Minimalist News

Toxic Wildfire Smoke Begins To Disrupt Local Economic Activity As GOP Senator Readies Canada Sanctions Bill Summary: Questions Swirl Whether Ecoterrorism May Have Accelerated Wildfires Economic Activity Impacted in Some States WaPo Warns Smoke Plume To Worsen GOP Members Blast Canada Over Toxic Smoke ; Sanction Bill Against Canada Set To Be Introduced Toxic Smoke Plume Over Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast Canada's Wildfire Management Failures Choke Millions Of Americans With Toxic Smoke The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang reports that deteriorating air quality across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast could be "as bad as or

Apple's OpenAI Trade-Secret War Ramps Up With Preservation Letters To Dozens Of Ex-Employees Apple's legal fight with OpenAI is spilling well beyond the courtroom. A week after suing the ChatGPT maker over alleged theft of its hardware secrets, Apple's lawyers have sent personal document-preservation letters to about 40 former Apple employees now working at OpenAI , according to the Financial Times - roughly 10 percent of the some 400 ex-Apple staff now at the company. The letters direct recipients to retain records and demand meetings with Apple's attorneys, FT reports, a breadth that signals the dispute could widen far past

Trump To Attend World Cup Final Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times, President Donald Trump plans to attend the final game of the 2026 World Cup, the White House said on July 16. Trump was traveling on Friday to New York City to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington. He is then slated to take in the Spain–Argentina final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. “His attendance will cap what has been the most watched, more secure, and most successful World Cup in American history,”

Zelensky's Cabinet Reshuffle Backfiring As He Names New Defense Minister Amid a continuing status of martial law in Ukraine, one European headline underscores that President Zelensky's significant cabinet and defense ministry reshuffling has 'backfired' . Public outrage and rare protests have ensued in the capital and across various cities after he sacked popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who many Ukrainians see as having turned the tide of the war with Russia, implementing an ambitious tech-focused drone strategy. Zelensky has now confirmed the dismissal by appointing Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Yevhen Khmara as acting defense minister . Yevhen Khmara,

UMich Sentiment Extends Bounce From Record 46-Year-Lows As Gas Prices Ease Having rebounded from record (46 year) lows in June , University of Michigan's preliminary July Sentiment survey was expected to show further improvement as gas prices fell since the US-Iran 'peace' MoU signing (before rising modestly in the last few days of the reignited conflict). And indeed it did, headline Consumer Sentiment jumped from 49.5 to 54.4 (51.0 exp) - its highest since February... "With the second straight month of 10% jumps ," said UMich Dirctor of Surveys, Joanne Hsu, pointing out that "consumer sentiment climbed to its highest

Burnham Is Facing The Same Dilemma That Has Trapped British Politics Over The Past Decade By Stefan Koopman, senior macro strategist at Rabobank To Govern Is To Choose Today, Andy Burnham will formally be confirmed as Labour leader. Barring any last-minute surprises, he will become prime minister on Monday. The UK will then have had seven prime ministers in a decade, with five taking office without a general election: May in 2016, Johnson in 2019, Truss and Sunak in 2022, and now Burnham in 2026. We have often used these mid-term transfers to make the point that Brexit is like

Houston, We Have Shareholders Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance SpaceX’s highly anticipated Starship test flight never made it off the pad Thursday evening. Instead, the launch was scrubbed after what appeared to be an automatic abort during engine startup, marking the first major operational disappointment since the company became publicly traded just weeks ago. As of this writing, the company has not released a detailed explanation for what happened. SpaceX has only said there will be no launch today, that engineers will review the issue, determine the cause, and announce the next launch opportunity after completing their analysis. Until then,

US Industrial Production Disappoints (Again) In June US Industrial Production rose just 0.1% MoM in June (less than the 0.2% MoM rise expected), after also disappointing in May. That slowed the annual growth in production from 1.6% YoY to +1.1% YoY... The recent blip higher in Capacity Utilization faded last month (76.1% vs 76.2% exp) with the down-trend seemingly still in tact... If 'soft' survey data is in any way predictive of reality, then we should be seeing a sizable trend higher in industrial production... ...or maybe it's just another useless sentiment signal. Tyler Durden Fri, 07/17/2026 - 09:21

Historic NYC Church Torched In Confirmed Arson - City Rejects Save Plan As Demolition Ordered Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news , The FDNY has now confirmed what many suspected from the start: the massive fire that gutted the historic South Bushwick Reform Church in Brooklyn was intentionally set. The 1853 landmark, a Greek Revival structure that served generations of worshippers as both a house of faith and a community hub, is a total loss, and it will be completely torn down. CBS New York reported the determination this week. Pastor James E. Steward II made clear the congregation never

Watch: Trump Reveals 'Shocking' Election Vulnerabilities Including 278,000 Fraudulent Voters Update (2110ET): Trump has released several major election-related findings: Mass declassification event - The White House just released previously classified Intelligence Community assessments and reports on election infrastructure spanning January 2020 through June 2026. Adversary capability finding - A quoted IC assessment states Russia, China, Iran, North Korea "at a minimum," plus non-state groups, have the capability to compromise U.S. election infrastructure. Weakest-link identification - Centralized data repositories (voter registration databases, pollbooks, official election websites) are assessed as the systems most vulnerable to exploitation and disruption. Venezuela proof-of-concept - CIA

Renter Nation Returns? Massive Jump In Multi-Family Unit Starts Despite Builder Sentiment Slump US Housing Starts exploded higher by 19% MoM in June , dramatically more than the already large 11.2% MoM expectation and rebounding from the prior two ugly monthly declines. This was the biggest monthly increase in Starts since May 2023. On the other side, the more forward-looking Building Permits declined for a second straight month... This shouldn't be a total surprise after yesterday's decline in builder sentiment (confidence among US homebuilders dropped for a second month to the lowest level of the year, dragged lower by elevated

Futures Tumble As Latest Chinese "DeepSeek Moment" Sparks Chip Meltdown A surprise breakthrough from Chinese AI startup Moonshot ( which is now at the top of the Frontend code benchmark on Arena ) rumbled through global markets, sending chip stocks reeling, as queasiness returned about the industry’s unprecedented spending spree (something we have been warning about for the past year). Moonshot claims its new Kimi K3 model rivals top offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic in a release reminiscent of last year’s “DeepSeek moment.” It came as President Xi Jinping appeared at China’s premier AI summit, underscoring how rapidly the nation’s

Live Cattle Futures Tumble To Seven-Month Low, But Bernstein Says Beef Prices Will Stay Elevated Despite our view that beef prices will remain elevated this year amid the smallest US cattle herd size in more than 60 years and mounting concerns over New World screwworm detections in Texas, live cattle futures in Chicago have tumbled this month as speculative traders unwind bullish bets. Chicago live cattle futures have dropped to their lowest point since December 2025, as speculative traders liquidate positions amid weakening cash trade and falling wholesale beef prices. The commodities firm CIH Cattle Team pointed out on X

Private Credit: The New Junk Bond Market Authored by Ed Dowd via Beyond the Narrative , Private Credit: The New Junk Bond Market...Except It Lacks Transparency, Liquidity & Is About To Be Stress Tested History Private credit was born from the ashes of the Great Financial Crisis. In the aftermath of that debacle, regulators moved to limit the risks banks could take. Loans deemed too risky were no longer being originated by commercial banks. To fill that void, non-bank lenders stepped in, creating what is known as private debt or direct lending market. You may know these vehicles as Private

Bromance Breaks Out Between "Man of Peace" Trump And Azerbaijani President Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev lavished praise on President Donald Trump's diplomacy, telling a group of journalists at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum that the president achieved peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia in mere months, a historic feat that both Democrat and Republican administrations had failed to accomplish over nearly 30 years. White House Photo by Daniel Torok When asked by Breitbart News reporter Joshua Klein what distinguished Trump's approach, Aliyev said the difference was one of mindset for the willingness to treat an entrenched conflict as something to

Why 'Big Pharma' Will Never Make A Cheap Anti-Aging Drug Authored by Ross Pomeroy via RealClearScience , For years, scientists have hypothesized that safe, cheap, generic drugs like metformin and rapamycin could slow aging , based on promising findings in animal models . But despite the evidenced hope, little has been done to see if these drugs actually slow aging in humans. There have been no rigorous clinical trials exploring whether metformin or rapamycin prolong life and and boost health. How is it possible that metformin and rapamycin, long used to respectively treat diabetes and prevent organ transplant rejection, have

"One Step Closer To Extradition": Cox Media Heir Faces Reckoning Over Funding Marxist Revolution Sovereign Media, a far-left media outlet funded by the Babochki Collective, a nonprofit run by Jim "Fergie" Chambers, the communist centi-millionaire and heir to the Cox Media fortune, reports that Fergie, who was arrested in Ibiza last week at the request of the US Justice Department, " has been transferred to a maximum-security facility in Madrid ." "BREAKING: James "Fergie" Chambers has been transferred to a maximum security facility in Madrid - one step closer to extradition to the US ," Sovereign Media wrote on X

Heavy Overnight Iranian Attack On Bahrain, Gulf Allies, After US Launched 6th Straight Night Of Strikes Update(0950ET) : Heavy Iranian strikes are being reported on Bahrain and possibly Qatar overnight, in a fluid situation. At the moment the ballistic missile attacks on Bahrain look the heaviest. Below are some emerging unverified videos being widely shared of the alleged fresh retaliatory attacks from Iran... In a statement shared on X, the Ministry of Defence said its armed forces intercepted a missile attack that had targeted Qatar . Footage of a coalition PATRIOT SAM battery fighting off a major Iranian ballistic raid

What's Really Going On? UK Government Announces Mass Stockpile Order, Wargames Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news , The British government is preparing to tell ordinary people a blunt message: the state is not coming to save you. Households will be urged to stockpile long-life food, bottled water, essential medicines and even wind-up radios as part of a new national resilience campaign launching later this year. At the same time, ministers have confirmed Operation Albiston Shadow - the largest home defence wargame exercise in decades - will take place in 2027 , testing responses to 'hybrid' attacks alongside a major

Rare Wartime Protests Across Ukraine As Zelensky Moves To Oust Defense Chief Rare wartime protests have broken out in Ukraine in the wake of President Zelensky sacking his popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov - which is reportedly in process but not finalized yet. The 35-year old defense chief was only six months into his tenure, and is widely hailed as a reformist innovator who has turned the tide of war , having overseen a strategy of punishing wave after wave of devastating drones on Russian energy infrastructure. via Associated Press The NY Times on Thursday said that "thousands of people

109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the US Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Tens of millions of Americans face another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over huge swathes of the US, affecting about 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east. The pungent wildfire blanketed cities such as Chicago and Detroit , where residents on Friday were warned to stay indoors and reduce activity levels after the air quality index reached a

Millions of Americans face air quality alerts from Minnesota to New York as authorities urge people to stay indoors Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Tell us: have you been affected by the spread of wildfire smoke in the US and Canada? Smoke from wildfires burning in south-central Canada and parts of Minnesota is spreading across the US, prompting air quality alerts in more than 20 states with millions of Americans expected to face unhealthy air conditions this week. The smoke from the more than 180 active wildfires in northern Ontario made Chicago’s air quality the worst

Banner refers to Falkland Islands conflict in 1982 UK business secretary calls for Fifa investigation The Argentina players celebrated their World Cup win over England with a banner saying “ Las Malvinas son Argentinas ”, making reference to the 1982 Falklands war . Argentina were 1-0 down with five minutes to go of the semi-final in Atlanta but rallied and scored twice in quick succession to reach a second straight World Cup final , where they will face Spain in New Jersey on Sunday. Continue reading...

President Lula’s office says US move is result of pressure on White House by family of predecessor Jair Bolsonaro Brazil has vowed to retaliate against Washington’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on imports of some Brazilian products. The office of the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, described the tariffs as “a regrettable milestone” in the history of relations between the two countries and said they were the result of pressure exerted on the White House by the family of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. Continue reading...

Since start of Trump’s second term, 14 Mexican immigrants have died in ICE custody and three in agency operations Mexico formally requested that US state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of immigrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody or during raids, the Mexican government said Tuesday. The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo , who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the beginning of Donald Trump ’s second term, 17 Mexican immigrants have died during immigration enforcement, 14 in ICE custody and three in agency operations. Continue

Escaped flowerhorn cichlids are causing concern for native species and about parasites capable of infecting humans Escaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, but scientists say they may be threatening the native biodiversity of the lake. Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon. Continue reading...

Arrest in Pennsylvania of Wu Shaoping, who is awaiting asylum decision, raises fears of deportation and persecution A Chinese human rights lawyer has been arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), raising concerns he could be deported to China where he would face persecution. Wu Shaoping fled China at the end of 2019 amid a crackdown on human rights lawyers. He travelled to the US on a tourist visa and made an asylum claim in 2020, for which he is still awaiting a decision. Continue reading...

Storms are typical during intense heat but this week’s have been extreme. Plus, deadly monsoon rains in Bangladesh Hailstones the size of golf balls have been seen in French villages as, on top of the exceptional European heatwave, thunderstorms have struck across parts of Europe. While thunderstorms are typical during and after a period of extreme heat, the storms across countries such as France, Germany and Poland have been particularly severe, bringing flooding, strong winds and heavy showers with large balls of hail. Continue reading...

Move dealt ‘severe blow to Chinese companies’ confidence in investing in the UK’, says Ministry of Commerce China’s government has said it is “strongly dissatisfied” with the decision to nationalise British Steel this week, 15 months after the UK government intervened to prevent the closure of its steelworks in Scunthorpe and the loss of 4,000 jobs. On Thursday, British Steel was brought under public ownership to protect “the future of steel production”, the government announced. Continue reading...

Minister urges public to report cases of three or more sick or dead birds in a group after brown skua seabird tests positive for H5N1 on Wellington beach The deadly H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in New Zealand for the first time, sparking alarm that some of the country’s most beloved and vulnerable native birds could be wiped out if it spreads. A single ocean-going seabird, a brown skua, returned a confirmed positive test on Wednesday, after it was found on Petone beach in Wellington on 10 July, said Andrew Hoggard, the biosecurity minister. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Jeannie-Marie Blake is suing the Australian government over alleged threats, which her department denies making Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A key robodebt whistleblower is suing the Australian government, alleging she was threatened before she appeared at a royal commission and was warned that her testimony “could cost you your job”. Services Australia whistleblower Jeannie-Marie Blake has filed proceedings in the federal court, alleging her department made repeated threats against her before and after her explosive evidence to the robodebt royal commission. Continue reading...

UK police adviser in the early 2000s and global consultant in ‘no-body’ homicide cases says he has narrowed down the outback search area • Peter Falconio murder 25 years on: new footage shows dying Australian outback killer’s refusal to reveal body’s location The former British government expert who consulted on the search for the remains of the murdered backpacker Peter Falconio says he has now identified a “most likely” potential burial location – an abandoned racetrack only 8km from the scene of the infamous outback attack at Barrow Creek. In July 2001, Falconio and his partner, Joanne Lees, both from

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Pauline Hanson has been called “un-Australian” over her appearance on a podcast with far-right UK activist, Tommy Robinson. The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young told ABC RN Hanson must return to Australia and apologise. This is so appalling, and frankly, it’s unAustralian. To go overseas to hang out with a criminal thug … to be laughing on his show about multiculturalism back here in Australia – which are our communities, Australian citizens, and the people who make this country great, Pauline Hanson is the

The party’s state executive decided MP’s fate after she withdrew her legal action against the party earlier this week Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming has been disendorsed ahead of the upcoming state election, despite dropping an eleventh-hour legal challenge against her own party. The state party called a meeting for Friday afternoon where they voted to remove the MP as a candidate for the November election. Continue reading...

Adelaide-based Olympian was banned from driving for five years over Melissa Hoskins’ 2023 death Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Former professional cyclist Rohan Dennis faces a jail sentence after admitting he drove while disqualified over the events leading up to the death of his Olympian wife, Melissa Hoskins. A judge had previously warned the former Olympian he would be jailed if he drove while banned. Continue reading...

European Commission proposal to overhaul emissions trading system would give companies less demanding pathway to reductions Europe’s most effective method of cutting dangerous planet-heating gases risks being weakened after the European Commission proposed an overhaul of its flagship carbon market, critics have said. In a long-awaited review of the European Union emissions trading system (ETS), the European Commission proposed giving companies a less demanding and cheaper pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

The acclaimed Irish actor started her career in Coronation Street and Casualty before a string of high-profile Hollywood roles Brenda Fricker, who became the first female Irish Oscar winner for acting with My Left Foot, has died aged 81. Her agent Phil Belfield told the BBC in a statement : “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her … I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the

Mykhailo Fedorov, celebrated by many for innovative, tech-driven approach, was sidelined for military old guard Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s abrupt dismissal of Ukraine’s youthful and innovative defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, at precisely the moment Kyiv appeared to be gaining advantages in several spheres of its war with Russia has exposed, not for the first time, a troubling flaw in the president’s leadership. The move, which has startled senior European officials and caused consternation, and demonstrations, in Ukraine, is all the more shocking given Fedorov’s role in pushing a clear strategy to prosecute the war, leveraging Ukraine’s rapidly developing technological advances in drone

British domestic holidays are being pushed to their highest levels since Covid The start of the peak summer season is set to bring millions of drivers on to British roads, with concerns of traffic chaos as the port of Dover faces its biggest test yet of new EU border controls. The semi-functioning entry-exit system (EES) is credited, along with the heatwaves and fears about flights after the war in Iran , with helping push British domestic holidays to its highest levels since Covid halted international travel. Continue reading...

President says he had to choose ‘one side or the other’ after breakdown of relations between ministry and military leaders Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has defended his decision to dismiss the country’s popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov , and confirmed reports that relations had broken down between the ministry and the country’s top army leadership. Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy said there had been a “challenging dialogue” between Fedorov – widely seen as a reformist and moderniser – and the military’s commander in chief, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi. Continue reading...

Another 22 reportedly injured while mourning Palestinian killed in Israeli attack earlier in the day An Israeli strike on a funeral in the Gaza Strip has killed at least seven people and injured another 22, according to a local hospital. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Continue reading...

Tehran bombs US allies in Middle East after US attacks on bridges, energy facilities and key port The US hit bridges, energy facilities and a key Iranian port on Friday, expanding its aerial campaign against Iran, and prompting swift Iranian strikes against US allies in the Middle East. US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state TV reported. The bridges were a key transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port. Further US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that the US military claimed the

Leaked US intelligence report concluded Iran retained 70% of missiles and launchers after 38-day spring campaign Iran and the US have been trading blows for six consecutive nights and there are no shortage of signs that the renewed fighting will worsen further. Tehran and Washington remain far apart diplomatically , and though the US retains a significant military overmatch, Iran has more than enough capability to inflict damage. Friday’s developments are a case in point. A wave of US attacks , with missiles launched from jets, drones and warships, targeted Iranian ports and the south of the country, collapsing a

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here: US marines board tanker amid blockade of Iranian ports The IRGC has threatened “more crushing” attacks against neighbouring countries hosting US bases, warning that they will pay a “devastating price” if American forces continue to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure. In a statement carried by state media, it said: The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and devastating price to pay. Should the enemy continue on

This live blog has been paused The Lebanese foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, said Lebanon has made a decision to “end Hezbollah’s military presence” and that decisions on war and foreign policy are the “exclusive prerogative of the Lebanese state”. The Lebanese government is pushing to disarm Hezbollah, one of the most heavily armed militias in the Middle East, and it has become a central component of the US-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel. Lebanon has made its choice: there will be no return to dual authority, and there is no longer any place for weapons outside the authority of the

Vessels believed to have departed from Myanmar in late June, with mostly Muslim Rohingya minority onboard The United Nations has said more than 500 people are feared dead after reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports “that two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days”. Continue reading...

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

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

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

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

From Lily Collins at Wimbledon to cast of Love Island, heels-averse cohort is stepping it up a notch Gen Z, the flats-only generation, has finally succumbed to the heel – albeit a tiny one. Long vocally anti-heel, the cohort who were born between 1997 and 2012 have famously shunned millennials’ obsession with Jimmy Choos in favour of pancake-flat shoes, from the Adidas Samba “It-trainer” to the split-toe Margiela Tabi and so-called “French girl ballet flats” . But they now appear to be embracing a potential gateway heel, typically measuring in the region of 1.5in or the height of a triple-A

Former Greater Manchester mayor, who will take over as PM on Monday, says country ‘crying out for a new politics’ Andy Burnham has pledged to lead a united Labour government free of infighting and factional politics as he takes over as leader, despite anxiety on the left of party about the prospect of Shabana Mahmood as chancellor. The new Labour leader, who will become prime minister on Monday, set out a distinctly leftwing vision for Britain with promises to undo the Thatcherism of the 1980s, bring in more public ownership of utilities, find the money to fix social care and

£200,000 investment comes after harvests in Britain hit by wet winter, spring frost and hail, then heatwaves The owner of Ribena is to invest £200,000 in helping blackcurrant bushes withstand stress after extreme weather put a squeeze on this year’s UK harvest. That harvest is now under way in the berry’s main growing regions including East Anglia, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent and Scotland. It is expected to be about 10% below the average of 10,000 tonnes, as the climate crisis drives extreme weather across Britain and elsewhere. Continue reading...

Radio and TV presenter, who recovered from cancer in 2024, announces she has smouldering myeloma Lauren Laverne has announced she has been diagnosed with a blood and bone marrow disorder, less than two years after recovering from cancer. The radio and TV presenter revealed she has smouldering myeloma, a condition characterised by an abnormal level of blood plasma cells in bone marrow, and said she made her diagnosis public out of a desire to help others. In August 2024, she announced she had been diagnosed with cancer, and received the all-clear three months later. Continue reading...

MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich cleared over incident at London members’ club in 2023 A Conservative MP has been cleared of sexually assaulting two women at the Groucho Club in London after claiming that he just wanted to give them a hug. Patrick Spencer was seen on camera coming up behind two women and putting his arms around them at the private members’ club during a night out in August 2023, less than a year before he was elected to the seat of Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. Continue reading...

Markwayne Mullin follows up on president’s unproven claims as Democrats accuse Trump of ‘working to rig the midterms’ in advance Sign up for US News Breaking email Trump makes unverified claims of China ‘election meddling’ Trump also took to Truth Social today to claim that there were “great reviews” of his address to the nation on Thursday – where he repeated baseless claims undermining the electoral integrity of the 2020 election, and the safety of the election process at large in the US. During his speech, Trump also tried to unveil new information – with scant evidence – that China’s

Markwayne Mullin at presser repeated many of Trump’s unverified claims from controversial primetime speech The US homeland security secretary, Markwayne Mullin, doubled down on Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated election claims on Friday amid his agency’s efforts to support the president’s agenda. Trump used a memo compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the basis of many of his unsubstantiated claims on Thursday during his televised primetime address to the nation. Continue reading...

Ronald Fischer, 70, was sentenced to life in his absence after telling lawyer he planned to ‘enjoy life in another country’ A “master yachtsman” who went on the run for more than two decades after fleeing a sexual assault trial in Rhode Island which resulted in his conviction despite his absence was captured on Thursday on a sailboat off New Jersey’s coast, according to authorities. Ronald L Fischer, 70, had been considered one of Rhode Island’s most wanted fugitives before his arrest, state police officials said in a statement on social media. And his case had been mentioned repeatedly over

Republican Josh Hawley accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s firm of relentlessly pursuing and attempting to bankrupt her A US senator has accused Meta of using lawfare in “efforts to destroy” a whistleblower who made allegations about the social media company’s dealings with China and its treatment of teenagers. In a letter to its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, the Republican senator Josh Hawley demanded to know what measures Meta had taken to monitor Sarah Wynn-Williams, Facebook’s former global head of public policy, and her family. Continue reading...

Democrats and advocates sound alarm at Trump rehashing false claims about 2020 election in his primetime address Democrats and voting rights groups say Donald Trump’s primetime speech making unverified claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election is the clearest sign yet that the president is laying the groundwork to tamper with the results of November’s midterms. The upcoming elections to decide the balance of power in Congress and many state legislatures will be a major test of Trump’s appeal to voters two years after he resoundingly beat the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to return to the White House. With

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the dual nature of artificial intelligence’s opportunities and challenges, calling for a principle of “openness” and regulations to keep the technology “secure and controllable” in a speech at the country’s flagship annual AI conference. Xi’s first speech to the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai showed AI is a national strategic priority as China seeks to build greater technological self-reliance amid its tech rivalry with the United States. Earlier...

China’s companies have mastered social media marketing playbooks. Now, they must learn to win the trust of artificial intelligence (AI) agents that will increasingly shape what consumers discover, consider and ultimately buy. These personal concierges are starting to determine the best choices for each user by balancing price, quality, reliability, sustainability and individual preferences. Tell an AI agent you want to go “somewhere”, and it can autonomously choose the destination and book...

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. The young Chinese scientist behind ‘impossible’ breakthrough on sodium batteries Scientist Lu Yaxiang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics, has spent a decade working to make sodium-ion batteries...

Across the US this week, different disasters – from Canadian wildfire smoke darkening the skies in the Midwest and northeast to extreme heat along the east coast to catastrophic flooding in Texas – are disrupting daily life and putting people’s health at risk. When multiple weather catastrophes play out like this at the same time, or in quick succession, experts refer to them as compound events. As climate change makes compound events more likely, experts warned that grappling with them is...

President Donald ⁠Trump has ramped up US air strikes on Iran and threatened broader escalation, but there is ⁠little sign that a military strategy that has already failed to extract concessions from Tehran will succeed this time. With the collapse of an interim ceasefire deal reached a month ago, Trump finds himself in a bind as he seeks to break Iran’s grip on the vital Strait of Hormuz and force Tehran to accept his demands. While the two sides have so far avoided a return to full-scale...

US President Donald Trump delivered a prime-time “Speech to the Nation” on Thursday at 9pm Eastern Time, or 9am Hong Kong time on Friday. Such addresses are typically reserved for major national moments. During his second term, Trump has used them to highlight key priorities, including a year-end address in December, and a speech in April focused on the Iran conflict. While the White House did not release the full agenda ahead of the speech, its timing drew attention. It came soon after Trump...

The United States and Iran traded attacks on Friday, with Tehran targeting American assets across the Middle East in the biggest escalation since the two foes returned to outright war. A month after the two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that began in February, Iran accused US forces of hitting civilian and energy infrastructure on Friday – including an airport, a railway station and two bridges, with state media reporting at least eight dead and 20...

Mandatory evacuations across the Texas Hill Country are under way as life-threatening flash floods wreck bridges and roads with more heavy rain expected overnight. A wide swathe of Texas is forecast to receive as much as 20cm (eight inches) of additional precipitation through Friday morning to cap off a week of downpours that revived memories of the catastrophic deluge that killed more than 130 people a year ago. Evacuations have been complicated by almost 90 road and highway closures between...

US Secretary of State Marco ⁠Rubio told officials from more than 60 countries on Thursday that the United States would seek to refocus international counterterrorism efforts on what he called “far-left terror”, arguing that left-wing violence had long been overlooked. The conference in Washington has sparked Democratic concerns that the Trump administration is politicising counterterrorism efforts and diverting resources from other extremist threats. In a speech, Rubio said the Islamic militancy...

Italian police raided the offices of several luxury brands including Bulgari and Chanel over suspicions they used subcontractors employing Chinese workers, a prosecutor said Thursday. The other luxury brands included Brunello Cucinelli, Etro, Goyard Italie, Jacob Cohen Company, Moncler, and Stefano Ricci, Milan prosecutor Paolo Storari said, confirming information published by business daily Il Sole 24 Ore. None of the nine companies is under investigation, and prosecutors have not sought...

A teleprompter operator for Donald Trump has been suspended over allegations he placed bets with a prediction market on the content of the US president’s speeches, the White House said on Friday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the teleprompter operator was put on unpaid administrative leave on the orders of the president. Leavitt later added that he would no longer be working at the White House. Gabriel Perez is ⁠under investigation by federal regulators over potential...

An Italian court on Thursday sentenced the former head of motorway operator Autostrade per l’Italia to 12 years for his role in a deadly bridge disaster eight years ago. Giovanni Castellucci was found guilty of vehicle homicide and negligence related to the collapse of the bridge in Genoa that killed 43 people in one of the country’s worst infrastructure disasters. The courtroom was packed with relatives of those who plunged to their deaths when the Morandi Bridge – part of a key highway...

A UK court on Thursday jailed two young men for a 2024 cyberattack on London’s public transport operator that exposed the details of millions of customers, in one of Britain’s biggest data breaches. Thalha Jubair, 20, from East London, and 18-year-old Owen Flowers from England’s West Midlands were each handed five-and-a-half-year sentences at London’s Woolwich Crown Court. The pair pleaded guilty last month to hacking Transport for London’s (TfL) network between August 31 and September 3, 2024,...

Four acting members of Greece’s parliament were among ⁠22 people indicted ⁠on Thursday by the European Public ⁠Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) over an investigation into alleged farm fraud that has rocked the country’s government. Last year, European prosecutors charged dozens of Greek stockbreeders with faking ownership of grazing land and exaggerating the number of animals on farms to claim EU subsidies with the alleged help of state employees and conservative politicians. Some people receiving...

German far-right activist Marla-Svenja Liebich, who legally changed gender to a woman in 2024, was taken to a men’s prison after being extradited to Germany from the Czech Republic, officials said on Thursday. Liebich arrived in Germany on Wednesday and was initially taken to a ‌women’s prison in Chemnitz in the eastern German state of Saxony before being transferred to a men’s prison on the same day, the Saxony Ministry of Justice said. The decision was taken by experts in consultation with the...

Large protests erupted in several Ukrainian cities on Thursday morning against the removal of popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. More than a thousand people gathered on a central square in Kyiv, singing the national anthem, waving Ukrainian and EU flags and chanting “shame” and “bring Fedorov back”. Appointed only six months ago, Fedorov carved a reputation as a moderniser who tried to reform the Ukrainian military, worn down by more than four years of the Russian invasion. His removal...

The US will begin charging 25 per cent tariff on imports of certain goods from Brazil following an investigation alleging that the country engaged in unfair trade practices. The year-long inquiry “found a number of Brazil’s practices to be unreasonable and discriminatory, restricting the competitive position of American farmers, workers, innovators, and exporters,” the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a social media post late on Wednesday night. Imports of coffee, beef, and certain...

Africa’s exports to China have surged since Beijing expanded its zero-tariff policy across the continent in May, as customs data showed signs of emerging trade links in a range of new sectors alongside traditional categories such as critical minerals. China’s imports from Africa soared by 21.1 per cent and 40.2 per cent year on year in May and June, respectively – outpacing the overall growth in Chinese imports over the same period, customs data showed. The increase was partly driven by China’s...

Detainees at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas told two rights groups they were beaten by guards, denied medical care and prevented from contacting family and lawyers, according to a report issued on Wednesday. The report, issued by Human ‌Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, spans dozens of pages and is based on 80 interviews HRW conducted with detainees that focused on conditions at Camp East Montana, which is located at the US Army’s Fort...

From rare earth elements to commercial drones, Washington has become all too familiar with the strongest weapons in Beijing’s manufacturing arsenal – the materials and products where China holds a strategic advantage in production, extraction or any other link in the supply chain. After those near-monopolies provided Chinese policymakers considerable leverage in last year’s trade dispute, US think tanks are asking whether pharmaceuticals represent the next critical dependency. Their concern is...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that arch foe Iran has freed an American citizen detained since December 2024 and allowed her to leave the country. “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump posted on social media, adding: “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” Trump – who in recent days has ordered a resumption of strikes against Iran and reimposed a naval blockade of its ports – did not name the woman or describe why she...

A former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was sentenced to more than three years in prison for lying to federal investigators looking into whether he shared confidential data with Chinese intelligence operatives, the Justice Department said. John Harold Rogers, 64, was convicted at trial on February 3 of making false statements to investigators about sharing information on monetary policy, Washington US attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement on Wednesday after the...

Iran ⁠said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz was an inviolable “red line”, warning that if US President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran’s infrastructure, it would strike all infrastructure across the Gulf region. The US intensified its strikes on Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting US allies...

On July 12, a coalition of 14 nations – the United States, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Britain, Japan, New Zealand, and seven European states including Germany, Italy and the Baltic nations – issued a statement marking the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea ruling at The Hague in 2016. The document recycled familiar arguments, urging compliance with the ruling and framing it as a cornerstone of the rules-based international order. But beneath it lies a fundamental disconnect from...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening programme for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best”. The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be...

US President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, faced ⁠tense bipartisan questioning at a US Senate panel on Wednesday about the roll-out of the Epstein files and a settlement that gave the president sweeping tax immunity. Blanche, the president’s former personal lawyer, was pressed by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas about the Justice Department’s decision to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service by creating a since-abandoned US$1.8 billion fund...

French lawmakers on Wednesday adopted ⁠a bill that will create a legal right to assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses, capping an intense ethical and political debate. The legislation will, under strict conditions, allow a person who requests it to receive a lethal substance. The substance could be self-administered or, if the person is physically unable to do so, administered by ‌a doctor or nurse. Access to assisted dying will be restricted to adults who are French citizens or...

A man who threatened on social media in May to shoot Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage was arrested, London police said on Wednesday, as concerns grow over the security of politicians following the killing of Ann Widdecombe, a former member of parliament. The man was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of sending threatening communications to a member of parliament, the Metropolitan Police said. “I am going to shoot you in the head if you win,” he allegedly told Farage on social media, according...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he was leaving the United Kingdom “in better shape than I found it” as he fielded questions, criticism and even a bit of praise from lawmakers in the House of Commons for the last time on Wednesday. Starmer, who leaves office next week, bid farewell to the boisterous weekly Prime Minister’s Questions sessions where he has traded barbs with opposition politicians and defended his government’s record. On Monday, he will step down as prime minister after losing...

When Shabir Ahmed, a convicted leader in one of Britain’s grooming gang cases, was released from prison this month and allowed to stay in the country rather than being deported to Pakistan, the political fallout extended well beyond a single immigration dispute. The case has become a test for the ruling Labour party, which is under pressure both as the government responsible for deportation policy and over criticism of failures by some local authorities to protect vulnerable girls. Analysts said...

Unexploded munitions were hampering efforts by firefighters to tackle a blaze in a national park in northern Germany, local officials said on Wednesday. Old munitions buried in the soil from an abandoned military training ground have forced them to stay at least 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) from the flames, officials from the Mecklenburg Seenplatte district said. “Emergency services cannot actively put out the fire – that is the problem,” district spokesman Marten Schroeder said of the fire in...

The Pentagon has blocked the public release of a congressionally mandated annual report on the costly and controversial F-35 fighter jet programme for the first time in more than 20 years. The non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Defence Department officials concluded its yearly assessment of the US$1.6 trillion programme contained Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) – which meant none of the report could be released to the public. The report has offered a key window...

Generative AI chatbots capable of writing emails and computer code, translating, organising a trip or coming up with gift ideas are now readily available – prompting some to ask whether human brainpower could suffer for lack of use. A simple natural-language prompt is usually enough to draw a usable response from a service like ChatGPT or Claude, with the effects making themselves felt in schools and universities, workplaces from offices to courtrooms and our personal lives. Recent scientific...

Iran threatened on Wednesday to ⁠shut off more regional energy exports, after the US reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports and both sides launched more strikes as they vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz. The apparent threat to shipping through Bab el-Mandeb, a gateway to the Red Sea, follows an escalation between Iran and the US since last week that has severely frayed a tentative truce signed in June. The war, which began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28,...

A new era began between Spain and the tiny British territory of Gibraltar on Wednesday, as border checks that have long been a source of tension and frustration were finally lifted. Several dozen people and vehicles crossed the border from Spain for the first time without undergoing customs checks a few minutes after midnight. Several hundred people gathered for the occasion, waving Spanish flags, while Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, announced: “Europe is back”. Gibraltar, a...

There will be no turning back the clock if the US House has its way. The House passed a bill on Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent. Proponents, including the White House, argued the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active. The vote was 308-117. Daylight saving time is that period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the United States are set one hour ahead of standard time. States could opt out if their respective...

A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed “Gus” sold on Tuesday for US$50.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York, making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil bought at auction, after a 10-minute battle between seven bidders. “Gus” is one of the world’s most complete T. rex skeletons – with 183 fossilised bones – and was discovered on a cattle ranch in South Dakota in 2021. The giant beast lived some 72 to 66 million years ago – a period characterised by a warm climate, high sea levels and vast...

US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers Tuesday that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. During a rare appearance by justices before Congress, Barrett said she had to take a bulletproof vest home a few years ago, something she struggled to explain to her 12-year-old son. “I didn’t expect that performing this service would put me in the position of explaining to my children what a...

Warren Buffett has stopped donating to the Gates Foundation, ending a two-decade philanthropic partnership following revelations about interactions between Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett said on Tuesday that he was donating about US$6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock, comprising 12 million Class B shares, in his annual midyear donation to four family foundations overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter. The...

British ⁠counterterrorism police said on Tuesday that ⁠former government minister Ann Widdecombe, who was found murdered at her home last week, was clearly targeted, adding that officers were still working to establish the motive. “It is clear that this was a targeted attack. We are still working ‌to understand the extent of any planning or preparation and the motivation that sits behind that attack,” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Britain’s counterterrorism policing, told...

US President Donald Trump lashed out on Wednesday at a decision by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to suspend the use of traffic stops after two fatal shootings in less than a week. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) halted the practice after a Colombian man was shot dead in Maine on Monday and a Mexican man was killed in an operation in Texas last week. “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump said in an early...

Writer E. Jean Carroll has collected over US$5.6 million that a jury awarded in her sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against US President Donald Trump, court records and her lawyers said. The payment – representing the US$5 million jury award, plus interest – was made Monday from an account where it had been held in escrow since the 2023 verdict, according to court records. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed the payment on Tuesday. “We are pleased to report that she has received the...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday abandoned plans to impose a 20 per cent charge on commercial cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, less than a day after unveiling the proposal, while pressing ahead with a naval blockade targeting Iranian trade. Trump said the proposed fee would be replaced by trade and investment agreements with Gulf states following discussions with regional leaders. “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the...

US consumer inflation slowed more than expected in June as energy prices retreated, but the moderation was insufficient to convince financial markets to take an interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve this year off the table against the backdrop of renewed conflict in the Middle East. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Labour Department on Tuesday also showed underlying inflation subsiding last month amid declines in the costs of motor vehicle insurance, communication, apparel,...

Louis Vuitton is set to face off against China’s trademark regulator in a Chinese intellectual property court on Thursday, as the French luxury brand deals with public backlash in China over a separate legal battle against a local milk tea brand. Louis Vuitton Malletier filed the administrative lawsuit against the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), with a Chinese individual – Huang Minyao – joined as a third party, according to a notice published by the Beijing...

Xi Jinping said that the development of artificial intelligence systems should be a “symphony of global collaboration.”

The Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage estimate they’ve removed 6,000 pounds of refuse from ponds on Cape Cod. “It’s the best feeling,” one said.

First step: Agree on a goal.

Federal officials worked with Michigan investigators to trace the outbreak to iceberg lettuce, which may also have gone to other vendors.

With the Voting Rights Act weakened, Black representation will depend less on Black voters and more on broad, multiracial appeal or on ideological outsider campaigns.

Voting-rights activists said the changes are a blatant attempt by G.O.P. leaders to make it harder for Black voters and students, who tend to vote for Democrats, to cast ballots this fall.

See some of the best images from the world’s most popular sporting event.

Undrinkable water. Leaks. Mold. Federal courthouses need billions of dollars in repairs, and judges say the General Services Administration is a bad landlord.

Big business made big promises about saving the planet. Following through hasn’t been easy.

Our critic Jason Farago shares what you shouldn’t miss in a city full of secrets and surprises.

The Trump White House and its history police want us all to live in their chosen bubble, immune from instability or perceived disorder.

For decades, Democrats have misunderstood Latino voters. Trump’s deportation campaign offers a chance for them to get it right.

We look at the place of Homer’s epic “Odyssey” in our cultural lives.

New York Times editors and reporters want to answer your questions about how we work and why we make the decisions that we do.

After 165 years, the tourist ritual — which now costs $77.22 for the first 20 minutes — may be coming to an end. Here’s a tour through the archives.