very difficult … I’ve been visiting a lot of dentists over the past few weeks. There [are] waiting lists.

Embassy in London says Andrey Kelin left last month after seven years in diplomatic post Russia has withdrawn its ambassador to the UK, it has emerged, as the Kremlin continues to try to put pressure on Britain over its support for Ukraine. Andrey Kelin left last month after seven years in the diplomatic post, according to the Russian embassy in London. Continue reading...

President sharply criticises proposal, saying ‘elections right now are a tsunami for the state that will split Ukraine’ Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said holding elections in Ukraine during wartime would risk splitting the country at a time when Russia is amassing ballistic missiles and considering whether to mobilise an extra 300,000 soldiers. The Ukrainian president, responding for the first time to a demand made by the sacked former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, sharply criticised an idea that he said was impractical given Russia appeared to have no interest in a ceasefire. Continue reading...

An 1857 decree to drain swamps and plant a monoculture, detritus from the trees and global heating combined to produce the conditions for the Gironde inferno The ruinous fires that overran parts of France this summer have burned more land than ever recorded, forced more people from their homes than at any point since the second world war and caused what scientists suspect is the country’s first firestorm thundercloud. The smoke from France’s biggest inferno in nearly 80 years choked Limoges, a city 125 miles (200km) from the flames, with more toxic dust than Delhi residents inhaled on the city’s

Friends close to Margarita Reutt are shocked she could allegedly plant bomb that killed Ukrainian defector Robert Shageev, while others recall a stubborn grit to see any plan through It was just after dawn in Sevastopol when a powerful explosion tore through a quiet square in a residential district of the Russian-occupied Crimean port city. Hidden inside a rubbish bin, a bomb containing the equivalent of about 500g of TNT detonated on 13 August as Robert Shageev, the deputy commander of a Russian Black Sea fleet submarine brigade, walked past in naval uniform. He was killed on the spot. Continue

Three other people wounded after 18-year-old man wielding sword assailed students in Fagersta school A 17-year-old girl has been killed after a teenager brandishing a sword attacked students at a school in Sweden, police have confirmed. Three other people were wounded in the incident during classes in the central town of Fagersta on Friday afternoon, including two boys aged 12 and 17 who sustained minor injuries. 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

Grassroots groups to urge PM to break with Starmer policy and impose full arms embargo on Israel Grassroots Labour groups are gearing up for a conference showdown with Andy Burnham over Gaza, as the party’s members seek to force the prime minister to recognise Israel’s actions as a genocide and impose a full arms embargo. Momentum, Labour & Palestine, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy and Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) plan to ramp up pressure on Burnham before his first Labour conference as prime minister next month. Continue reading...

Joint statement issued after IDF said it will not pursue criminal investigations into April 2024 strike that killed seven humanitarian workers Britain, Australia and Canada have called the decision of the Israeli military authorities not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of aid vehicles in Gaza “shameful”. The strikes killed seven humanitarian workers from the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) organisation. WCK staff from the three countries were among the casualties of the attack, which prompted global outrage. Continue reading...

Report says violence is moving from Israeli-controlled areas to those earmarked for a future Palestinian state Violent Israeli settler attacks in the two areas of the occupied West Bank under direct Palestinian rule have almost doubled since 2025, as settlers pursue a self-proclaimed “great settlement revolution” in the very heart of the territory earmarked for a Palestinian state. According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din , shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in 2026 have taken place in the so-called Areas A and B –

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...

Kyaw Zwar Minn was ousted for declaring loyalty to Aung San Suu Kyi after 2021 coup but refused to leave his home Myanmar’s ousted ambassador to the UK has gone on trial on trespassing charges for refusing to leave a diplomatic residence after being unceremoniously locked out of the embassy in 2021. Shortly after Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021, triggering mass protests that spiralled into a civil war, Kyaw Zwar Minn was locked out of the embassy for declaring his loyalty to the deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Continue reading...

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

Emotional tributes paid to PCs Matthew Blades and Tom Clough whose vehicle was in a head-on collision with car travelling wrong way Cleveland police have published photographs of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough who died when a car travelling the wrong way on the A66 crashed head-on into their police vehicle. Two 17-year-old boys were among the seven people who were killed in the incident on Teesside. Continue reading...

Many tools fail to help victims find hidden cameras, microphones and trackers, leaving them at risk of ongoing surveillance Commercial detectors intended to help domestic abuse victims find hidden spying devices may actually give them a false sense of security, a study has found. The consumer detection tools claim to identify hidden cameras, microphones or trackers through methods such as signal-strength readings, infrared lens detection and scanning for wifi or Bluetooth devices. Continue reading...

Transport secretary asks ‘publicly owned operators to lay on extra services where possible’ CrossCountry cancelled almost all of its train services in Great Britain on Sunday after a power cut in Birmingham hit its control centre. Most services were cancelled until further notice, including routes from Glasgow to Edinburgh, Manchester to Birmingham, Cheltenham to Cardiff and Newcastle to Edinburgh. Continue reading...

PM sends video message to newlyweds instead after bride Sarah Burwin asked him not to ‘ruin’ vibe at Heron House Andy Burnham fulfilled a bride’s wishes by not turning up for her wedding after she asked him not to spoil her big day as she got married at the building housing No 10 North. Sarah Burwin had pleaded on TikTok in July for Burnham not to work from the building in Manchester that day, which hosts the government’s northern headquarters and the city’s register office. Continue reading...

Researchers say texts from 12th to 15th centuries ‘hint at a culture which has not even been imagined’ Unprecedented insights into the literary and intellectual life on the island of Guernsey during the middle ages have been revealed through the discovery of 17 medieval manuscript fragments. Dating from between the 12th and 15th centuries, they offer evidence of wide-ranging reading tastes, with everything from an extract from a play and an Ovid poem to passages from the Bible and a travel text. Continue reading...

Hawk fire has covered more than 13,000 acres as blaze approaches University of Nevada campus in Reno A fast-moving Nevada wildfire exploded to more than 13,000 acres (5,200 hectares) early on Sunday, pushing from the Sierra foothills toward the center of Reno and forcing nearly 42,000 residents to evacuate as flames threatened neighborhoods and reached the edge of the University of Nevada campus. The Hawk fire’s “GO NOW” evacuation zone had expanded to the edge of the university campus as strong, gusty winds, low humidity and dry vegetation fueled the blaze, according to Truckee Meadows fire and Rescue in Reno.

Critics include Senator Chris van Hollen, ex-aide to Obama Tommy Vietor and ex-Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger Democrats and other Donald Trump critics reacted incredulously to a New York Times report on Sunday that House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries met with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, to discuss possible areas of collaboration. The reported meeting comes months ahead of the November midterm elections in which Democrats are favored to retake the US House, a development that would make Jeffries speaker. If they are in the majority, Democrats are expected to use their oversight power to aggressively investigate the Trump administration,

Republican senator tries to assuage concerns but does not offer details of Graham’s national security experience Tim Scott defended fellow US South Carolina Republican senator Darline Graham’s knowledge of national security issues ahead of their state’s runoff election on Tuesday. Graham, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat held by her brother Lindsey Graham after his sudden death in July, is in a Republican primary runoff against South Carolina congressman Ralph Norman. During a debate between the two on Tuesday night, Graham struggled to answer a question about US national security interests in Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Relatives of woman fatally stabbed on public transit allege death was preventable and Charlotte knew of violent crime issue The family of Iryna Zarutska is suing Charlotte and a security company one year after the Ukrainian refugee was fatally stabbed onboard a light rail train in the North Carolina city. A lawsuit filed on Friday in Charlotte’s Mecklenburg county superior court alleges Zarutska’s death was preventable. It also claims the city and the company that provides security for the Charlotte Area Transit System failed to put adequate protections in place despite knowing about violent crime on and around the municipal

Devoted Trump aide flooded her now-disabled profile urging people to ‘never concede’ on 6 January 2021 The Donald Trump aide Natalie Harp flooded a since-disabled social media account with pro-Trump posts on the day that the president’s supporters attacked the US Capitol in early 2021, years before she went to work for him and developed an extraordinary close relationship with him, a new report has revealed. CNN on Saturday reported that a deactivated account which Harp had on what is now known as X was packed with fiercely pro-Trump messages on the day of the January 6 Capitol attack in

Ukraine thinks Russia is planning to draft an additional 300,000 troops for its war effort after Russian parliamentary elections in mid-September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Moscow’s forces are pressing ahead with an effort to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine’s industrialised Donbas region, where its troops have ground ‌forward at what Kyiv says is a great cost. In comments to reporters released on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia could draft more troops in 2027 to reach an...

At a recent Apec digital technology and AI forum in Chengdu, ministers across the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum issued a statement in support of open-source artificial intelligence models – a rare point of agreement in a debate often framed as a zero-sum US-China contest. It pointed towards an AI order that cuts against the assumption of a contest with a single winner, an assumption that still shapes Washington’s alarm over every Chinese AI breakthrough. Across Asia, governments are...

President Donald Trump is betting new sanctions, a naval blockade and ramped-up economic pressure against Iran’s trading partners can accomplish what thousands of bombs and missiles could not: force Tehran to accept a deal to end the war on US terms. But like other US efforts to force Iran into capitulation, there is one main problem: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has claimed control of the vital Strait of Hormuz and sent volleys of attack drones across the Gulf, may be...

Siding with Canadians weary of provocations from Washington, Prime Minister Mark Carney stood up to US President Donald Trump, rejecting what he called an “unfair” trade deal – a gamble that could prove economically risky. “We will not allow any nation to determine our future. We will set our own course to keep building Canada strong for all,” Carney said on Friday, as negotiations for a bilateral trade deal were crumbling. After weeks of talks with US officials in an effort to avoid punitive...

The Panama Canal will cut the number of ships passing through it starting next month because of drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon, the operator of the strategic waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific said on Thursday. From September 3, the number of vessels allowed through each day will fall from 36 to 34 due to low water levels in two artificial lakes that feed the canal, the Panama Canal Authority said. It will drop to 32 from September 15 on, the agency said. Central America is in...

Some of Nvidia’s biggest customers have been told that the prices of servers containing its artificial intelligence chips are going up more than 15 per cent in many cases with memory chip costs soaring. The price rises will go into effect on systems shipped early next year and will impact systems including those with the flagship Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chips, according to people familiar with the process, who asked not to be identified commenting on communications that have not yet been...

Iran on Saturday denounced US plans to announce ⁠new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic’s economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners including China. Iran on Saturday warned countries against taking part in the United States’ “economic war” against the Islamic Republic, saying they would be considered enemies. “We declare to all countries … do not join the economic war waged by the United States. Any country participating in the imposition of...

Israel said it targeted a “terrorist” ⁠in southern Syria ⁠on Saturday in ⁠what Syria’s foreign ministry said was a drone strike on a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of Damascus in a “blatant” violation of its ‌territory. The Syrian foreign ministry said the drone had hit a vehicle on a road near Beit Jinn village in the countryside west of the capital, which caused injuries among civilians. Syrian state television ⁠reported one person was injured. The Israeli military said in ‌a statement that...

Seven people, including two police officers, died in a car crash in northeast England on Saturday after a car heading the wrong ‌way down a major road hit a marked police armed response car, the local police force said. Cleveland Police said the incident took place in the early hours of Saturday near the South Bank area east of Middlesbrough and that all occupants of the two cars ⁠died at the scene. “This is an incredibly sad day for Cleveland,” ‌Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller...

Ukrainian drones killed at least 10 people in attacks against targets across Russia and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, including a warehouse owned by online retailer Ozon and an industrial facility, Russian officials said on Saturday. Russia and Ukraine are both ramping up drone campaigns ‌aiming to cripple each other’s economic infrastructure, often striking targets far beyond the war’s front lines, as fighting on the battlefield grinds towards the four-and-a-half-year mark. On Friday, at...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday he would slap retaliatory tariffs on the United States after walking away from a “bad deal” on trade, deepening the rift between the long-time allies. Negotiations between the neighbouring countries broke down on Friday in Washington, allowing new 50 per cent US tariffs impacting some US$20 billion worth of goods, or 5.5 per cent of Canadian exports to the United States, to come into force. Impacted products range from hockey sticks to...

Swedish police are investigating whether an 18-year-old man who attacked students at a high school with a sword on Friday, killing one, was involved in online communities promoting school violence, a police source said. The attacker struck at a school in the central ‌Swedish town of Fagersta, also severely injuring two teenage boys before being arrested by police. The parents of a 17-year-old girl told local newspaper Fagersta-Posten that their daughter was killed in the attack. Police are...

Somali pirates hijacked an oil products tanker off Yemen, a Somali maritime security official said, the latest in a resurgence of piracy that has seen six commercial vessels seized since April across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. Six armed pirates hijacked the Eritrean-flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 136 nautical miles (252 kilometres) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, and took it towards Somalia’s Puntland coast, the official, who has knowledge of the incident, told journalists on...

Fears of a military confrontation between Israel and Turkey are growing after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to assert dominance over Syria by ordering air strikes on a military airfield near the Turkish border. The eight strikes on the Abu Al-Duhur airbase in northwest Idlib province on Tuesday were characterised by Netanyahu as a warning to Turkey against expanding its military presence in Syria or helping rebuild the Syrian armed forces. Netanyahu’s office claimed Israel and...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged US counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call on Friday to resolve their countries’ trade dispute, saying US tariffs were imposed on “baseless” grounds. Washington imposed two new sets of tariffs on the Latin American giant in July, a move that has become a key campaign issue ahead of Brazil’s presidential election in October. Lula – who is seeking a fourth and final term in office – told Trump that the tariffs “negatively affect both Brazil and...

Near the heavily fortified frontier dividing the Korean peninsula, the abandoned Woljeong-ri station is being recast as a symbol of South Korea’s hopes to reconcile with the North. But plans to reconnect South Korea’s northernmost station to the rail network come at an awkward moment, as Pyongyang ignores Seoul’s overtures while the South’s old ally Washington pursues its own talks with Pyongyang. A turbulent few days have raised doubts about the role of South Korea in any diplomatic push,...

A US ⁠judge has struck down a Trump administration ⁠policy suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, saying that the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory authority. US District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan said on Friday ⁠that the policy that the ‌State Department announced in January was “patently unlawful” and ran afoul of federal immigration law, which explicitly stripped the secretary of state of authority over consular officers’...

The United States imposed 50 per cent tariffs on US$20 billion worth of Canadian products early on Saturday and Canada immediately said it would retaliate, after last-ditch negotiations failed to resolve the latest strain in already tense relations between the historic allies. US President Donald Trump’s import taxes will hit about 5 per cent of what Canada ships to the United States every year, including products ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors. “Canada will match those tariffs...

Japan’s Crown Prince Fumihito and his wife Crown Princess Kiko attended a ceremony on Friday marking 90 years of Japanese immigration to Paraguay, with the prince praising in a speech the contributions made by the immigrants and their descendants to the South American country. In an address at the event near the Paraguayan capital Asuncion, the crown prince, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, touched on how the immigrants overcame hardships and have taken root in Paraguay. Around 650...

At least ⁠16 people were killed ⁠and more than 130 wounded on Friday when several Russian drones struck a shopping centre in central Ukraine, authorities said, with President Volodymyr Zelensky promising a response to what he called an “act of barbarism”. Regional governor ‌Oleksandr Hanzha said that 22 children were among the wounded in the daytime attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih, which is Zelensky’s hometown. “There are 29 people in serious condition, including five children,” Hanzha said. He...

A punishing drought is draining Europe’s great rivers, pushing the Loire, the Danube and the Rhine towards record lows. At the Kaub gauging station, the reference point for shipping on the Rhine – Germany’s economic artery – the water level fell to 17cm (6.7 inches) this month, a low unseen since measurements began in 1880. Meanwhile, wildfires are burning across southern Europe, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands and producing the defining image of a European summer in which...

The US Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to continue construction of his White House ballroom project for now, temporarily pausing a judicial order that would halt much of the development. The court’s action, known as an administrative stay, gives the justices additional time to consider the administration’s formal request to let it continue working on the US$400 million ballroom while a lawsuit by a historic preservation ‌group seeking to stop the project...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday it was time to end the months-long Middle East war with the US because Tehran appeared to be in a stronger position than Washington. Talks between the long-time foes remain on hold, and the war started by the US and Israel in February has been locked in a stalemate. Tehran is keeping the key Strait of Hormuz partially shut, and Washington is persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran. “It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we...

Turkey has sought an international arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of “genocide” linked to Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the justice minister announced Friday. Turkey has become a virulent critic of Israel’s war in Gaza. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has frequently accused Netanyahu of “genocide”. Israel’s interception of the flotilla carrying some 430 activists in May sparked an international outcry. France, Italy and Australia...

Southeast Asian leaders have long insisted they will not be forced to pick sides in the great-power rivalry between the US and China. But their posture is about to be further tested. This time, the battleground is AI. While Washington wants the region locked into Pax Silica – its bid to build a China-free artificial intelligence supply chain – Beijing wants its neighbours to join China’s own World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico). Sources told the South China Morning Post...

An 18-year-old man armed with a sword attacked students at a Swedish high school on Friday, killing one person and injuring three, and police shot and detained him as media reported the attacker was a former student at the school. The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at the Brinell high school in the central Swedish town of Fagersta, which has about 13,000 residents. The ‌school had just reopened after summer recess, and for some students, it was their first day. Police told a press...

Prince Harry, Elton John ⁠and other high-profile claimants face paying ⁠millions of dollars out of their own pockets to cover the legal costs of the Daily Mail’s publisher after a judge ruled their failed privacy lawsuits were conducted in an unreasonable way. Judge Matthew Nicklin’s judgment on costs, ‌which was published on Friday, also ordered an interim payment from the claimants of £9.54 million (US$13 million), due by August 28, towards the legal costs of Associated Newspapers. Last month,...

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States would temporarily allow a greater volume of foreign beef imports, in his latest bid to lower costs for American consumers as midterm elections approach. The US cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level since the 1950s – in part due to drought and international competition – with the diminishing herd size pushing cattle prices higher. “As we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers, for the next 90 days, the United States...

Australian police charged a man with foreign interference on Friday for allegedly seeking to pass intelligence about Ukrainian military activities to Russia. The 27-year-old Russian-Australian citizen underwent “military-style” training in Russia and later joined the Ukrainian armed forces, Australian federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett told a news conference. Police allege he travelled to Russia for the training in October 2024, before returning to Australia, where he “maintained...

William and Harry were united in grief as children by the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana, but their relationship as adults has been ripped apart by anger and hurt. The pair – dubbed “the heir and the spare” from an early age – have failed to put aside their differences, despite their father King Charles’ cancer diagnosis. And as Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, prepares to return to the UK in the coming weeks with his wife, Meghan, and two young children, all eyes will be on...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese team aims to put ‘smart’ diabetes probiotic on US shelves within 2 years Chinese researchers have engineered a probiotic that could make diabetes care as simple as drinking a cup of yoghurt or swallowing a capsule. 2. Saga of...

The premier of a Canadian province launched a blistering attack on US President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a “bad person” and “not to be trusted” and urging Canada to keep fighting rather than rush to make concessions in trade talks with Washington. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada has leverage in the talks even as his province weighs restoring US alcohol sales at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s urging to help secure a deal that would avert threatened 50 per cent US...

Russia’s Pacific Fleet said on Thursday it has conducted a missile test off a group of Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands amid an intensifying row over the disputed territory following President Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit there last week. While it was unclear exactly when the test was carried out, the announcement comes after the Russian foreign ministry summoned Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto over Japan’s protest against Putin’s trip to the area. Putin visited Etorofu...

US authorities charged a woman who allegedly supported the Islamic State group with a terrorism offence on Thursday after she told an FBI informant she “wanted to destroy” the New York State Capitol building, court filings showed. Located in Albany near the Canadian border, the New York State Capitol is the nerve centre of the state government and contains both houses of the state’s legislature. Jessica Bowie, 35, was charged with attempting to provide material support to designated “foreign...

When the US government announced the addition of 43 Chinese companies to an import blacklist in late July over allegations of forced labour in the country’s western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region – including several household food and apparel brands – the local reaction to the news was surprisingly calm. “It felt like a sudden batch of companies was added out of nowhere … but it shouldn’t have much of an impact on the sector,” said the owner of a cotton-ginning mill in southern Xinjiang, who...

Much of the Western debate about China begins with a category error. “Communism” is often treated as synonymous with a monolithic command economy, limited private enterprise and bureaucratic control over every commercial decision. Modern China does not fit that model. It is better understood as a mixed, state-led system in which private enterprise, foreign investment and fiercely competitive markets coexist alongside public ownership and state control in strategic sectors. This is more than...

A US Army unit is offering its troops a special bonus if they re-enlist soon: four extra days off timed around the November release of the video game Grand Theft Auto VI. Commanders of the 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, believe free time to indulge in the latest entry in the Grand Theft Auto series – in which players commit carjackings, battle police in shoot-outs and attempt audacious heists – will sway some soldiers to extend their military commitments. The...

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has returned to the country after a more than two-month absence that has fuelled fierce debate about his ability to rule after 44 years in power. Biya, who at the age of 93 is the world’s oldest serving head of state, landed in Yaounde in the late afternoon from Geneva, where he had been staying since June 7 on what his office called “a short private stay”. Cameroonian media had reported that Biya, leader since 1982, had been in the Swiss city with family members...

China rejected a White House report on Thursday that accused its exporters of routing goods through Mexico and other countries to avoid US tariffs, hours after word emerged that Mexico was preparing to restrict Chinese products further. He Yadong, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce, told a regular press briefing in Beijing that the report “ignored facts and distorted reality by treating normal international trade and investment as fraud”. He called it a “typical exercise in...

Christian metal band Demon Hunter is suing Netflix, alleging trademark infringement associated with the streamer’s hit film KPop Demon Hunters. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by Hyde Lane, the corporate entity for Demon Hunter, against Netflix, Netflix Studios and AEG Presents, the live entertainment division of AEG, with claims that the defendants have “created a substantial likelihood of confusion” among consumers. The metalcore band – which was formed in 2000 out of Seattle by brothers Ryan...

A Belgian university on Thursday suspended a US academic who spearheaded accusations of plagiarism against Jason Arday, the black ex-Cambridge professor found dead last week after resigning over the scandal. Researcher Nathan Cofnas – a self-defined “race realist” who was himself sacked from his Cambridge post two years ago – posted on social media: “I was just suspended by Ghent University. “They will almost certainly fire me.” Without naming Cofnas, the University of Ghent said in a statement...

An aeroplane pilot died on Wednesday after a violent collision with a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter near a runway at a small airport, but both state troopers aboard the helicopter survived, authorities said. The plane was coming down on the runway and veered into the helicopter that was near the ground, Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens, the state’s acting police commissioner, said during a news conference. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board...

Six months into its war with the United States, Iran’s military has begun signalling a shift from retaliation to offence, which analysts say could reflect Tehran’s belief it holds leverage to advance its demands and break the stalemate. Since US-Israeli strikes launched the war on February 28, Tehran has largely portrayed its strikes against the US, Israel and Gulf countries as revenge for attacks on the Islamic Republic. Now, Iranian officials are openly talking about giving offensive...

After more than two years of taking on Israel’s enemies across the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, is zeroing in on another perceived villain – Turkey. On Tuesday, warplanes bombed a base in northern Syria a short drive from the Turkish border. Netanyahu said Turkey was looking to establish a military presence there and that, after it ignored Israel’s warnings: “We made sure they understood it more clearly.” Heading into the October 27 election,...

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday dismissed US President Donald Trump’s economic punishment plan for Tehran as a continuation of “failed policies”, which he said would bring Washington “further defeat”. “The so-called Economic D-Day is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs. Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat – and enmity of Iranians,” Araghchi said on social media. “US economic terrorism threatens global...

Canada suspended trade negotiations, triggering President Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. Mark Carney said he would retaliate “dollar for dollar.”

For Florida-based Powerus, becoming a global supplier of counterdrone technology has meant involving the Trumps, a golf course and a new way of doing business.

Iran’s new hard-line national security adviser, Mohsen Rezaei, vowed to prevent “a single drop of oil” from leaving the region.

The Hawk fire has burned over 10,000 acres and is encroaching on the northern part of the city. Residents of 14,000 homes have been told to flee, and the governor issued a state of emergency.

Towering woodlands in the West are being permanently replaced by tracts of spiky shrubs. Conditions “just aren’t normal anymore,” one researcher said.

Decades ago, Arizona won funding for a massive Colorado River project by agreeing to be first in line for cuts at a time of deep drought. The Trump administration says that time has come.

In the year before the actress’s death, she struggled to walk at times and worked to disentangle herself from an ex-boyfriend who had abused her.

Companies like Google and Microsoft have used their money, their might and their massive reach to influence nearly every step of the education supply chain.

The German actress Collien Fernandes set out to discover who was pretending to be her online and sending men sexually explicit material. Her answer ignited a feminist movement.

As New Yorkers, we’re used to negotiating over tiny patches of space. But I didn’t expect that to continue on the beach.

Gov. Mike Braun called on the local utility to “match the urgency” of Gary area residents who have had to endure an outage approaching its second week.