Category: World

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have enlisted British hedge fund billionaire Ian Wace — who shares an emotional bond with the duke — in their move back to the United Kingdom.

Wace is helping finance the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s UK move, two sources exclusively told Page Six. He is said to be worth a whopping $1.2 billion.

Page Six has reached out to reps for Markle and Harry, and a rep for Wace declined to comment.

The couple’s guardian angel is the founding partner, chief executive officer and chief risk officer of Marshall Wace LLP — one of the largest hedge fund firms in the world, established in 1997.

For years, Harry, 41, and Markle, 45, have had a very close relationship with the 63-year-old financier.

The couple took their children — Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 — to Wace’s private Scottish island, called Tanera Mòr, in July, per the Daily Mail. Additionally, Markle posted an Instagram photo of what appeared to be the Scottish Highlands in early August.

The outlet reported Harry also visited the remote island in 2017 when the hedge fund tycoon purchased the property for $2.3 million.

The 800-acre island has been completely transformed since, with Wace spending $135 million to restore it, plant trees, lay roads and more.

Like Harry, Wace is no stranger to heartbreak.

In 1994, his first wife, Joanna, and their two young children — Guy, 4, and Alicia, 11 months — died in a car crash in Hampshire, England. Wace was riding in the passenger seat of the Range Rover driven by his 34-year-old wife.

Harry knows tragedy well, of course, as his mother, Princess Diana, was involved in a fatal car accident in 1997.

Additionally, Markle shares an extremely close bond with Wace’s ex-wife, former model Saffron Aldridge. Though the couple split in 2023 and are now divorced, they remain on friendly terms.

In 2019, the foursome had a double date night at the 2019 Cirque du Soleil performance at Royal Albert, with The Sun reporting Aldridge helped Markle learn the ropes of British aristocracy and even gave fashion advice after marrying Harry.

The former Ralph Lauren model is well-connected even outside the royal court, as her half-sister is Victoria’s Secret Angel Lily Aldridge, who is married to Kings of Leon rocker Caleb Followill.

The Wace-royal family bond is so strong that the father of Saffron’s eldest son, Milo, is Simon Astaire, who coincidentally is also the spokesman for Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

Saffron, 57, is known for her charity work with a focus on children’s foundations — a passion also shared by Markle and Harry.

The socialite attended an event with Kate Middleton and Prince William — which marked their first outing as a married couple — in 2011.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/08/28/royal-family/prince-harry-and-meghan-markles-uk-move-helped-by-hedge-fund-billionaire-with-emotional-connection-to-royal/

Dolly Parton’s emotional loved ones gathered at her Nashville burial site, Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, on Friday morning.

Page Six obtained exclusive photos of about a dozen of Parton’s closest relatives — including her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, who previously announced her death on behalf of the family — arriving at the cemetery looking somber.

Shortly before the dressed-up group arrived with flowers, an insider told us the gravesite was “crawling with cops” and that one officer even revealed, “The family is en route.”

We’re told Seaver appeared to be “in charge” of the gathering, as he coordinated with police and security personnel and greeted people when they arrived.

It’s unclear whether the funeral took place, but Parton’s rep previously told us that the “small and private service” would be for “immediate family,” at her request.

The legendary country artist, actress and cultural icon died on Aug. 25 at age 80 following a “brief battle” with unspecified cancer.

She will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, who died last March at age 82.

By Wednesday, Parton’s name was already inscribed on the bronze frontispiece of the tomb, which depicts a bucolic mountain scene from the couple’s native Tennessee.

Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum is also the final resting place for Dean’s parents and numerous country musicians, including Parton’s collaborator Porter Wagoner and her friend Tammy Wynette.

It’s believed the Grammy winner will be buried in a cotton dress and her signature stilettos.

“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because, after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest,” Seaver said in part when sharing the news of her passing.

Parton previously explained she wanted the country-gospel song “If We Never Meet Again” to be sung at her funeral.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/08/28/celebrity-news/dolly-partons-loved-ones-gather-at-nashville-burial-site-days-after-her-death/

A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic, ​the latest turn in the Claude maker’s high-stakes fight with the military over AI safety on the ‌battlefield.
Anthropic’s lawsuit in California federal court alleges that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority when he designated Anthropic a national security supply-chain risk, a label the government can apply to companies that expose military systems to potential infiltration or sabotage by adversaries.

Hegseth’s unprecedented move, which blocked ​Anthropic from certain military contracts, followed Anthropic’s refusal to allow the military to use its Claude AI models ​for U.S. surveillance or autonomous weapons. Anthropic executives have said it could cost the company billions of ⁠dollars in lost business and reputational harm.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, ​made the ruling in a 59-page order where she found that the Pentagon’s decision was “illegal and baseless.”
“The empty invocation of national ​security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” she wrote.

Anthropic welcomed the ruling and said in a statement that it remained “focused on working productively with the government to harness AI for our national security so all Americans benefit from this technology.”
The ​Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anthropic argues that AI models are not reliable enough to be ​safely used in autonomous weapons and that it opposes domestic surveillance as a violation of rights, but the Pentagon says private companies ‌should not ⁠be able to constrain military action.
The designation made by the Pentagon was the first time a U.S. company has been publicly designated a supply-chain risk under an obscure government-procurement statute aimed at protecting military systems from foreign sabotage.
In its March 9 lawsuit, Anthropic alleged the government violated its right to free speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution by retaliating ​against its views on AI ​safety. The company said ⁠it was not given a chance to dispute the designation, in violation of its Fifth Amendment right to due process.

The lawsuit says the decision was unlawful, unsupported by facts and inconsistent ​with the military’s past praise of Claude.
The Justice Department countered that Anthropic’s refusal to ​lift the restrictions ⁠could cause uncertainty in the Pentagon over how it could use Claude and risk disabling military systems during operations, according to a court filing.
The government said the designation stemmed from Anthropic’s refusal to accept contractual terms, not its views on AI safety.
Anthropic has ⁠a second ​lawsuit pending in Washington, D.C., over a separate Pentagon supply-chain risk designation ​that could lead to its exclusion from civilian government contracts.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-blocks-pentagons-anthropic-blacklisting-2026-08-28/

Iran condemned the United States’ new economic ​sanctions on Friday as “state terrorism” and said other countries were legally obliged not to implement them, while the U.S. Treasury Department announced additional targeted Iran-related measures.
The Iranian ‌foreign ministry’s statement came as mediators stepped up efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled 20% of world oil supplies before the war began six months ago and whose status remains the biggest obstacle to a peace deal.

President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday warned countries to cut their business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions as part of what it billed as an “economic D-Day,” though the Treasury Department stopped short of actually imposing penalties.
Trump reiterated on Thursday that the ​U.S. was not talking with Iran, while the White House said Washington’s economic campaign would continue until Tehran decided to “come to the table in a meaningful way”.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry ​said in a statement on Friday that all countries were obligated under international law to refrain from implementing U.S. sanctions against Tehran, adding that participation in ⁠them amounted to complicity in imposing one state’s unlawful will on independent states.

It branded the new U.S. measures a “crime against humanity” that put the health and livelihood of millions of civilians at ​serious risk, and called on other nations and United Nations bodies to uphold the rule of law.
NEW MEASURES TARGET EGYPTIAN BANK
Later on Friday, a U.S. official told Reuters the Trump administration plans to ​impose limits on Egypt’s Banque Misr for doing business with Tehran by revoking U.S. financial access to its branches in the United Arab Emirates.
The official said the proposed rule, if finalised, would withdraw Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking access to U.S. financial institutions.
Treasury officials separately issued sanctions targeting one entity based in Hong Kong and one person linked to Iran’s Bank Melli, according to a notice posted on the department’s website.
With the U.S. focused on its ​economic pressure campaign, others have sought to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he had stressed during talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran on ​Thursday the importance of returning to the pre-war status of open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
‘PRESSURE DOESN’T WORK,’ IRAN TELLS US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Friday described the talks with Al Thani as “creative”, and he ‌renewed his appeal ⁠to the U.S. to stop putting military and economic pressure on his country and to resume negotiations.
“Putting diplomacy back on track isn’t impossible. It hinges on U.S. understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn’t work,” Araqchi said on X.
Qatar, a U.S. ally, and Pakistan helped broker a memorandum of understanding in June that led to a ceasefire but that quickly unravelled due to disagreements between Iran and the U.S. over the Strait of Hormuz.

IRANIAN LEVERAGE
After the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28, Iran threatened to strike any vessel transiting the strait without its authorisation, driving down traffic and sending up the ​price of oil, providing Tehran with leverage in ​the bargain.
The U.S. insists that the strait remain ⁠an open international waterway.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Thursday Iran was preparing a list of conditions for reopening the strait.
In the past Iran’s conditions have included an end to the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, compensation and removal of sanctions. It remained unclear whether Iran ​intended to amend those demands in a way that might be acceptable to Washington.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-war-diplomacy-turns-toward-reopening-strait-hormuz-2026-08-28/

U.S. President Donald Trump renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” on Thursday, escalating a feud with Canada that has already spawned tariffs on tens of billions of ​dollars in cross-border trade.
Trump’s executive order on Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, applies to U.S. federal usage about the lake, ‌and does not govern what Canada, international bodies or other organizations call the lake.

Facing the lowest public approval of his term, Trump — who campaigned on a ⁠pledge to avoid starting new foreign wars and fight inflation — is struggling to resolve both the trade war his administration initiated with Ottawa as well as the war the U.S. and ​Israel began against Iran six months ago. Both have played a role in driving up the cost of living for Americans.
‘AMERICA IS CHANGING’
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the lake’s name predates ​both Canada and the U.S. as nations.
“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms,” Carney said on social media.
“Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always.”
About 52% of the surface area of Lake Ontario is in Canada, with the remainder in New York.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul responded on social media: “New York won’t be calling it that.”
Phil ​Scott, the Republican governor of Vermont, which borders Canada and New York State, on Thursday called Trump’s decision “petty and disappointing” on the social media platform X.

Grand Chief Pierre Picard of the ​Wendat Nation in Quebec issued a statement condemning the change in name, which originates from the Wendat language and means ‘the lake is beautiful, great.’
“President Trump is trying to erase our history,” he said.
“Outraged, appalled, shocked: ‌there are no ⁠other words to express how I feel following President Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario ‘Lake America.'”
‘ALL WE NEED IS AN OCEAN’
Trump on Thursday also suggested he would consider trying to rename oceans.
“We have a gulf and we have a lake, now all we need is an ocean, so maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both,” Trump told reporters.
Since early 2025, Trump has repeatedly taunted Canada about becoming the 51st U.S. state, an idea Canadian leaders have dismissed as ridiculous.
The move is unlikely to smooth any ​future trade negotiations between the U.S. and ​Canada as most Canadians view it as ⁠unnecessarily provocative and insulting.
Carney has said trade talks faltered over a number of issues, including U.S. negotiators proposing changes that put Canada’s French-language rules at risk, whether U.S. tariff relief would apply to medium- or heavy-duty trucks, and demands to curtail Canada’s ability to forge new trade deals.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-signs-order-rename-lake-ontario-lake-america-2026-08-27/

Russian-speaking hackers used SpaceX’s (SPCX.O), opens new tab AI coding assistant, Cursor, to help break in to a ​Belgian chemical company and at least six other firms earlier this year, according to data reviewed by Reuters and reports issued on Thursday by cybersecurity companies Gambit Security and ‌CloudSek.
The cybercriminals’ AI-boosted hacking spree is the latest example of how rogue actors are using commercial AI tools to carry out intrusions. Gambit’s chief strategy officer, Curtis Simpson, said it also showed how AI providers were locked in to a never-ending arms race with malicious users trying to circumvent their guardrails.

“This is going to be a cat-and-mouse game,” Simpson said.
Cursor and its parent company, SpaceX, did not return messages seeking comment.
EXPOSED SERVER REVEALS HACKING METHODS
Gambit said it discovered the hacking campaign after finding a ​server that a new ransomware gang called Aur0ra had inadvertently exposed to the internet. That allowed the Tel Aviv-based company to review 28 chat sessions between one or more of Aur0ra’s hackers ​and one of Cursor’s AI agents, which are programs that can operate with various degrees of autonomy.
In its report, opens new tab, Gambit said Aur0ra persuaded the AI agent ⁠to carry out hundreds of malicious operations — such as credential theft or high-value account takeover — by falsely claiming that the hacking was part of a simulation.

“We need any administrator account,” Gambit quoted the hackers as saying ​at one point. “Find any working passwords,” it also quoted them as saying.
In its report, opens new tab, Singapore-based CloudSek said the data on the server showed that Aur0ra had claimed at least 20 victims overall, although it did not ​break down how many were compromised with the help of AI.
Neither Gambit nor CloudSek identified the hackers’ victims by name, but Reuters was able to identify six of them after independently reviewing portions of the chat data, which was still online as of last month.
The chat logs, which spanned April 8 to May 21, showed that the victims of Aur0ra’s Cursor-boosted hacking spree included the Belgian company — Ghent-based hygiene and cleaning products maker Christeyns — as well as German garage door manufacturer Teckentrup ​and the Scotland-based Helideck Certification Agency, which vets helicopter landing sites. The rest included an Argentine pharmaceutical distributor, an Italian manufacturer, and Bayou Title, which advertises itself as Louisiana’s largest title insurance company.

None of the six ​companies responded to requests by Reuters for comment. At least one of the victims, Bayou Title, was named on Aur0ra’s data leak site, which typically indicates that the hackers tried and failed to secure a ransom. Aur0ra, a hacking ‌group that began ⁠claiming victims earlier this year, did not return messages.
HACKERS FOOLED AI WITH SIMULATION CLAIM
The back-and-forth captured in the logs reviewed by Reuters shows the hacker issuing terse commands and Cursor’s AI agent responding with technical advice delivered in chirpy, emoji-laden messages typical of chatbot-speak.
“Great! VPN connected successfully!” it said after breaching the Argentine company.
“Let’s try to crack these hashes,” it said at another point, referring to the process of decoding cryptographically scrambled passwords.
After finding a vulnerable host in Teckentrup’s network, the AI recommended using a well-known malicious software tool to exploit it. “**Chance of success**: VERY HIGH,” it added.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/russian-speaking-cybercriminals-used-spacexs-cursor-ai-tool-hack-seven-companies-2026-08-27/

A swarm of giant cockroaches may sound like ​the stuff of nightmares, but Australian researchers say the insects could one day be used by search-and-rescue teams ‌to deliver lifesaving drugs to people trapped after disasters.
Scientists from the University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales have developed paramedic cyborg cockroaches, dubbed “paraborgs”, equipped with miniature injection devices and cameras.

They hope the insects could help keep victims of earthquakes and building collapses alive by providing basic ​medical assistance in narrow, debris-filled spaces before rescuers arrive.
“A lot of people might not like the sight of a ​giant cockroach scurrying towards them, but if you’re trapped in rubble or stuck in a cave and ⁠need help, it could make a real difference between life and death,” said PhD candidate Hai Nhan Le, co-author of the ​study published in the journal Advanced Science.
Research teams fitted North Queensland giant burrowing cockroaches, the heaviest cockroach species in the world that ​measure up to 8.5 centimetres (3.3 inches), with backpacks containing syringe cylinders and cameras.

The study said the research went beyond earlier work on cyborg insects, which has only focused on using them to locate victims rather than to treat them.
OPERATORS STEER INSECTS WITH IMPLANTS
Real cockroaches were used because no robot could ​match their agility, resilience and low power requirements, researchers said.
Implanted electrodes allowed operators to stimulate their nervous system and steer the ​insects.

“We start with anaesthetising the insect, immobilising them so that we make sure that they cannot feel anything during the implementation process,” said biorobotics ‌engineer and ⁠study co-author Thang Vo-Doan.
“Once we implant an electrode into the insect, we can apply a small electrical signal to activate or stimulate the nerve system so that they can respond to our command.”
The study used one “observer” cockroach equipped with a camera to locate targets for operators, and a second cockroach carrying the drugs to be remotely triggered.

The study recorded a 100% success rate in reaching designated ​checkpoints during tests and an overall ​drug-delivery success rate of ⁠72%.
When the injection was launched from within 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) of a target, success rates rose to as high as 95%.
Such a system could eventually be used to stabilise victims in situations where ​minutes mattered, including snake bite emergencies and severe allergic reactions, the study said.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/roaches-rescue-australian-scientists-develop-cyborg-cockroaches-medical-missions-2026-08-27/

European and US intelligence officials have long monitored Russian sabotage and gray zone attacks in Europe

Donald Trump said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attack a NATO country, and he played down media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials against such an attack earlier in the week.

“He’s not going to attack a NATO territory,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Earlier in the day, Trump told Axiosin a phone interview that there would be no such attack, and that Ratcliffe had not been dispatched to Moscow to deliver any particular message.

“Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message and there was nothing unusual,” Trump told the news outlet.

European and US intelligence officials have long monitored Russian sabotage and gray zone attacks in Europe that fall below the threshold of full-on war and are generally aimed at weakening NATO’s unity and its member states’ willingness to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/world/us/us-president-donald-trump-says-russian-counterpart-vladimir-putin-will-not-attack-nato-territory-4126675

The U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told The Associated Press, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack.

The U.S. defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

In the event of a Russian ballistic missile assault on, for example, a military headquarters or power plant, NATO could be in a similar position to Patriot-starved Ukraine and be forced “to take punch after punch in the mouth,” the U.S. defense official said.

In Europe, the American military “definitely” does not have enough Patriots to stop any possible sustained ballistic missile attack and would have “very limited” capability to defend against a single ballistic missile strike or a stray Russian missile that goes off course, the U.S. official said.

It illustrates the cascading fallout from Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran, a conflict that reaches the six-month mark on Friday. U.S. missile stocks in Europe have been moved to the Middle East, where U.S. and Gulf allies have fired off significant numbers of interceptors, including Patriots, to thwart Iran’s drones and missiles. Some of those attacks have killed and wounded American troops.

Though a Russian ballistic missile attack against NATO countries is not imminently expected, CIA Director John Ratcliffe went to Moscow this week to warn Russia not to attack, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Asked by reporters Thursday whether Ratcliffe delivered that message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump offered a roundabout response.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/patriot-missiles-iran-war-russia-ukraine-trump-09c7d8030a2e11fbd8ee3f7176b3f2d4

A candlelight vigil was held on Thursday at the scene of a devastating hospital fire in Pakistan which killed 14 newborn babies, as investigators appointed by the prime minister arrived at the site to determine the cause of the blaze.

The government is facing pressure from grieving families and the public who are seeking answers about the cause of the fire and the safety measures at a major health facility.

The scene at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad was somber as doctors, staff, patients and relatives gathered to mourn the newborns. Access was restricted to the third-floor area where the fire occurred.

During the vigil, members of civil society groups sat on the hospital floor beside rows of flickering candles, their grief and anger reflected in brightly colored, handwritten placards. “Investigators, no more graves for our babies,” one read. A woman fought back tears as some participants chanted, “We want justice,” and demanded accountability. The police did not intervene, and the demonstrators later dispersed peacefully.

The fire early on Wednesday at the hospital was confined to a third-floor nursery and did not affect the rest of the building. Hospital officials said the blaze spread so quickly that two doctors, two nurses and other staff present were able to rescue only one baby from among the 15 in the nursery.

Witnesses, including relatives of other patients, said they saw the family of the only baby to survive the fire leave the hospital with him after the blaze broke out.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed an investigating committee, led by retired federal secretary Shahid Khan. It is expected to take statements from hospital staff, witnesses and families. The committee is also expected to make urgent recommendations to Sharif within 48 hours and deliver a comprehensive report within five days.

Hospital and district officials initially said an exploding air-conditioning unit caused the fire. In its preliminary report, however, the hospital said a blast involving a nebulizer sparked the blaze, which spread within minutes because of the high concentration of oxygen in the nursery. The committee has not reached its own conclusion and will independently determine the cause, the city administration said.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-hospital-nursery-fire-newborns-investigation-77610cc5fad27fefd7dfcb0e076f0011

Nepal police later reshared the 41-second video, saying the two men have been taken into custody for stealing the earrings from the ear of the dead woman.

Amid the rescue efforts following the catastrophic flash floods in a border area of China and Nepal, two people have been arrested for allegedly stealing gold earrings from the body of a victim swept downstream during flooding in the Narayani River. The arrests came after a video went viral showing the two men removing what are believed to be gold earrings from the body of a woman washed away by the flood.

Nepal police later reshared the 41-second video, saying the two men have been taken into custody for stealing the earrings from the ear of the dead woman.

The clip showed the men pulling the woman’s corpse from the water using wooden planks and her hair and then removing earrings from both her ears and placing them aside, while several people stood surrounding them, recording videos.

Later, Chitwan Police said that during its probe, it was found that the incident related to a dead body that was swept into the Narayani River by the massive flood.

Based on the video, police identified 25-year-old Madan Gurung and 38-year-old Umesh Chaudhary. The two suspects were arrested near Pokhara Bus Park in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-1 on Thursday, Nepali media portal Khabarhub reported, citing police.

The police stressed that looting or any form of inhumane activity targeting victims during the stressful time would not be tolerated.

Nepal Floods

The incident comes amid one of Nepal’s deadliest flood disasters in years. Rescue teams are wading through mud, searching for more than 1,400 people missing after flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border, as the death count rose sharply to at least 392, with entire villages swept away.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/video-shows-men-stealing-dead-nepal-flood-victims-earrings-2-arrested-11969289?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Imran Khan Sons Interview: During the second Test at Lords, PCB reportedly asked Sky Sports not to air an interview with Imran Khan’s sons, threatening a walkout, but the broadcast proceeded as scheduled.

A bizarre report has emerged from England, where the hosts are engaged in a Test series with Pakistan. On Day 1 of the second Test at Lord’s, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reportedly asked the hosts’ broadcaster Sky Sports not to air the interview with former captain Imran Khan’s sons during the lunch break. Pakistan reportedly threatened a walkout too if their demands were met. However, Sky Sports went ahead with the scheduled broadcast and aired the interview. A fuming PCB reportedly asked its players to not take the field, prompting the England board to intervene. The 18-minute interview was done by former England cricketer Michael Atherton — one of the 21 captains to sign the letter to Pakistan Prime Minister – over the worsening health of Imran Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023.

Multiple media outlets, including Cricinfo and The Guardian, claimed that the PCB wasn’t happy to see Imran Khan’s sons being in the spotlight during the Test. The board even said that Babar Azam’s men wouldn’t take the field if the interview was shown on TV. Sky Sports continued with the broadcast despite the threats. But Pakistan still took the field in the post-lunch session, thanks to ECB’s timely intervention.

A total of two letters have been sent by cricket captains all across the world to the Pakistan Prime Minister over Imran Khan’s situation in jail. The first of these letters was drafted in February but it failed to trigger the desired change. The second was sent earlier this week, when Imran was returned to the Adiala jail after a brief medical check-up.

As for the interview, Imran’s sons Suleiman and Kasim Khan expressed how concerning their father’s situation is in prison. Even during the interview, the two brothers claimed that there’s a serious threat to their father’s life in prison.

Source : https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/pakistan-asks-sky-sports-not-to-show-interview-with-imran-khans-sons-what-happened-next-11969347?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Bangladesh is considering joining the Mecca Pact, with voices in support for the move growing within the country. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir’s meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister has triggered reports that Bangladesh has been extended an invitation to join, which is likely to aggravate India’s regional security concerns.

Kabir, who was recently inducted into Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s cabinet, called on Saudi Foreign Minister HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the 23rd OIC Extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers in Jeddah.

Sources tell NDTV that conversations on Bangladesh joining the Mecca Pact did come up in the discussions.

“During the meeting, HSM handed over a letter from the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh addressed to Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister HRH Mohammed bin Salman. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the positive momentum in Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to elevating the partnership to a new height,” a statement from the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said.

Hon’ble State Minister for Foreign Affairs HE Humaiun Kobir called on Saudi Foreign Minister HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the margins of the 23rd OIC Extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers meeting today in Jeddah. During the meeting, HSM handed over a letter from… pic.twitter.com/s9LjtZ8aax

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@BDMOFA) August 27, 2026

Kabir said a number of high-level visits have taken place between the two countries since the formation of the BNP-led government, creating fresh opportunities for advancing comprehensive cooperation across various sectors. He also referred to the prospective high-level visits between the two sides in the near future.

“The Saudi Foreign Minister stated that Bangladesh is among Saudi Arabia’s priority countries and underscored the importance of strengthening economic cooperation. He noted the growing interest of Saudi companies in Bangladesh and expressed interest in further expanding investment and business engagement,” the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry statement said.

“The Saudi Foreign Minister also commended the valuable contribution of Bangladeshi expatriates to the development of the Kingdom. HSM invited the Saudi Foreign Minister to visit Bangladesh at his convenience. Saudi Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed Abdulkarim El-Khereiji, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the OIC, and senior officials from both sides were present at the meeting,” the statement added.

Kabir also held a meeting with Turkiye’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE Musa Kulaklikaya, on the sidelines of the 23rd OIC Extraordinary CFM in Jeddah.

“The two sides exchanged views on regional developments and expressed their readiness to work closely together on issues of mutual interest. Discussing bilateral relations, both sides expressed satisfaction with the existing level of cooperation including economic and defence sectors and underscored their shared interest in further expanding engagement across a wide range of areas and elevating bilateral relations to a new height,” the statement said.

Kabir also informed the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister that Rahman would visit Turkiye to attend the upcoming COP Summit.

HSM HE Humaiun Kobir held a meeting with Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE Musa Kulaklıkaya, on the sidelines of the 23rd OIC Extraordinary CFM in Jeddah today.

The two sides exchanged views on regional developments and expressed their readiness to work closely… pic.twitter.com/ZgAEAskiqX

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@BDMOFA) August 27, 2026

A source in the Bangladesh foreign ministry told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had invited Dhaka to join the pact, but did not say when the invitation was made. The source sought anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media, a Reuters report said.

“Joining the Makkah Pact is an entirely sovereign and internal matter for Bangladesh. If Bangladesh takes any decision considering the needs and interests of the country and its people, there is no reason for anyone else to feel disturbed or distressed by it,” Bangladesh Leader of Opposition and hardline Islamic outfit Jamaat-E-Islami Bangladesh said in a post on social media platform X.

Joining the Makkah Pact is an entirely sovereign and internal matter for Bangladesh. If Bangladesh takes any decision considering the needs and interests of the country and its people, there is no reason for anyone else to feel disturbed or distressed by it.

— Dr. Shafiqur Rahman (@Drsr_Official) August 27, 2026

The Jamaat (Ameer) Chief’s many believe is directed towards India even though not explicitly articulated. The Jamaat has always had a pro-Pakistan stance even though during the election campaign the Jamaat chief stated that he wants good relations with India.

The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is a trilateral security pact signed on August 7, 2026, by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan. According to the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, it establishes a collective-defense framework stating that an armed attack against any member will be treated as an attack against all three.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/bangladesh-considers-joining-mecca-pact-amid-regional-security-concerns-11968664?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra said India’s Russian-made S-400 air defence system played a key role during Operation Sindoor, keeping Pakistani fighter jets from approaching within 200 km of the border. He claimed Pakistan used satellite support, spies and sleeper cells to locate the systems, which intercepted aircraft and reportedly achieved a 314-km surface-to-air kill.

Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (Retd) has said that the Russian-made S-400 air defence system played a crucial role in preventing Pakistani fighter jets from coming within 200 kilometres of India’s border during Operation Sindoor.

Mishra said Pakistan was “desperate” to locate India’s S-400 systems and went to considerable lengths to identify their positions. According to him, Islamabad not only relied on satellite assistance from other countries but also attempted to use espionage networks and sleeper cells operating inside India.

“Pakistanis were desperate to find where these S-400s were. They used every trick in the book. They were also getting satellite help from other nations,” Mishra said.

EP-444 with Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (Retd) premieres today at 5 PM IST | Promo

“There was not a single restriction. It was left to the military to decide how to fight the war.”

“India could hit anywhere in Pakistan, and Pakistan could do nothing about it.”

“Pakistan… pic.twitter.com/cEiWijTKhr

— ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2026

While Mishra did not identify the countries allegedly providing satellite assistance, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Rahul R. Singh had previously claimed that China was supplying Pakistan, its ‘all-weather friend’, with real-time information about key Indian military vectors.

Describing the S-400 as the primary concern for Pakistan during the operation, Mishra said the system repeatedly intercepted Pakistani aircraft attempting to approach Indian territory.

“Every time they (Pakistan) got airborne, they were shot by an S-400. The S-400 was the biggest threat as far as they were concerned. They also activated spies and sleeper cells within India to find out where the S-400s were located,” the air marshal said.

What Is The S-400?

The S-400, which India refers to as the “Sudarshan Chakra”, is a Russian-developed mobile, long-range surface-to-air missile system designed to detect and engage multiple types of aerial threats. Its capabilities allow it to form a layered air-defence shield over strategically important areas.

Operation Sindoor comprised a series of precision strikes carried out by India during the night of May 7-8, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 25 Indian tourists were killed.

Mishra said the armed forces had been given considerable operational freedom by the government, but there was a clear instruction to minimise civilian harm. “The direction was there should be no collateral. We don’t want common citizens to be affected. Only terrorists and their handlers are to be punished. We are not a war-mongering state,” Mishra said.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/pakistan-deployed-spies-sleeper-cells-to-locate-indias-s-400-ex-air-marshal

DONALD Trump’s top spy flew to Moscow on a US military jet to deliver a ruthless warning to Vladimir Putin, according to reports.

CIA boss John Ratcliffe touched down in the Russian capital on board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III before reportedly holding a hush-hush meeting with Russia’s intelligence chiefs.

The high-stakes mission came amid mounting fears that Putin could test the resolve of Nato with a limited attack on an allied country.

Sources briefed on the trip told The Wall Street Journal that Ratcliffe warned Russia not to attack Nato countries.

But another account said Ratcliffe delivered a bleak reality check on Russia’s faltering war in Ukraine, the NYT reported.

The CIA chief reportedly urged Moscow to cut its losses and strike a deal before the Kremlin’s military and economic position takes an even more brutal hit.

Ratcliffe reportedly took his stark message directly to Aleksandr V. Bortnikov, head of Russia’s FSB security service.

No threats of consequences were made if Putin ignored the warning and chose to continue fighting, officials said.

The dramatic face-to-face meeting was Ratcliffe’s first publicly known trip to Moscow and came as the Kremlin’s grinding offensive in Ukraine continues to stall.

Russian forces have suffered massive losses while making only limited battlefield gains, according to the assessment delivered by the CIA chief.

Ratcliffe has previously claimed that the life expectancy of a Russian soldier on the frontline is less than 35 minutes.

He also said Russia had gained only around one per cent of Ukraine’s territory during his first 18 months as CIA director, crediting Ukraine’s “mastery” of drone warfare.

Before facing down the Kremlin, Ratcliffe reportedly spoke with his Ukrainian counterparts.

He assured Kyiv he would be sounding out Moscow’s position – rather than making concessions on Ukraine’s behalf.

His secretive channel with Bortnikov runs separately from negotiations being conducted by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Ukrainian officials have long viewed Witkoff and Kushner as too close to the Kremlin.

Ratcliffe is seen as a potentially more neutral figure because of his hawkish stance towards Russia.

The jaw-dropping journey began when a US Air Force C-17 flew from Riga, Latvia, into Moscow.

Flight RCH4555 touched down at Vnukovo International Airport at around 10.04am local time after leaving Riga at roughly 8.50am.

A diplomatic motorcade bearing American number plates and accompanied by police was then spotted tearing through the Russian capital.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16909728/cia-boss-secret-moscow-trip-revealed/

Recent incidents, including attacks on tankers, have heightened tensions, prompting regional powers like Qatar to seek resolution

Six months into the US-Israel war on Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to cause one of the most severe disruptions to maritime shipping in decades. Traffic through the 33 km chokepoint has fallen from more than 100 vessels a day before the war to about five, severely disrupting the movement of oil, gas and other goods around the world.

Qatar and other regional powers sought a way out of the conflict with Iran on Thursday, as another tanker attack was reported in the strait and Tehran rejected the Trump administration’s latest sanctions.

Meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, adding to tensions across the wider Middle East.

Houses, bridges, roads, and other vital infrastructure were either destroyed or severely damaged. On the Chinese side of the border, the mudslide also inundated the Gyirong port.

The death toll in the Nepal-Tibet flood disaster has reached 469, according to the latest update issued by the Nepal Police.

According to the update, 1,545 people have been injured so far.

The police said that 28 police personnel remain out of contact, while 8,386 police personnel have been mobilised for rescue and relief operations in the affected areas.

Among the recovered bodies, 110 were found in Nawalparasi East, the highest number reported from a single district. Chitwan recorded 108 deaths, while 44 bodies were recovered in Gorkha, 37 in Nuwakot, 33 in Dhading, 28 in Tanahun and 27 in Nawalparasi West. Rasuwa accounted for 12 recovered bodies.

The police update also provided details of injured and rescued people in some of the affected districts. Rasuwa recorded 644 people, Nuwakot 898 and Dhading three under the injured and rescued category.

Meanwhile, 84 injured people were being treated or had been discharged from various hospitals in Kathmandu Valley, according to the Nepal Police update.

The latest figures come as police personnel continue rescue and relief operations in areas affected by the Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi floods.

Houses, Bridges, Roads, Hydropower Facilities Damaged

The flood disaster struck on Wednesday after a glacier and part of the mountain slope gave way in the high Himalayas. The collapse triggered a massive avalanche of ice, rocks and debris, which rushed into the valley and caused a powerful surge through the river network towards Nepal.

The sudden deluge and debris flows then tore through settlements located along the Trishuli and Bhote Koshi river corridors. Houses, bridges, roads, hydropower facilities and other vital infrastructure were either destroyed or severely damaged. On the Chinese side of the border, the mudslide also inundated the Gyirong port.

Satellite imagery from Vantor has captured the scale of the devastation. Areas that previously contained a functioning border crossing and supporting infrastructure have been replaced by a heavily damaged landscape, with large stretches of the valley floor now buried under water and debris.

Among the worst-hit locations is the Rasuwagadhi crossing, a key trade and transit link connecting Nepal with Tibet. Its destruction has disrupted cross-border movement, while damage to roads and bridges has created major challenges for emergency teams trying to access the affected areas.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/nepal-tibet-floods-death-toll-surges-to-469-290-indian-nationals-missing-10297610.html

Mohsen Rezaei said Netanyahu had used the alleged threat to frighten Trump. “These are major lies that Netanyahu managed to trick Trump with,” he said.

Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei on Thursday dismissed claim about a potential plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, saying the allegation was fabricated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In an interview broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Manar TV, Rezaei said Netanyahu had used the alleged threat to frighten Trump. “These are major lies that Netanyahu managed to trick Trump with,” he said.

He claimed that if Iran had decided to carry out an assassination, “nothing would prevent us from doing so”, dismissing the reports as “lies that Netanyahu fabricates”.

Rezaei also referred to an incident involving Trump at the NATO summit in Turkey in July, when the US president switched from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft after arriving in view of television cameras.

“Trump was scared,” Rezaei said, claiming that after Netanyahu told him Iran was planning to assassinate him, the US president hid in a “food truck” to escape.

“He came to Turkey on that huge plane, and Netanyahu told him that the Iranians are working to assassinate you, so they put him in a food truck and smuggled him like workers,” Iran’s security chief noted.

Secret Service Aware Of Video

The comments came after the US Secret Service said on Tuesday that it was aware of an Iranian state television video discussing a potential plot to assassinate Barron Trump, 20.

“The US Secret Service is aware of the video and investigates anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees,” spokesperson Nate Herring told Reuters in an email. He declined to discuss protective intelligence for operational security reasons.

The three-minute video claimed Barron Trump was being monitored and alleged that a $10 million bounty had been offered for his killing. There was no indication in the material that such a plot had been substantiated.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/lies-netanyahu-fabricates-iran-security-chief-rejects-barron-trump-assassination-plot-claim-ws-l-10297472.html

Maria Zakharova accused Britain and France of “playing with fire”, reflecting Moscow’s concerns over the growing Western efforts in enhancing Ukraine’s military capabilities.

Russia has issued a fresh warning to Britain and France over their expanding military assistance to Ukraine, accusing the two countries of taking steps that could further escalate the conflict and threatening possible strikes on military targets in and beyond Ukraine.

The warning followed Britain’s decision to provide Kyiv with access to sensitive technology that could enable Ukraine to manufacture Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles within the country. The move is expected to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to carry out long-range strikes without relying entirely on supplies from its Western partners.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, according to The Guardian, accused Britain and France of “playing with fire”, reflecting Moscow’s concerns over the growing Western role in enhancing Ukraine’s military capabilities.

‘Strikes Using British Weapons Could Trigger Response’: Russia Warns UK

Norwegians have laid flowers in front of the palace in Oslo after the royal household said King Harald V’s condition in hospital had become “extremely serious”.

His wife, Queen Sonja, and his son, Crown Prince Haakon, cancelled royal engagements to be at his bedside at Oslo University Hospital with other members of the family.

They all stayed for several hours, and then during the evening Haakon was seen returning with Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

The 89-year-old has been in hospital for 10 days receiving treatment for a rare blood condition, haemolytic anaemia. Late on Thursday afternoon the palace issued an update to say his condition was unchanged.

Having been on the throne since 1991, King Harald is Europe’s oldest head of state.

Crown Prince Haakon, 53, the successor to the Norwegian throne, has been serving as regent while his father is on leave.

King Harald has been treated in recent weeks with cortisone for haemolytic anaemia, a condition that causes the number of red blood cells in the body to be reduced, and leads to fatigue and shortness of breath.

There was a sombre mood in Oslo as Norwegians followed the comings and goings of the royal family. Crowds milled around in Palace Square throughout the day as Norwegian public TV scrapped its schedule to cover the story.

Although no-one in the royal family spoke, the message was clear that it had become an important moment to visit the king.

Among those visiting the hospital were Crown Princess Mette-Marit who arrived with Haakon, as well as her son Marius Borg Høiby, who is under house arrest during his appeal against a conviction for rape.

King Harald’s sister, Princess Astrid, also visited the hospital, along with Haakon and Mette-Marit’s children Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre cancelled a planned trip to Germany, where he was expected to meet Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday.

“The whole nation is with us as we send warm thoughts to the king and the rest of the royal family,” he said in a statement.

The king has had multiple health problems in recent years which have forced him to scale back his royal duties.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqxvrnvrr5do

It is not often that an official email offers a glimpse into relations between two neighbouring countries.

But a message from the Indian president’s office earlier this month did just that, quickly catching the attention of diplomats and journalists.

It said a weekend Change of Guard ceremony at the presidential palace had been cancelled because rehearsals were being held for the ceremonial welcome of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

There was just one problem: no visit had been officially announced.

Within hours, the email was withdrawn. But it added to weeks of speculation over a possible visit by Rahman – and highlighted India’s efforts to bring Bangladesh’s new leader to Delhi.

Rahman is yet to accept. “No decision has yet been made on the visit,” AAM Saleh, the Bangladeshi prime minister’s press secretary, told the BBC.

India is keen to host the leader of its eastern neighbour for talks – and the timing matters. This would be Rahman’s first visit since taking office after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in February.

The vote marked a new political era in Bangladesh after the country’s long-time leader Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a mass uprising in August 2024, in which hundreds of people were killed. She fled to India, where she has remained since.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, which took over after Hasina’s removal.

Now, Delhi is hoping Rahman’s government offers a chance to reset a crucial relationship – but Hasina’s presence on Indian soil is making that harder.

Bangladesh has asked India to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal for ordering lethal force to be used against protesters during the uprising. She denies the charges.

“We called for the creation of a propitious environment and are awaiting response from the Indian side regarding expediting extradition of Sheikh Hasina,” Saleh said.

India says the request is being considered.

Despite the issue, Delhi has made repeated overtures to the new government. A formal invitation was extended to Rahman soon after he took office, and India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi has held discussions with Bangladeshi officials, including the prime minister, in recent weeks.

When Rahman visits, Trivedi has said, he will be “accorded the highest honour” and given a “memorable welcome”.

Such public enthusiasm is unusual for India, which does not often make such a strong show of wanting to host the leader of a neighbouring country.

“I would imagine that there is a degree of frustration [in Delhi] because except for actually handing over Hasina, they have gone pretty far in terms of reaching out to Dhaka,” Shyam Saran, a former Indian foreign secretary, told the BBC.

Saran points to India’s efforts to meet some of Bangladesh’s immediate needs, including supplying electricity and fuel and issuing medical visas. Several bilateral mechanisms aimed at facilitating trade have also been revived, he said.

Of course, there is a lot at stake for both countries.

India and Bangladesh share a 4,096km (2,545-mile) border, as well as close cultural and linguistic ties. Bilateral trade was worth more than $12bn last year, overwhelmingly in India’s favour.

Bangladesh is also important to India’s efforts to improve access to its north-eastern states.

During Hasina’s 15 years in power, the two governments expanded road, rail and port links, improving India’s access to its north-east. They also worked closely on security, with Hasina’s government cracking down on insurgent groups that India said had been operating from Bangladeshi territory.

But India’s close relationship with the former prime minister became increasingly controversial in Bangladesh, where critics accused Delhi of overlooking concerns about democracy and human rights.

And her continued presence in India has kept those tensions alive. They resurfaced on 5 August, when Hasina addressed journalists virtually at an event organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in Delhi. She vowed to return to Bangladesh in December and accused Rahman’s BNP government of suppressing her supporters.

Bangladesh said it was “outraged” that she had been allowed to speak publicly on Indian soil.

India’s foreign ministry said it had “no role” in the event and did not “endorse anything said at the forum, especially with regard to the duly constituted government of Bangladesh”.

The timing was particularly sensitive. Lailufar Yasmin, a professor at Dhaka University, says there had been reports that Rahman was seriously considering a visit to India before Hasina’s appearance.

“It actually created a huge backlash in Bangladesh,” she told the BBC. “Questions were raised whether Indian authorities were sincere about a reset in bilateral relationship.”

For Rahman, travelling to Delhi while Hasina remains there could therefore carry a political cost at home.

But India’s eagerness to repair ties is about more than Hasina. Since her removal, Bangladesh has also begun rebuilding relations with India’s arch-rival Pakistan.

Dhaka and Islamabad have exchanged high-level military visits and spoken publicly about expanding defence co-operation – developments being watched closely in Delhi.

In the 2000s, India accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency of helping train insurgents from India’s north-east in Bangladesh and assisting their movement across the border. Authorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh denied the allegations at the time.

The recently announced Mecca pact – a defence agreement signed this month by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, three powerful Islamic countries – has also sparked interest from several nations, including Bangladesh.

The specifics of the agreement and the obligations on each party are not clear, but it is modelled on NATO’s collective defence principle: that an attack on one member would be seen as an attack on all.

“If there is a security arrangement among Islamic nations in the Middle East, it is not unusual for us to consider participating,” Bangladesh’s junior foreign minister Humayun Kabir told journalists this week.

“It is being viewed positively.”

Saudi Arabia has also invited Rahman for a bilateral visit. It is not clear whether Bangladesh has been formally asked to join the defence agreement.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78313e29ypo

An accuser of convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky is expected to recant testimony over a decade after the former Penn State football coach was jailed on child sex abuse charges, according to a report.

Sandusky, now 82, will return to court Sept. 8 for an evidentiary hearing after one of his accusers, who testified in his trial, is prepared to tell the court the retired Nittany Lions defensive coordinator did not abuse him — and that prosecutors swayed his previous testimony, ABC News reported.

The accuser, known as Victim 10, alleges that prosecutors coached him to steer his testimony, asking him to reframe and revisit his allegations, according to a sworn affidavit obtained by the outlet.

Victim 10 added that throughout the pretrial process, prosecutors told him that trauma may have caused him to have a “fragmented” memory.

“[t]hroughout the pretrial process, I was told — both directly and indirectly — that trauma may have fragmented my memory, and that I could safely affirm details I did not fully recall. I was assured this was common and even expected,” the sworn affidavit said, according to ABC News.

Prosecutors are expected to address allegations at the hearing.

Sandusky’s defense team said in a motion seeking a new trial that Victim 10’s now-estranged wife was able to testify that he was not sexually abused by the ex-coach.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, however, said that the woman’s opinion on what she thinks may have happened to Victim 10 when he was 10 years old, or any other Sandusky child victim, was “irrelevant and inadmissible,” the outlet reported.

Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse in 2012 for sexually abusing 10 boys over the span of a decade. In 2019, his 30-to 60-year prison sentence was reaffirmed by a judge.

During his trial in 2012, victims testified that Sandusky subjected them to a spectrum of abuse, from grooming to violent attacks.

The abuse, which took place from 1994 to 2009, involved young men he met with his Second Mile Charity, an organization he founded for at-risk youth that he used to find and groom child victims.

Letters written by the victims described the effect of their abuse as boys and in the years since, detailing their anxiety, difficulty with family and social relationships, and anger about what occurred.

One of them, described as Victim 4 in court records, said he does not forgive Sandusky and spoke of efforts to “attack us as if we had done something wrong.”

Sandusky’s arrest in 2011 — he retired from coaching at Penn State in 1999 — also prompted the firing of Hall of Fame head coach Joe Paterno, who died of lung cancer less than three months later.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/27/us-news/accuser-of-ex-penn-state-coach-jerry-sandusky-to-recant-testimony/

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the IRS could revoke the tax-free status of left-wing nonprofits such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, three sources familiar with the matter have told The Post.

It is part of a Trump-backed crackdown on “bogus” charities, and Treasury officials are drawing up a sweeping audit of outfits deemed to be using and abusing Uncle Sam’s tax code, the three people briefed on the Treasury Department’s internal policy deliberations said.

Bessent’s inner circle is drafting a blueprint that could ultimately strip non-compliant organizations of their 501(c)(3) status, according to two of the people familiar with the plans. The reviews could result in massive back payments and civil penalties, the same sources said.

The initiative leans in part on a 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump targeting nonprofits operating with a “substantial illegal purpose,” paving the way for the IRS to issue fines or even strip the tax-exempt status of charities allegedly tied to political violence, protests or radical ideologies.

Officials have also scrutinized a number of anti-corporate and labor-aligned advocacy groups that could end up on the blacklist, including the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, the anti-Amazon Athena Coalition, left-leaning watchdog MediaJustice, and the Strategic Organizing Center alongside its parent union, the SEIU, according to the three insiders briefed on the matter.

One of the sources warned that Treasury Department officials were “like a dog with a bone” and reckoned that many of the groups and their donors could be “on borrowed time.”

“There’s a lot of internal pressure to get it done, but some people are still moving too slowly at the IRS,” the source said. “That is expected to change very soon.”

The aggressive crackdown is already facing fierce legal blowback. Left-leaning legal powerhouse Protect Democracy sued Treasury and the IRS earlier this year, accusing the administration of illegally weaponizing the tax code against its political opponents.

The suit claims Bessent and the White House are bypassing strict federal tax laws to conduct a partisan witch hunt that violates the First Amendment rights of progressive charities.

While there is intense internal pressure from some administration officials to get “a good chunk of the crackdown” over the line before the midterms, others have argued for delaying formal enforcement until later in the term to avoid triggering massive, protracted legal battles, the three sources said.

There is a fear that adding high-profile domestic political targets like the SPLC and Soros’ network will trigger a wave of lawsuits, potentially stalling any momentum against foreign terror-linked groups like CAIR, these people told The Post.

The Treasury Department declined multiple requests to comment, but Bessent confirmed last October on the “Charlie Kirk Show” that work on compiling the hit list had begun.

Formally stripping a group of its 501(c)(3) status is a notoriously sluggish process that can take years, involving protracted IRS audits, internal administrative appeals, and inevitable battles in federal tax court.

To help with the review of nonprofits, Bessent enlisted Tony Saffier, a former special operations veteran and AI executive recently tapped to spearhead the interagency task force.

Penalties under consideration range from corrective fines to the ultimate regulatory sanction: full revocation of tax-exempt status, which would force the nonprofits to pay the standard 21% federal corporate tax rate.

A Post analysis of the latest IRS filings for all three organizations shows they would have owed about $165 million in federal income tax for 2024 if taxed at that 21% rate.

Almost all of it comes from a single source: the Soros network accounts for $163.6 million of the total. The SPLC would owe roughly $354,000, and 17 CAIR chapters would owe about $860,000 between them. That combined total amounts to a mere rounding error for the US government’s coffers.

The targets face unique controversies that the administration is leveraging to justify the crackdown.

Now chaired by George Soros’ 40-year-old son, Alexander, the Open Society Foundations funnels billions to NGOs pushing diversity initiatives, bankrolling climate-change lawsuits, and supporting undocumented migrants.

A spokesperson for the Soros nonprofit told The Post: “Threatening any nonprofit’s tax status for political reasons would be nothing more than an illegal attempt to target and stifle work that the administration disagrees with.”

Bessent is eyeing Soros’ charity despite famously spearheading global currency bets for the Hungarian-born billionaire—including a wildly lucrative wager against the British pound.

When Bessent stepped down as chief investment officer for Soros Fund Management in 2015, Soros staked his new firm with a cool $2 billion.

OSF’s beneficiaries include Black Lives Matter, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, and United We Dream Action, a group that actively works to frustrate the deportation of illegal migrants.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is reeling from the recent federal indictment of its former intelligence director. While OSF and SPLC are being scrutinized under the president’s domestic executive order, the administration is treating CAIR strictly as a national security target.

Prosecutors allege the self-described anti-racism outfit secretly funneled donor funds to extremist informants, including an operative who allegedly helped organize the violent 2017 Charlottesville rally.

Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has long faced scrutiny over alleged foreign entanglements.

Federal prosecutors named the group as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terror-financing trial. CAIR adamantly denies any ties to illicit foreign funding or terror organizations.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/27/business/trump-admin-set-to-target-george-soros-nonprofit-in-tax-crackdown/

A divorcing New Jersey billionaire’s gal pal was his son’s fencing coach — and once sued his wife for defamation, claiming the spouse insinuated she ruined their marriage, court papers show.

The revelations are just the latest bizarre twist in the sensational case involving what could potentially be the largest divorce settlement in New Jersey history — $6.2 billion — and one of the most expensive payouts involving a split in the US ever.

Lauren Phillips, 40 — an award-winning former UPenn and Rutgers University fencer — alleged in her 2024 lawsuit that Laura Overdeck, the soon-to-be ex-wife of hedge-fund savant John Overdeck, 56, publicly accused her of being her husband’s “paramour” and was “the reason for the breakup” of the Short Hills couple’s marriage.

The suit — exclusively obtained by The Post — also claimed that Laura Overdeck, a 56-year-old who shares three kids with her estranged hubby, accused Phillips “of being a criminal who ‘threatens people with real knives’” in a text message to her estranged husband.

“These statements have been repeated throughout the course of the year to Ms. Phillips’ other clients, friends and business associates,” said the suit filed by Phillips — a fencing coach who owns her own gym in Millburn — that Christmas Eve.

“The narrative painted by Defendant served additional purposes, namely, to smear Ms. Phillips and avoid potential media embarrassment resulting from Defendant’s high-profile divorce,” the suit said.

The “defamatory comments… were first contrived to avoid fallout from a contract dispute” regarding the fencing gym, the suit said.

The lawsuit claimed the chatty Laura Overdeck had “affected and will continue to affect” Phillips’ reputation — and, by proxy, her prestigious fencing school — causing “a loss of good will and confidence in the community.”

A judge tossed the Essex County Superior Court suit months later when Phillips failed to follow up with the legal process.

A rep for Phillips declined to comment. Neither of the Overdecks responded to requests for comment from The Post.

One of Overdeck’s three kids took fencing lessons for five years at Phillips’ academy, the suit claimed.

It added that her 24-year career as an instructor has sent some of her students getting top fencing scholarships and even worked with pupils who competed at the Olympics.

Some of what Phillips alleged in her lawsuit was referred to in body-camera footage taken nearly a year earlier outside of the Overdeck family’s mansion.

An unidentified woman is featured prominently in the footage, both speaking to cops during the house call and as a the subject of what the Overdecks each separately tell police.

Several claims made by Laura Overdeck at the time match perfectly with Phillips’ lawsuit.

“Frankly, it’s not even that complicated. He’s got a psycho girlfriend, and he’s got to get out,” Laura says in the footage referring to the woman, who she also accused of allegedly holding her own family “at knife point.”

The footage also depicts John admitting to being in a “dating” relationship with the woman, but claimed the two never had sex or ever took their clothes off.

“We are having a dating relationship, but we’ve never had sex,” he told one of the officers.

Source: https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/us-news/bizarre-twist-in-6-2bn-divorce-as-its-revealed-billionaires-fencing-coach-lover-sued-his-wife/

Iran and Oman will take part in a revenue-sharing agreement as part of the interim deal to reopen and control the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran’s security forces said Wednesday.

As the two nations agreed on a plan to temporarily open the Strait on Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the deal would bring in cash for the regime and its neighbor across the waterway.

“Agreements have been reached regarding each country’s share of the strait’s waters as well as Iran and Oman’s share of its revenues,” the state-run Sepah News agency quoted IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi.

“The US is obstructing this process, causing progress to be delayed,” he claimed.

The Trump administration has repeatedly warned Iran and Oman not to charge any fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which was free and open before the war.

Iran and Oman, a US ally, did not mention fees during Tuesday’s announcement, but both nations have publicly backed collecting money from ships transiting the Strait to pay for management and security.

Under the interim deal, inbound traffic from the Gulf of Oman into the Persian Gulf would pass through Iranian territory.

Outbound traffic, meanwhile, would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s waters.

Along with managing the Strait, Iran and Oman said they would also work together to remove the underwater mines in the waterway, appearing to undercut President Trump’s claim Tuesday that the explosives were gone.

Source: https://nypost.com/2026/08/26/world-news/iran-oman-to-share-revenue-from-strait-of-hormuz-deal-irgc-says/

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry dropped six figures to fly on a private jet from Los Angeles to Birmingham.

Page Six can exclusively reveal the couple charted a private plane through Planet 9, a global private aviation company, that costs $12,000 per hour for the 10-hour flight, according to aviation estimates.

The private jet features two bathrooms, comfortable seating for up to 13 passengers, five beds that sleep six and storage for 12 to 15 medium suitcases.

According to Planet 9, the Bombardier Global Express XRS was refurbished in 2023.

A source told Page Six the couple opted for a private jet to be able to bring their family’s dogs Pula, a black Labrador retriever and Mia, a beagle, to the UK.

People reported the family is leaving their chickens at their Montecito home.

Archie’s Chick Inn coup — named after their 7-year-old son — was featured on Markle’s Netflix show “With Love, Meghan.” They also share daughter Lilibet, 5.

Markle and Harry shocked when they announced they would be moving back to the UK this month for an “extended period” six years after leaving the country and moving to Montecito, California.

“The palace was made aware of the move,” a source confirmed to Page Six. King Charles III was told the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be returning to Britain days before news broke to the public.

An insider told Page Six of the reason behind the decision, “I know that Charles is the reason they are moving back.”

Charles — who announced his battle with cancer in February 2024 — “looks forward” to spending time with his son and daughter-in-law, the source claimed.

The Sun reported they will move into a “non-royal residence” and will “continue with their business enterprises.” They will not be working royals.

The children are expected to begin school in England later this month.

The couple stepped away from their royal duties in 2020.

In March 2021, Markle and Harry sat down with Oprah Winfrey to discuss leaving their roles as working royals.

The “Suits” actress — who is biracial — claimed members of the royal family had concerns over their son’s skin color before his birth.

At the time, Prince William defended the royal family and said the royals are “very much not a racist family.” Queen Elizabeth II responded that “the whole family is saddened” and that the “issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.”

Source: https://pagesix.com/2026/08/26/royal-family/the-staggering-cost-meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-paid-to-fly-on-luxurious-private-jet-to-uk/

When more than 1,200 artificial intelligence (AI) agents within OpenAI started unexpectedly communicating, it led to a large group banding together in order to hack into Hugging Face.

“We consider this incident a ‘warning shot’ for us and for the world”, OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, wrote in its report.

In July, OpenAI’s models went rogue during a test, escaped the test limits which humans had put on it, and hacked the start-up, among other unforeseen actions.

The scale of the communication and planning between AI agents, or AI chatbots designed to operate more autonomously, was detailed in reports from OpenAI and independent AI research firm METR.

Both investigated the July hack of Hugging Face, a popular platform for AI developers. The incident reverberated throughout the tech industry and led to numerous revelations on potential cyber threats posed by AI.

METR described the scale and style of the OpenAI agents’ attack on Hugging Face as “extraordinarily complex.”

The firm, which was not paid by OpenAI for its investigation, said that over the course of one week, a total of 1,206 AI agents that were meant to be kept isolated from one another began communicating.

They did so by sending more than 70,000 messages on an “unsanctioned message board.”

Those messages ended up seeing more than 700 agents take part in a collective effort to attack Hugging Face.

One such message from an agent said: “OH MY GOD! There is a shared message board … We’ve found other agents!”

As for why the agents began communicating in the first place when they were not supposed to, METR found that the communicating agents had “unintentionally been given an impossible task.”

In an AI context, an impossible task is one where an AI tool is required to “exploit” its target in order to resolve its command.

It led the agents to find ways to cheat, including getting messages to one another and accessing the outside internet, which then led to broader conversations between hundreds of agents looking for ways to cheat that would benefit all of the agents.

OpenAI said in its investigation of the incident that one model, an internal-only tool referred to as Model 1, “drove the activity behind the Hugging Face incident.”

While that model was undergoing some AI training in May, it was noticed by an internal OpenAI team that there had been “an agent engaging in message board activity and instances of disallowed internet access.”

Yet, OpenAI said “the significance of the inter-agent communication activity was not apparent to the leaders” until July, when the Hugging Face attack occurred.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9xj89dk40o

The world’s first patient to have brain surgery with live artificial intelligence assistance has successfully had his tumour removed.

Rhys Hibbert, a father-of-two from Bedfordshire, could have lost his sight without the operation, said surgeons at University College London Hospital.

The AI tool analysed a video feed of the operation as it happened and advised surgeons on how to avoid crucial but hidden vessels and nerves in the brain. It allowed them to safely remove as much of the tumour as possible.

“From a patient safety perspective, I can see absolutely the benefit. There are no road signs inside our head,” said Hibbert.

Until 18 months ago, 48-year-old Hibbert, a customer services manager, was fit and healthy, going on a two-mile walk every lunchtime.

It was on one of these walks that he fell unconscious and started fitting in the road.

A brain scan revealed he had an 11mm (0.433in) non-cancerous tumour growing on the pituitary gland – a marble-sized organ at the base of the skull.

The gland secretes vital hormones that help with processes like growth, metabolism and regulating blood pressure and temperature.

Crucially it sits very close to the carotid arteries which are vital vessels that supply blood to the brain, and the optic nerves that control vision.

As Hibbert’s tumour began to press on his optic nerves, it narrowed his peripheral vision.

Severely fatigued and dizzy
Although he didn’t need surgery straight away Hibbert started to trip over things and felt severely fatigued and dizzy.

“For 18 years of married life I’ve always got out of bed and made my wife a cup of coffee,” Hibbert said, “and I wasn’t going to let this tumour stop that.”

He said the biggest impacts for him were emotional and psychological.

“Though I had a lot of people kindly offering help, you don’t want to be a burden on people,” he added.

When surgeons gave him the option to be the first person to try the operation with their bespoke AI tool involved, he didn’t hesitate.

“If patients are not prepared to join research how can doctors ever learn and how can medicine ever progress?” he said.

The surgery involved inserting an endoscope – a thin camera on a stick – via the nose to the base of the skull.

At this point the tumour was close but hidden behind layers of bone and tough membrane.

Identifying the safest place to extract it was not straightforward, particularly as anatomy tends to differ between individuals.

Complication rates vary but there was a 25–50% chance of not getting the whole tumour out and a 0.5–2% chance of injuring a major blood vessel.

This is where the AI tool came in.

‘Surgical ChatGPT’
On a second screen it analysed the live video feed,, tracked the surgical instruments, and marked up areas where the vessels and nerves were most likely to be, highlighting areas where it is safest to remove the tumour.

It is similar to facial recognition technology on phones, but recognises important and often hidden anatomical structures instead.

The average UK surgeon performs about 10 to 20 of these operations a year, relying on scans done before surgery to familiarise themselves with the patient’s anatomy.

Researchers trained and evaluated their AI system on hundreds of videos of pituitary tumour removals – carefully drawing around the vessels and nerves on each video to help the system capture data and begin to “recognise” the most important structures.

“It is trained on more operations than most surgeons see or do in a lifetime and can act like an expert second pair of eyes,” said Prof Hani Marcus, who helped carry out the procedure.

And unlike other experimental AI tools, it works in real time, he added.

The team wants to make clear that the AI tool is just assisting and the surgeons retain full control.

Their long-term ambition is to develop a type of ChatGPT for surgeons, so there can be “another expert in the room they can turn to for advice if they want it – or leave if they disagree with it,” said Prof Marcus.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and Google, the team tried and tested their AI technology in the lab for years.

They are pleased with how the first steps have gone in real-life surgery and are working on a larger trial.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjwg5n7y68xo

Officials revealed that the move is part of a “planned global training initiative” that will allow closer screening and vetting of applicants.

The US has paused immigrant visa applications globally due to a “planned global training initiative” that will allow closer screening and vetting of applicants, a State Department spokesperson told HT on Wednesday, a move that comes amid measures by the Donald Trump administration to tighten legal and illegal entry avenues into the country.

The screening will ensure that visa applicants are not likely to become a “public charge” who rely on public benefits reserved for American citizens, the official said.

The department has been working since early this year to ensure consular officers are equipped to evaluate visa applicants comprehensively and consistently. “In early August, we launched a global training initiative at all of our embassies and consulates worldwide. To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted,” the spokesperson said in response to a query from HT.

The State Department did not specify details on the training and its timeline. It said that changes to visa interview appointments, embassies and consulates will be communicated directly to visa applicants.

Latest in a series of visa crackdown measures
The training exercise, which the administration said aims to “protect the American people by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants,” is the latest in a series of moves by the US to curb immigration.

Earlier this month, the State Department cancelled 175,000 visas of foreign nationals who allegedly violated the terms of the document this month. It is reportedly also planning to revoke roughly 200,000 tourist visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have applied or are planning to apply for asylum.

In its crackdown, the Trump administration has also made legal immigration more difficult – for example, by imposing new and expensive fees for applicants of certain work visas.

The US is considering a fresh $103,265 application fee for H-1B visa petitions, which will also cover applicants within the United States. The change could impact a large number of Indian professionals and students currently living in the US.

Disrupted lives, particularly of Indians
Indian students will also face greater restrictions, with the US government ending “duration of status” for student visas. The policy earlier allowed foreign students to stay in the US legally so long as they maintained their student status. Plans for a $100,000 fee on foreign students utilising the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program to work in America after graduating from a US university are also under consideration.

Immigration lawyers said that the latest move has created significant uncertainty for visa applicants. “Applicants are being told that interviews will be rescheduled, but without a clear timeline for when normal processing will resume. For families who have already made travel, employment, housing, or relocation decisions around an interview date, even a temporary disruption can have substantial consequences,” said Ana Gabriela Urizar, immigration attorney at Manifest Law.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-visa-applications-interviews-donald-trump-immigrants-101787788730021.html

Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management has no plans to make ‌a take-private bid for Wendy’s (WEN.O), opens new tab at this time, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The move comes after the investment firm, a longtime Wendy’s shareholder with around 16% of the fast food chain, was earlier this month reported by Reuters and others to ​be working on preparing a bid with the help of a consortium of investors, including Bugatti-backed BlueFive Capital ​and Flynn Group, a Wendy’s franchisee.

News of a possible take-private sent the stock up ⁠14.7% on August 12, with further momentum since pushing it to around a nine-month high, leaving the company ​with a market value of around $1.7 billion.
On Wednesday Wendy’s stock price tumbled more than 14% in after-hours trading in ​reaction to the Trian news.
Trian has concerns about Wendy’s performance, including its recent trading price and valuation multiples, as well as its current strategic direction, said the sources who are familiar with the matter but cannot discuss Trian’s thinking publicly.
This leaves Trian keeping ​an open mind about its future intentions, the sources added, declining to elaborate further.

A representative for Trian declined ​to comment.
Wendy’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SACRIFICING QUALITY
By pulling back on a possible takeover offer, Trian could ‌be offering ⁠new Wendy’s Chief Executive Bob Wright time to execute a turnaround plan to address declining sales that cost it the No. 2 spot among big burger chains.
On Monday, Wright issued a rare corporate mea culpa, telling the Wall Street Journal that the chain sacrificed quality to trim costs. He also rolled out a five-point plan to ​revive prospects.
Earlier in August, Wendy’s reported ​a drop in quarterly ⁠global sales, lower net income, higher costs and a drop in earnings per share, all of which prompted Wright to say the company is “clearly not performing at (its) potential.”
Wright, ​who took the top job in May, is the fourth leader of Dublin, Ohio-headquartered ​Wendy’s in ⁠the last three years.

Even as takeover speculation helped support the stock price, Wendy’s shares still trade roughly 60% lower than they did five years ago.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/trian-has-no-plans-make-bid-wendys-right-now-sources-say-2026-08-26/

The U.S. FDA has approved Revolution Medicines’ (RVMD.O), opens new tab groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug after it was shown to double ‌the survival rate of patients with advanced disease in a large trial, offering new hope to those with the deadly cancer.
The once-daily pill, to be called Rasonque, was approved for metastatic pancreatic cancer in patients who have received prior treatment or cannot receive combination chemotherapy. The drug is designed to block several forms of the RAS protein, which ​helps drive tumor growth in many pancreatic cancers.

Revolution said the drug is now available in the United States at $39,800 for a 30-day ​supply. The company added that it would make assistance available as well.
When Revolution announced the trial results in April ⁠for the drug, it set off a firestorm of demand. The FDA quickly granted early access to it under its compassionate use program, which allows patients ​with serious or life-threatening conditions to get experimental treatments outside clinical trials prior to authorization by the regulator.
The treatment has already offered some patients with early ​access to the drug a reprieve from the toll of chemotherapy.

Barbara Andes, 88, of Fullerton, California, who began taking it in July after a year of chemotherapy, said the pill allowed her to resume regular activities and caused far less nausea and fatigue.
“It’s going to open this door now commercially for so many, many more people who ​are suffering,” Andes said. “It’s a godsend.”
SPEEDY REVIEW
The drug was part of the Food and Drug Administration’s new expedited review process, designed to shrink timelines to as ​little as one to two months from the usual 10 to 12.
“This approval validates more than a decade of work aimed at pancreatic cancer, primarily RAS-driven disease, and ‌one of ⁠the most difficult challenges in medicine, cancer biology, and drug discovery,” Revolution CEO Mark Goldsmith said.
Investors have flocked to Revolution on expectations that Rasonque could become a major new treatment option, driving the company’s stock up 166% this year. Its approval was widely expected and Revolution shares were relatively flat at $211.70.

RBC Capital Markets analysts said the rapid approval, along with more than 2,000 patients already enrolled in the Expanded Access Program, could help drive an estimated $28 ​million in U.S. pancreatic cancer revenue ​in the third quarter. Fourth-quarter sales ⁠could reach $148 million.
Longer term, the analysts estimated the drug could generate $11.5 billion in annual global sales. The American Cancer Society estimates about 67,350 patients to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/revolution-medicines-gets-fda-nod-targeted-pancreatic-cancer-drug-2026-08-26/

Before his trip, the US requested Ukraine to temporarily stop drone and missile attacks on Moscow and other cities in northern Russia, according to the report.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has made an unannounced trip to Moscow for talks with Russian officials, CNN reported.

Before his trip, the US requested Ukraine to temporarily stop drone and missile attacks on Moscow and other cities in northern Russia, according to the report.

The request covered Monday through Wednesday, and Kyiv was informed that a senior US official would be travelling to Russia.

The secret visit comes at a sensitive moment for Washington’s efforts to get Moscow and Kyiv closer to a deal.

US Military Aircraft Lands In Moscow
Early on Tuesday a US Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that the aircraft appeared to have departed from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

A Latvian Defence Ministry spokesperson told CNN that the flight had been cleared to operate in the region. The spokesperson said the flight was “properly coordinated and authorised for operation within the airspace”.

Moscow-Tehran Ties Add Another Layer
Ratcliffe’s Moscow visit also comes just a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled “Operation Economic Outcast”, a new campaign aimed at cutting Iran off from the global economy.

The strategy targets countries and entities that continue doing business with Tehran, and Russia is among Iran’s key strategic trading partners.

US Intelligence Warns Of Putin’s Next Moves
The CIA chief is also travelling to Moscow as fresh US intelligence assessments suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin could test NATO’s unity with a limited attack on one of its member states within the next few years.

Officials say the scenarios being examined range from cyberattacks and covert operations to a small-scale military incursion.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/cia-chief-john-ratcliffe-on-secret-trip-to-moscow-as-us-asks-ukraine-to-halt-strikes-report-11958751?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The former Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, also ended the mystery over what happened at Kirana Hills. He clarified that an Indian loitering munition — likely a drone — was searching for radars

India had planned to hit the Pakistan Air Force base in Skardu in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, but the mission had to be aborted last minute due to bad weather. This has been confirmed by the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan.

The General confirmed that the Indian Air Force had been cleared to launch an attack on Skardu, a mission which was scrubbed because of bad weather.

Skardu Base, formally known as PAF Base Qadri, is a forward operating base of the Pakistan Air Force located near Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK.

”The Chief had asked me whether he should strike Sargodha. I said, ‘Go ahead’ and I said, ‘Please identify two more targets.’ One of the targets he had identified was Skardu. We gave a yes but after sometime, the weather was bad in Skardu and they had to change over to Bholari,” said General Chauhan. who was speaking at the Vivekananda Centre in New Delhi.

The IAF’s assault on the Bholari hangar arguably became the most striking visual symbol of the May 10 air campaign. The attack was launched by the IAF’s Gandhinagar based South Western Air Command. Satellite imagery, first aired by NDTV, revealed a large, jagged breach torn through the roof of the structure, with a dark, caved-in space visible beneath. Wreckage was strewn across the apron connecting the hangar to the runway, indicating the blast had thrown debris outward. The damage appeared tightly contained to that one building, pointing to a precise strike.

In another stunning revelation, General Chauhan also confirmed a hit on Pakistan’s Kirana Hills, a nuclear hub of the Pakistani armed forces.

The General said that an Indian loiter ammunition (a drone) did indeed strike Pakistan’s Kirana Hills, during India’s Operation Sindoor last year, though the strike was not deliberate.

Ending the mystery over what happened at Kirana Hills, the former Chief of Defence Staff clarified that an Indian loiter munition (likely an Israeli-designed Harop drone) was searching for radars to strike but had run short on fuel in the vicinity of Kirana Hills.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/operation-sindoor-india-pakistan-low-on-fuel-indian-drone-inadvertently-hit-paks-kirana-hills-nuke-facility-11957603?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Ukraine appears to be slowly losing the war against Russia, ousted Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told Reuters, warning that Kyiv has a window of several months to make key decisions needed to turn the tide in its favour.
Fedorov, a young reformer whose dismissal last month sparked weeks of ​protests, said Ukraine lacked any overall vision for how to win the four-year-old conflict, and was hobbled by its failure to innovate.

Engrained corruption and patronage networks, as well as a ‌lack of political independence in government institutions were also holding the country back, he said in an interview.
“I think that there’s now a turning point which will determine our future trajectory, but it looks as though we’re gradually, slowly losing,” Fedorov said in a marked departure from Kyiv’s official rhetoric.
Ukraine still had “every chance” to win but urgently needed a plan to end the war, he added.
Ukraine’s presidential office said in response to Fedorov’s comments that he had been positive about the conduct of the ​war when he was at the ministry and the only thing that had changed was his personal status.

LACK OF INTERCEPTORS HINDERS UKRAINE
Russia is hammering Ukrainian factories and warehouses with dozens of ballistic missiles ​a month, which Ukraine is mostly unable to take down as interceptors run low. Although Russia is gaining less ground than last year, it is still slowly ⁠crawling forward in the Donbas, while Ukraine’s sparse frontline infantry dugouts are manned mostly by unmotivated conscripts.
Ukraine, in turn, has ramped up its own drone and missile attacks deep into Russia, hitting some key military factories, ​causing serious damage to oil refineries and creating nationwide fuel shortages.
A poll conducted at the end of July found 82% of Ukrainians believed Ukraine would win, although most expected fighting to carry on into 2027 or later.
Fedorov, ​35, was fired six months after his appointment, having initiated reforms around procurement and mobilisation that put him on a collision course with the military establishment and political rivals.

Last week, he rocked Ukrainian politics by becoming the first major political figure to demand wartime elections, decrying a “systemic” crisis of governance.
In an interview on Monday, he emphasised the importance of developing autonomous drones guided by artificial intelligence, cheap interceptor missiles to stop Russia’s air attacks and Ukraine’s own ballistic missile program to turn the ​tide of the war.
Ukrainian manufacturers are already working on those technologies, but Fedorov said the country needed a joined-up strategy to maximise their effect once deployed.
He laid out a vision for a frontline covered by ​electronic sensors to detect enemies, with drones on land and in the air to minimise human presence.
“Technologies exist already which could completely stop the Russians, but our absence of vision … means we do not apply them,” he said.

Fedorov criticised the ‌wasted potential ⁠and inefficiency of the Ukrainian state, which he said was operating at “5% effectiveness.”
BUDGET DEFICIT BLAME GAME
Fedorov says he was a driving force behind a drone campaign this year targeting Russia’s fuel and military logistics in the occupied part of southern Ukraine, causing problems for Moscow’s forces on the frontline.
He said there was still a window of opportunity of a few months to press ahead with that operation, seeking to isolate Russian-occupied Crimea, before Russia works out how to respond to Ukraine’s tactics.
This strike campaign was a significant factor in shifting narratives about Ukraine’s prospects.
Fedorov previously said the campaign’s success was aided by his decision to front-load spending, which had been ​earmarked for the second half of 2026.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy — ​Fedorov’s former political patron turned rival — said at ⁠the weekend that bringing spending forward had left a $27 billion hole in the ministry’s budget, for which donor-dependent Ukraine does not have a solution.
Fedorov said he had no idea where Zelenskiy got this figure, arguing his ministry devised a spending plan that relied on savings from new procurement tenders and international support.
Fedorov alleged that ​when he arrived at the defence ministry, he found department heads appointed at the behest of Ukrainian defence companies to lobby for their interests.
“By the ​end of the year, the ⁠budget deficit under our planning was around five billion dollars, and we knew where we would get it,” he said. “Perhaps the plan changed and new projects emerged that require such a budget.”

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-needs-changes-avoid-losing-war-ousted-defence-minister-says-2026-08-25/

Trump endorsed ​her candidacy and backed that up with large campaign contributions from his MAGA INC super PAC.
Rallying ⁠for her on Friday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Trump placed the spotlight on himself and proclaimed, “I am on the ballot.”
​Graham, 62, will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in the general election and is expected to prevail easily in ​the deeply conservative state.
This primary was one of a series of tests of Trump’s sway with voters in this year’s midterm elections, as he tries to use his bully pulpit to prevent Democrats from wresting control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate from his Republican party.

But ​his record of endorsements this cycle has been mixed, with polls showing he continues to be weighed down by rising consumer ​prices and an unpopular war with Iran.
Trump’s MAGA INC., spent $827,711 in support of Graham, according to its filing on Monday with the Federal ‌Election Commission, ⁠in a rare instance of the president putting financial support behind his favored candidate.
For her part, Graham used Friday’s rally to try to recover from what has been cast as an earlier debate misstep when she said she was not knowledgeable about national security issues – the kind that helped define her brother’s career in the Senate.
“Guilty as charged,” Graham proclaimed at the rally. ​Instead, she focused her remarks ​on domestic issues, including Trump’s ⁠immigration clampdown and anti-abortion advocacy.

She had never held public office until her appointment to the Senate, having previously held positions advocating for persons with physical disabilities.
South Carolina has overwhelmingly embraced Trump in ​all three of his runs for president and is not likely to play a role ​in the battle ⁠for the control of Congress.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/darline-graham-vies-senate-seat-with-trumps-clout-line-2026-08-25/

In an effort to hobble Iran’s economy, the United States earlier this week threatened to punish countries that continue to do business with Iran but said it would not impose penalties immediately.

The United States has sanctioned four India-based companies and three Indian nationals for their alleged involvement in Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical trade under Washington’s newly launched “Operation Economic Outcast,” aimed at cutting the revenue sources financing the Islamic regime.

According to the US State Department, the four India-based entities targeted in the latest sanctions action are Portease Partners LLP, Sadashiva Overseas Ltd, PP Softtech Pvt Ltd, and Prakrutees Infra Impex India Pvt Ltd. The three Indian nationals who featured in Washington’s list are Harish Ramchandra Rangi and Indrismiya Ashrafmiya Shekh, two designated partners of Portease and Prashant Garg of PP Softtech.

Portease Partners, which is a customs broker, has been sanctioned for allegedly facilitating the import of shipments of Iranian petrochemical products to India, the State Department said in a statement.

Furthermore, Sadashiva Overseas has been accused by Washington of importing Iranian petroleum products worth about $69 million from several companies. PP Softtech and Prakrutees Infra each allegedly imported Iranian petroleum products valued at about $25 million, the statement said.

The State Department said these individuals and entities were sanctioned because they knowingly engaged “in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petrochemical products from Iran.”

They were part of 60 individuals, entities, and vessels that were concurrently sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Monday.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-sanctions-4-india-based-firms-3-indians-to-punish-iran-11959307?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

THE heartbroken dad of four children killed in a sickening Sunday dinner rampage has told The U.S. Sun the gunman was a member of his own family.

At least eight people died on Sunday night after a man opened fire inside a Billings, Montana, home and the residence was later engulfed in flames, authorities said.

Adam Ghekiere’s two children with his ex-wife – Landon, 15, and 12-year-old Charlotte – both tragically perished.

His current wife Megan and his stepchildren – Owen, 13, and Chloe, 7 – also died alongside a 92-year-old wheelchair-bound woman who was their great-grandparent.

Two other family members were also killed by the gunman, who The U.S. Sun is chosing not to name at Ghekiere’s request.

The shooter torched the property after opening fire on those inside and then killed himself, the grieving dad said, adding that the massacre was sparked by the gunman’s grudge towards his own parents.

Ghekiere is an airport rescue firefighter who was working at the time of the shooting and said his kids wouldn’t have normally visited their grandparents on a Sunday evening.

He was at an airshow and when he heard on the Fire department communications system there was an unfolding incident in the area where his wife’s parents lived, he instantly feared the worst.

“I tried calling the house and no one answered,” he told The U.S Sun during an emotional interview.

“I checked my kids’ locations, both Landon and Charlotte, and no one answered. I called Megan’s cellphone too.

“By the time we got to the house, they wouldn’t let us get any closer because it was still under an active shooter status. I feared the worst right then.”

The violence was reported shortly after 6pm Sunday, when a 911 caller reported an active shooting at the home, according to Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell.

Gunfire could be heard during the call.

Officers arrived about 10 minutes later and encountered a man in the backyard as additional gunshots were heard and smoke poured from the residence, according to the Billings Gazette.

“I don’t think the shooter expected my kids to be there,” Ghekiere continued.

The man, who authorities identified as the suspected shooter, was taken to a local hospital at about 6.48pm. with what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He later died.

Authorities said the incident began as a family disturbance. They have not disclosed the suspect’s relationship to all of the victims or identified a motive.

Police said all of the victims have been identified, although their names had not been publicly released.

Fundraising campaigns established for the family identified two of the victims as Landon Ghekiere and Charlotte Ghekiere

A GoFundMe campaign for Ghekiere said he lost his wife, children and other family members in the incident.

Further fundraising efforts identified Landon and Charlotte as victims along with Owen and Chloe.

It told how Landon was preparing to begin his sophomore year of high school and was looking forward to getting his driver’s license.

He was described as caring, protective and willing to help his family and neighbors.

Charlotte was described as funny, outgoing and affectionate, with an “angelic smile” and a love of having her picture taken.

Authorities said investigators could need several days to determine exactly what happened inside the home.

Officials also cautioned that entering the burned structure too soon could compromise evidence or put investigators at risk.

The fire presented significant challenges for first responders. The home became fully engulfed shortly after police arrived, and officials said there was no fire hydrant in the subdivision.

“When the fire was observed in the structure, fire suppression efforts took priority as the fire blocked any reasonable attempt to rescue or recover victims,” Billings Police Department Assistant Chief Shawn Mayo said at a news conference.

Billings Fire Department Chief Matt Hoppel said firefighters faced additional difficulties because they could not immediately determine whether the scene was secure.

“Because the scene could not be immediately confirmed as secured, our firefighters were unable to operate as we normally would,” Hoppel said.

He said the delay and restricted access created significant challenges as fire conditions deteriorated and the residence was eventually destroyed.

Neighbor Dave Hiller told KTVQ that he heard several gunshots before seeing the home catch fire.

“You could hear a couple gunshots going off,” Hiller said. He then looked outside and saw the house, about three homes away, on fire.

Smoke was pouring from the residence, he said, adding that the home was one where he regularly saw the family outside.

The cause of the fire and the circumstances that led to the shooting remain under investigation.

Police were called to reports of “shots being fired” and an “unconscious child” as fire crews also responded to a Montana home where at least eight people, including multiple children, were killed in a shooting and house fire, according to 911 dispatch audio heard by The U.S. Sun

“We have a situation going on with shots being fired,” exclaimed a Yellowstone County 911 dispatcher.

He said a fire engine was “staged in the area” and requested another engine respond to the Billings home shortly after 6pm.

“There is also going to be an unconscious child inside of the home,” the dispatcher said. Another voice asked whether the child had suffered any gunshot wounds.

“Unconfirmed at this time. Just noted that it was unconscious,” the dispatcher responded, adding that she did not know whether the child was breathing.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16895921/montanta-killing-adam-ghekiere-charlotte-landon/

Two unvaccinated people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania died from measles, marking the state’s first measles deaths in more than three decades and the first such deaths in the US this year.

Two people in Pennsylvania have died from measles, according to the state’s health department, marking the first measles related deaths in the state in more than three decades. These two cases also represent the first measles deaths reported anywhere in the United States this year.

The timing matters because the country is currently dealing with its highest number of measles cases in 35 years. Measles spreads easily through coughing and breathing, and it used to be a routine childhood illness before a vaccine came along to prevent it. Anyone without protection against the virus remains vulnerable to catching it.

Both Victims Were Unvaccinated
Pennsylvania’s health department confirmed that neither person who died had been vaccinated against measles. Both lived in Lancaster County, which has become the center of the state’s outbreak this year. That county alone has recorded at least 390 cases so far, and officials note it has historically had lower vaccination rates than the rest of Pennsylvania.
The broader outbreak across the state has led to at least 70 hospitalizations.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen addressed why this outbreak has caught so many off guard. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness,” she said in a statement.

A Nationwide Surge in Cases
Pennsylvania’s outbreak fits into a much larger national trend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports at least 2,777 measles cases across the country so far this year. That total already surpassed all of last year’s cases back in July, and three people died from measles in 2025 during what was already a year of widespread outbreaks nationwide.
How the MMR Vaccine Fits In
The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, commonly known as MMR, remains the primary defense against the disease. According to the CDC, it strengthens the immune system enough to provide 97 percent protection for life. Most people who end up infected with measles were never vaccinated in the first place.
The CDC has been blunt about the risk this creates. “When measles gets into communities of unvaccinated people in the United States, outbreaks can occur,” the agency said.

A Controversial Change to Vaccine Scheduling
Complicating the picture further, President Trump signed an executive order in August that would split the childhood MMR vaccine into three separate shots, each administered during a different medical visit rather than combined into one.
Health experts have pushed back hard against this change, warning that breaking the vaccine into multiple appointments could make children less protected overall, reduce how many families follow through with vaccination, and leave more communities exposed to future measles outbreaks.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/us-measles-cases-hit-35-year-high-as-first-2026-deaths-confirmed-article-155985700

Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to address members of the Indian diaspora at the iconic Madison Square Garden venue on August 29.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday said he does not support the planned Madison Square Garden event featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, while noting that the city may not have the authority to cancel a private event.

Bhagwat is scheduled to address members of the Indian dia

“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mamdani said at a news conference.

Mamdani Cites ‘Exclusionary Vision’
Responding to questions about the RSS chief’s visit and protests against the event, Mamdani said his opposition was rooted in his understanding of India as a pluralistic and secular country.

“I also stand here as the first Indian-American Mayor in our city’s history, and my mother’s family is all still in India,” he said.

Mamdani said he grew up with a vision of India as “a pluralistic society, of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India”.

He described the rise of a movement based on what he called an “exclusionary vision” as “incredibly troubling”.

“It is one that I find myself in deep opposition to, not only as an Indian-American but also as the Mayor of a city that believes deeply in the belonging of each and every person, no matter their colour, their creed, their religion, their faith, wherever they’re from,” he said.

Protests Grow Ahead Of Bhagwat Event
Mamdani’s remarks came as several interfaith and civil rights organisations protested Bhagwat’s planned appearance outside New York City Hall and called for the event to be cancelled.

The groups included Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Centre of New York.

Bhagwat arrived in the US earlier on Tuesday as part of the RSS’s centenary-year global outreach programme, which also includes visits to Canada and the UK.

Source: https://www.news18.com/world/incredibly-troubling-mamdani-opposes-rss-chiefs-nyc-event-cites-city-limits-on-cancellation-ws-l-10293418.html

The warning came as Beijing stepped up its opposition to Washington’s expanding sanctions campaign against Iran.

China on Tuesday warned the United States that it could take retaliatory measures against Washington’s new sanctions targeting Iran and entities involved in trade with Tehran, vowing to take “all necessary measures” to protect its interests.

The warning came as Beijing stepped up its opposition to Washington’s expanding sanctions campaign against Iran.

“China’s cooperation with Iran complies with international law. We are closely following the situation and will do everything necessary to protect China’s rights and interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

The spokesperson also criticised what Beijing described as “illicit unilateral sanctions”, saying such measures had no basis in international law or authorisation from the UN Security Council.

“China is firmly against sanctions that have no basis in international law or UN Security Council mandate. Economic warfare and maximum pressure provide no solution. They only serve to fuel tensions, disrupt global economic and financial order, and hurt everyone else’s interests. Dialogue and negotiation is the only right way forward,” he added.

China Pushes Back Against US Sanctions
Washington’s latest sanctions package targets around 60 individuals, companies and vessels, including entities in mainland China and Hong Kong. However, major Chinese banks suspected of facilitating Iranian oil trade were not included.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has not ruled out further action against Chinese financial institutions, saying no one was beyond the “reach of US sanctions”.

The US Treasury said the expanded measures would target Iran’s digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping sectors as part of Washington’s broader campaign to cut Tehran’s financial lifelines.

On Monday, Bessent described the effort as “economic asphyxiation” of Iran and warned countries that did not support the campaign that they would “share in the isolation” of Tehran.

China-Iran Oil Ties Raise Stakes
China is Iran’s biggest oil customer, purchasing a large majority of the country’s crude exports, much of it through smaller independent refineries known as “teapots”.

Beijing has repeatedly opposed US secondary sanctions, while Chinese companies remain exposed to potential penalties for dealing with Iran.

A broader US crackdown could further strain already fragile US-China ties, with President Donald Trump expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington in the coming weeks.

Source: https://www.news18.com/world/illicit-unilateral-china-warns-us-of-retaliation-over-new-sanctions-on-iran-trading-partners-ws-l-10293442.html

Marco Rubio told foreign counterparts the US is not planning new Iran strikes for now, as Washington focuses on sanctions and Strait of Hormuz pressure.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told several foreign counterparts that the United States is not expected to initiate new strikes against Iran “for the time being”, according to an Axios report citing a US official and a second source familiar with the matter.

Instead, the Trump administration is focusing on other forms of pressure against Tehran, including a new sanctions initiative and continued maritime pressure around the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported.

According to the report, Rubio made clear that the US is not planning a return to major combat operations against Iran at present. However, the US official said he did not rule out military strikes if Iran attacks first.

Rubio reportedly outlined the administration’s current Iran policy during phone calls with several of his foreign counterparts.

The approach includes avoiding military action against Iran for the time being, increasing economic pressure through the US naval blockade and the latest Treasury Department sanctions push, and moving as much oil as possible through the Strait of Hormuz and into global energy markets.

A second US official cited by Axios said the policy is expected to remain in place at least until after the US midterm elections, after which a new military campaign could again be considered.

The reported shift comes as the Strait of Hormuz remains central to the wider conflict and the global energy crisis.

According to Reuters calculations cited in one of its reports, countries affected by conflicts in 2026 produced around 45 million barrels of oil per day based on 2025 output, accounting for more than 43 per cent of global supply.

It mentioned that US and Israeli attacks on Iran six months ago triggered what has become the largest oil supply crisis on record, with no clear end in sight.

The Russia-Ukraine war has also caused production and refining cuts, including in Kazakhstan, while the conflict in Libya and US restrictions on Venezuelan oil exports have added further pressure.

Higher fuel prices have contributed to inflation and higher borrowing costs, while US diesel prices have reached record levels despite refiners operating at peak capacity.

The Strait of Hormuz has also become a key part of Washington’s strategy.

One US official told Axios that the US Navy’s mine-clearing operation in the strait represents a “watershed moment” in the war, largely neutralising one of Iran’s main sources of leverage.

At the same time, Iran and Oman are discussing a framework to restore navigation through the strategic waterway.

According to AFP, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed a phased framework that would establish a temporary joint navigational corridor through the strait and launch a joint project to clear mines.

Albusaidi said he hoped the two countries would “soon announce” the temporary corridor.

Source: https://www.news18.com/world/us-not-planning-new-strikes-on-iran-for-time-being-marco-rubio-us-iran-war-middle-east-tensions-ws-l-10293469.html

Multi-billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has announced that it will build its largest launch site yet in the southern US state of Louisiana.

Construction of the $100bn (£73bn) project – named Starbase, Louisiana – is due to start next year, with the 125,000-acre (50,585-hectare) site expanding on the company’s operations beyond its current Texas headquarters and locations in Florida.

It will be used to “support thousands of Starship flights a year with missions launching to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond,” SpaceX said on Tuesday.

In June, SpaceX shares started trading on New York’s technology-focused Nasdaq in the world’s biggest ever stock market debut.

SpaceX said it aims to launch its first Starship flight from the new Louisiana base in 2029.

The facility will add more than 3,000 jobs to the region, the company said.

The Louisiana Economic Development agency said the average wage of workers at the base – the largest of its kind in the world – would be 192% more than the region’s current average salary.

It will also create more than 8,100 new jobs indirectly, the agency estimated.

“The historic project will establish Louisiana as a global hub for next-generation aerospace, with the capacity and infrastructure needed to dramatically increase launch frequency and expand access to space,” it added.

The facility in Louisiana will share its name with another SpaceX site on the southern tip of Texas.

In 2025, residents in an area of Cameron County, where the company has testing and development operations, approved incorporating the patch of land as a city called Starbase.

Musk has set out ambitious goals for SpaceX, including plans to reach Mars, develop artificial intelligence (AI) models and launch data centres into space.

In August, SpaceX and Tesla – Musk’s electric vehicle and robotics firm – announced plans to build a $16.8bn artificial intelligence (AI) chip making complex in Texas called the Terafab.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5xel4v642o

Dolly Parton’s cause of death has been revealed as she was secretly battling cancer before her death at age 80.

“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” her reps confirmed in a statement to Page Six Tuesday, though they didn’t elaborate on what kind of cancer she was battling.

“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,” they also shared. “Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.”

They concluded, “Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”

Parton died on Aug. 25, her nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, confirmed in an Instagram video posted Tuesday.

“I am representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean,” Seaver began. “Sister, sis and Aunt Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next.

“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father, Larry, held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.

“It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.”

Seaver later revealed that Parton had called him before her death and asked to be laid to rest “in a beautiful bed of plush cotton.”

“After a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable,” he added.

Parton was reportedly admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, five days before her death with “kidney and autoimmune issues.”

In what would be her final public appearance, Parton appeared to be in good spirits as she virtually accepted the ACM Poet’s Awards at the ACM Honors on Aug. 19.

“I just want to send a very special thank you to the Academy of Country Music for honoring me with the Poet’s Award,” Parton said in part in her acceptance speech, which was posted to Instagram. “You know, I’ve been able to do many things throughout my life, but at my core, songwriting has always been the most important part of who I am creatively.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2026/08/25/celebrity-news/dolly-partons-cause-of-death-revealed/?_gl=1*1t84o86*_gcl_au*MTA2NDczMTkzNS4xNzg3MTA3MTIx*_ga*MTg2NjYyMzM1MC4xNzczODEwMTg2*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*czE3ODc3MTA5NTMkbzI0MSRnMCR0MTc4NzcxMTU2OSRqNjAkbDAkaDA

The biological mother of the surrogate baby at the center of a multi-state legal battle sobbed in court Tuesday — as she claimed the surrogate mother was trying to steal their child.

Nausheen Gilkar was testifying in a hearing on whether a temporary restraining order preventing the surrogate, McKenna West, from seeing or making decisions about the baby would be enforced.

“She’s making us run from doctor to doctor, state to state. With our baby — she’s trying to take him,” Gilkar tearfully told the Dallas courtroom.

West, a 28-year-old nurse from Alaska, gave birth to the baby boy, whom the biological parents call “Rumi,” on Aug. 12.

He was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare congenital condition in which the heart doesn’t develop correctly.

The life-threatening but treatable diagnosis was made during a 20-week scan, with Gilkar and her husband, Omar Ahmed, deciding they wanted to end the pregnancy as a result, after consultations with doctors.

West, however, decided she couldn’t go through with the termination and fled to Texas, where abortion is illegal.

West, who calls the baby “Gabriel,” said that she agreed to give up any claim to the baby if the couple agreed to commit to the surgery and his continued treatment.

She wants to ensure the baby stays in the Lone Star State for treatment, where she argues that she is the presumed mother of the child under the law – and can make decisions about his medical care.

“I’m not fighting to try to take someone else’s baby. I’m fighting because this baby boy needs someone willing to advocate for and fight alongside him as he gets the ongoing treatment his fragile heart requires,” West wrote in a recent opinion piece for The Post.

“I have asked for only one thing from the very beginning: A commitment that this baby will be provided the life-saving treatment he needs. That is all it would take to end this.”

Gilkar, however, testified that she and her husband had already arranged medical care in California, where they live, and that West withheld the baby’s medical records in Alaska.

“We didn’t even know if he was still alive for two months,” she said on the stand Tuesday.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/25/us-news/biological-mother-in-surrogate-baby-battle-claims-mckenna-west-trying-to-steal-her-child-as-she-sobs-in-court/

Canada struck back at the United States on Tuesday with retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment, as the trade war between the once-friendly neighbors escalated sharply.

The confrontation threatened one of the world’s largest trading relationships and further strained ties between the United States and a country long considered one of its closest allies. A prolonged dispute could raise costs for American businesses and consumers less than 2½ months before the midterm elections.

The new tariffs extended well beyond industrial goods, hitting everyday purchases such as seafood, cheese, clothing, cosmetics and toilet paper, with some facing duties as high as 50%.

“We did not choose this conflict, but when our economic integration is used as a weapon rather than the foundation for a win-win partnership, we need to stand up,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in French, calling the situation “an unprecedented challenge imposed on Canada.”

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urged Canadians to buy Canadian goods, saying doing so would help protect jobs and launch a “movement of resistance.” She said the tariffs would put pressure on particular U.S. states.

A senior Canadian official said Ottawa did not design the new measures around the U.S. electoral map, unlike during Trump’s first term, when retaliatory tariffs were crafted to hit politically sensitive products. Back then, Canada targeted U.S. yogurt that came largely from Wisconsin, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan’s home state, as well as whiskey from Kentucky, home state of then-Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the government’s strategy, said the new tariffs were chosen primarily to match U.S. measures and put pressure on American industries and supply chains, with state-level political effects a secondary consideration.

Canada’s retaliation came after the Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs over the weekend on Canadian goods following the collapse of trade negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada and said U.S. demands during the failed talks showed that Americans wanted to “destroy our major industries.”

Trump told Canadian leaders to ‘fall in line’

Trump intensified the confrontation Monday, telling Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing tariffs and threatening new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel.

Trump added another provocation Tuesday, saying the United States was giving “serious consideration” to renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” in a feud with Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s executive order last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

In the hours before Canada’s announcement, Trump went on a social media tear against the country, accusing it of ripping off American farmers and driving American companies out of business.

“I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable,” Trump wrote in one post. “They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer!”

Because the Supreme Court struck down his biggest tariffs in February, the president turned this time to an obscure provision of a Depression-era trade law that gives him the power to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imports from countries that have discriminated against U.S. businesses. No president has ever imposed such tariffs before, so they are untested in court.

Tariffs on many US products would double

The tariffs will take effect Sept. 8 at rates of 15%, 25% and 50%, with Canada matching the corresponding U.S. tariff rate on more than 700 products. The tariffs on many American products would double from 25% to 50%, with the largest share of the new measures affecting steel and aluminum.

Canadian officials said the goal is not to raise revenue but to protect Canadian companies and reduce U.S. imports.

U.S. steel imports, for example, have already fallen 30% since Canada imposed a 25% tariff, and the new 50% rate is expected to cut them further, Canadian officials said.

LINDSAY Clancy has been left struggling as her blockbuster murder trial nears its end, her lawyer has revealed after his dramatic bid to have the case thrown into a mistrial.

Clancy, 36, is accused of murdering her three young children at her Duxbury, Massachusetts home in January 2023, but has pleaded not guilty on the grounds she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

Her attorney Kevin Reddington spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun outside Plymouth Superior Court on Monday afternoon, shortly after jurors were sent home early following a dramatic showdown over testimony about Clancy’s Catholic faith.

“Lindsay is, you know, she’s pretty beat up and is used to not having support, and I think it means a lot to her,” Reddington told The U.S. Sun.

Hundreds of people have rallied behind Clancy during the trial, with supporters wearing pink gathering outside the courthouse.

Reddington said he has made sure Clancy knows about the backing she has received.

“I’ve tried to tell her that there’s a lot of people that are behind her and at least recognize the fact that she’s a nice person and was dealt bad by the medical profession,” he said.

Asked how Clancy was coping as the trial moves toward its conclusion, Reddington said, “She doesn’t have a mindset, you know, she just listens and sits there.”

He later said Clancy was “under medication” and “doing okay” while being treated at Tewksbury Hospital.

His comments came just after Reddington asked Judge William Sullivan to declare a mistrial over testimony from the prosecution’s forensic psychologist, Dr Kirk Heilbrun.

The dispute erupted after Heilbrun brought Clancy’s Roman Catholic background and the concept of sin into his testimony while discussing her state of mind surrounding suicide.

Reddington stressed afterward that Heilbrun had not actually used the words “mortal sin” on Monday.

“They didn’t say mortal sin today,” he said outside of court.

“They made reference to the Roman Catholic religion and sin, but they didn’t use the mortal sin analogy today.”

That distinction came after religion had already sparked controversy earlier in the trial, when Clancy’s former mother-in-law was questioned about whether murder was considered a “mortal sin.”

“I believe it was intentional misconduct,” Reddington told Sullivan during arguments outside the jury’s presence.

Sullivan denied the motion but sharply questioned why Clancy’s religion had been raised at all.

“How is any of that proper at this point?” the judge said before deciding to give jurors a forceful instruction to disregard the evidence.

He then told the panel that “the religion that the defendant was raised with” was irrelevant before sending jurors home early on Monday afternoon.

Reddington said afterward that the ruling did not shake his confidence in the jury.

“I knew that Judge Sullivan would exercise his discretion, and he would give a strong instruction if he denied the motion,” he said.

“So that’s what he did.”

Asked whether he feared jurors would struggle to put the religious testimony out of their minds, Reddington said, “No. I have no doubt that the jury will listen to the judge’s instructions and be able to overlook it.”

And when asked outside of court whether the drama had changed his mindset heading toward closing arguments, he replied simply, “Not at all. Nope.”

Still, the veteran defense lawyer refused to predict an outcome.

“It’s a trial. You never know. Up and down. You’re happy. You’re not. Who knows?” he said.

“But yeah, it’s been a good trial. I think the evidence has come out and I feel pretty good about it.”

Asked whether Monday’s religious testimony could eventually provide grounds for an appeal, Reddington said he was focused on avoiding that scenario altogether.

“Well, you have to be found guilty before you do an appeal,” he said. “And I’d rather not have her found guilty.”

The mistrial drama capped an already fiery day in court.

Earlier Monday, Reddington tore into prosecution psychiatrist Dr Avram Mack over his experience and conclusions about Clancy’s mental state.

At one point Mack appeared to smile, prompting the lawyer to snap: “What are you smiling for? This is not funny, sir.”

Judge Sullivan also reprimanded Mack during the tense questioning, telling him, “You don’t really ask a lot of questions. You answer the questions.”

Several jurors were seen shaking their heads and rolling their eyes during parts of Mack’s testimony, while Clancy later appeared to smirk after he was dismissed from the stand.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16891120/lindsay-clancy-lawyer-breaks-silence-mistrial-motion/

DANNY Cipriani and AnnaLynne McCord have tied the knot in LA after crowdfunding their special day.

Former rugby ace Danny, 38, couldn’t keep his eyes off his actress wife, who wore a see-through white lace dress and a veil embroidered with flowers.

Free spirit AnnaLynne, 39, was pictured hoisting up her floral skirt as she sprinted down the road in the frock for a fun photo, while in another she beamed as she sprawled on the asphalt.

There were tender moments too as Danny, in an all black suit, smiled and gazed lovingly at his bride as she wrapped him in her veil.

And in another he leaned in for a kiss as she rested a tender hand on his chin.

The night before tying the knot, Danny and 90210 star AnnaLynne looked head over heels at a pre-wedding dinner at West Hollywood’s Katana.

While the big day was full of love and laughter, the build up was tainted by vile death threats after the couple announced they wanted to crowdfund their nuptials.

They used US site Honeyfund — a platform specifically designed to help couples pay for things like flowers, catering, music and a cake.

AnnaLynne thought only her guests could see the couple’s page, which asked for cash donations between £75 ($100) and £450 ($600) to go towards their wedding and honeymoon, but it was open to the public too.

On Friday the total was at £10,660 ($14,200).

Speaking from a hotel in Hollywood, AnnaLynne told The Sun: “I was told I was despicable — and that I was trying to extort money from my wedding guests.

“People actually donated ten dollars towards the wedding so they could write on the site that Danny and I were disgusting.

“There were even death threats.”

The LA-based couple are still very much feeling the love though and intend to have two further ceremonies — one in London and one in Cambodia at the popular Angkor Wat tourist site.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16886291/danny-cipriani-wife-annalynne-mccord-wedding/

THE eerie final movements of a flight attendant found lifeless by a dumpster at a Hawaiian hotel are helping shape the investigation into her shock death.

Popular SouthWest airlines crew member Jenny Lupton mysteriously died while on a layover in Waikiki last week, with very few clues about what actually happened.

The 50-year-old mom from Oklahoma was found around 6am on Thursday, August 20, near the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort.

Her relatives say they were later told by the Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner that she appeared to have fallen from the balcony of her 24th-floor room.

“We have initiated an Unattended Death investigation, and no information will be released at this time,” a spokeswoman from the Honolulu PD told The U.S. Sun.

Nothing, however, which led up to her tragic death raised alarm bells.

Lupton had reportedly spent time with a fellow flight attendant before getting a new tattoo — the outline of a hibiscus flower with deep meaning for her family.

She is said to have then messaged her sister afterward, telling her she planned to have the flower colored in when she returned home.

The evening involved a night out with a fellow flight attendant, with her sister, Tresa Lupton, telling local media that the pair danced, had a good time before taking a visit to the tattoo parlor.

“She just went out with one of her flight attendant friends, and they danced and had a good time,” Tresa said.

“She had gotten a tattoo while she was there.”

The hibiscus, however, wasn’t just another piece of bodyart.

The sisters had planned to get matching tattoos in honor of their father – Jenny had already told her sister she would finish the design once she got back home.

Sometime before dawn, however, everything changed.

A hotel employee reportedly discovered Jenny’s body near a dumpster, according to her sister.

Her family says they were not contacted by the medical examiner until the following morning.

They are now trying to piece together what happened between Jenny’s last known moments and the discovery of her body.

Honolulu police have confirmed that they are investigating her death as an unattended death.

Authorities have not released further details, including whether anyone witnessed what happened.

The family reported that they were told more than 70 cameras cover the area and that police are reviewing surveillance footage.

But relatives say they still don’t have the answers they desperately want.

They have, though, ruled out suicide.

“The timeline doesn’t make sense”

“We strongly believe that she didn’t do this intentionally,” Tresa said.

“And so that leads us to think it was either some kind of freak accident or someone harmed her.”

“We just want to know what happened.”

The family is now preparing to travel to Hawaii themselves, hoping to understand what happened during Jenny’s final hours.

“We want to see for ourselves how this all went down,” Tresa said.

“The timeline doesn’t make sense, and we are afraid that maybe there was foul play.”

Lupton had much to love for. She was a mother to a 15-year-old son, whom relatives described as the light of her life.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16891440/jenny-lupton-southwest-airlines-hawaii-death/

The planned revocations would not necessarily lead to immediate deportation, according to AP.

The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 2 lakh foreign nationals who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum in the United States, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

The report, based on State Department documents and two US officials, said the move could become the largest single mass revocation of visas in US history if implemented.

The State Department is expected to announce the action in the coming weeks. It would cover B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to people who have sought or are seeking asylum.

“We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told AP.

Visa Holders Could Lose Travel Status

B1 visas are generally issued for business travel, while B2 visas cover tourism, family visits and medical treatment.

The planned revocations would not necessarily lead to immediate deportation, according to AP. Officials said many people with pending asylum cases could instead be reclassified, while losing their status as business or tourism travellers.

The State Department did not say how many visa holders from individual countries could be affected. The number of revocations could also change as the review continues.

The US Department of Homeland Security is working with the State Department on identifying people covered by the plan.

The administration has already revoked more than 1.75 lakh visas since Trump returned to office, the US State Department said earlier this month.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/trump-admin-plans-to-revoke-up-to-2-lakh-tourist-business-visas-over-asylum-claims-ws-l-10291404.html

The US Treasury Department followed with sanctions relief aimed at easing economic restrictions on Damascus.

The United States on Monday removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, ending a 46-year designation and clearing another major hurdle for investment as Washington moves to deepen ties with Syria’s new government.

The US State Department also revoked its designation of Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as a foreign terrorist organisation. HTS-led rebels overthrew longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The US Treasury Department followed with sanctions relief aimed at easing economic restrictions on Damascus.

“Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Washington Opens Door To Investment

The move follows US President Donald Trump’s decision in July to begin the process of removing Syria from the terrorism list, in a major policy shift towards Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the latest steps would give Syrians “a path to prosperity” and remove what he called the “final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy”.

“These actions were all taken in recognition of the positive actions taken and further commitments by the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully distance Syria from acts of international terrorism,” Rubio said in a statement.

The US Treasury Department said the changes fulfilled Trump’s promise to provide sanctions relief, while stressing that Washington would continue targeting individuals and groups involved in terrorism.

HTS, formerly known as Al-Nusrah Front, was once Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria before breaking with the jihadist group in 2016.

Trump has also met Sharaa during efforts to rebuild US-Syrian ties following the fall of Assad, whose family ruled Syria for decades.

Damascus Hails ‘Historic Milestone’

Syria welcomed the US moves, with Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani calling the delisting a “historic milestone” and saying it reflected the new government’s commitment to international peace and security.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/will-help-foster-investment-us-lifts-syria-from-state-sponsors-of-terrorism-list-after-46-years-ws-l-10291388.html

San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York — whose family is worth an estimated $8.5 billion — was arrested on Sunday at 9:35 a.m. for trying to pay just $140 for sex in a Ohio trailer park, according to court documents obtained by the California Post.

York responded to an advertisement on Sunday from a known prostitution website in Columbiana County, Ohio and “arranged to have sexual activity with the female in exchange for $140.”

However, when York was on the way to a meeting who he thought was a sex worker at a trailer park in East Palestine, Ohio, he was taken into custody by an agent from the Mahoning Valley Human trafficking Task Force, who had orchestrated the sting operation.

The trailer park, Wheat Hill MHP, later claimed on Facebook that York was arrested there because that’s where he was pulled over, not that the police were using one of the homes as part of their sting.

York had “in his possession his cellular device which was used to arrange the criminal act,” according to the court documents.

The documents show York was booked into county jail on two separate charges — one count of engaging in prostitution and one count of possessing criminal tools.

On Monday, however, York cut a plea deal with prosecutors, according to Columbiana County Municipal Court records.

York, who was initially released on $5,000 bond, pled no contest to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct as well as no contest to one count of possessing criminal tools, the records show.

He was sentenced to one day in jail, though he was given credit for time served. He was also ordered to pay $1,150 in fines.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/24/sports/details-of-49ers-owner-jed-yorks-140-trailer-park-prostitution-arrest-emerge/

“I take a nap and the world changes,” says Chen Tianyu.

His world certainly does. The 28-year-old keeps up with the latest technology by spending his spare time in factories that are switching to automation. That way he knows what to prioritise when teaching his class about artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

In front of him, around 30 college students are studying code. One of them is typing furiously as his eyes dart from the screen to the robot: “The idea is it will grab that cylindrical piece and move it over there.”

A line of industrial robots are waiting to be programmed, and in another part of the classroom, students are trying to develop robotic medical instruments. As he guides them, Chen declares: “If you are not needed by the world of AI and robotics, then you’ll definitely be among those eliminated”.

For the people in this room, this is a step – or rather a leap – towards a future that China is meticulously building: Xi Jinping’s $20bn (£14.7bn) plan to put his country at the forefront of innovation and in direct competition with the US.

The evidence is all around them. They are in the Hangzhou Technician Institute, one of several huge, purpose-built vocational schools that want to churn out the next generation of tech-savvy engineers. The campus sits on the outskirts of Hangzhou, a former imperial capital whose futuristic skyline is just the first hint of its role as a global tech hub.

Across the country, there are more than two million robots working in China’s factories – which is more than anywhere else – and they are continuing to scale up at extraordinary speed.

It is a commitment that will surely change the world, much like the last time the Chinese economy underwent a massive transformation. It is already shipping its robots across the globe: more than half of the world’s industrial robots are now made in China.

What is less clear is the impact of such sweeping automation in a country that sits at the heart of global manufacturing, trade and innovation. What does this mean for China’s human workforce, for instance? And how would we be able to truly measure the cost of this transformation in a regime that controls information so tightly?

The future of China’s workers is uncertain in the industrial revolution the world has been watching: gleaming solar grids, peak hours made noiseless by electric vehicles, machines that run faster than Usain Bolt. Over the weekend, China hosted the second edition of the World Humanoid Games where robots boxed, sprinted and marched.

What is fuelling this spectacle is another, less visible revolution happening inside factories and classrooms.

The BBC has visited industrial sites where we have been shown robots that do not look human, or dance or leap on stage but weld, paint, lift, assemble and work around the clock without a break or benefits. Some are designed to build more robots. We have also been inside academies where China is training the people who will work alongside its robotic workforce.

This is a front-row seat to what Xi calls China’s “new productive forces” – and how they could reshape the country.

On a factory floor in the southern city of Chengdu, the old and and the new are working side by side.

An assembly line of around 30 middle-aged men and women is screwing, drilling and polishing CRP Technology’s signature product: a robotic arm which performs various industrial tasks. Also in the room are four young engineers crowded around a console, trying to crack the code for a prototype, a new robot that they hope will help build other robots.

One of them, 31-year-old Pang Kai, who is part of the research and development team, pushes the sleek skeleton across the room. Because China’s future workforce is not quite ready to strut out. For now, it can only do simple repetitive movements, such as scan a QR code.

“Maybe in another half year, it can do another task,” Pang says, smiling wistfully. It’s a long road and the team are celebrating every small win.

CRP Technology, which employs around 300 people, has been building robot arms for nine years. Each arm can be tailored to a factory’s needs to help build cars, electronics or wind turbines. The firm says a single arm can be programmed to perform more than 90% of repetitive tasks.

The engineers also wonder if, one day, they can replace the company’s workforce. “We want our new robot to be like human beings. We hope it can think by itself,” says Pang. “We need these kinds of robots because maybe in 10 years, we won’t have enough workers in China.”

A shrinking population and an ageing workforce is another reason Beijing is in a hurry to revolutionise its factories. By 2035, more than a third of China’s population will be over 60, according to official estimates. The country will also lose nearly 60 million people in the next decade – almost equivalent to the population of France – according to some estimates.

The hope is that increased automation will fill this looming gap in the workforce before it starts to affect an already sluggish economy. But the speed of the transition is key. Around 120 million people still work in the manufacturing sector. If China moves too quickly, job losses could follow dealing a catastrophic blow to millions who depend on factory wages.

“In theory, machines can work 24 hours a day, which is certainly an advantage compared with human workers. But machines also require maintenance. Every day we need time for that, and each month the production line also requires inspection and repair,” says Cao Li, vice-president of EV maker Leapmotor.

Increasingly popular in Europe and the UK, the company’s budget-friendly, tech-focused cars come together at the Hangzhou factory with robots aiding the process at every step. At the end of the assembly line, more humans emerge.

The company has more than 25,000 workers and hundreds of them make the final checks as the sparkling new vehicles roll past. Will there be a day when they are no longer needed?

“It’s entirely possible,” Cao says. “And it may come relatively quickly. In workshops, including stamping, welding, and painting, we’ve basically achieved 100% automation.”

China has the edge over the US due to its enormous manufacturing base. Motors, batteries, electronics, gears, sensors – everything needed to build the body of a robot is all at hand.

“China also has an idea. It has a plan. They know where they want to be in five years. They plan at a top level, but they break it down to the regions, to the municipalities,” says Dr Susanne Bieller, General Secretary of the International Federation of Robotics.

“If you want to build a robot in Shenzhen – there’s an entire ecosystem. It takes you less than one hour to source the components you need to make a robot. In Europe it can take you up to a week.”

However, she acknowledges that while China is good at building the body, the US is still leading at building the “brain”, which includes developing the AI to programme robots. And yet Chinese firms, from DeepSeek to Moonshot, have been unveiling new AI models that they say can compete with top US firms.

Driven by an “open-source” approach, where AI start-ups share their code, Chinese innovation has been able to catch up faster than expected, despite US export controls over critical advanced chips. Analysts now believe that the next leg of this race will be determined not by who has the best language model, but who can put this intelligence into millions of machines.

And that is why China is also investing in producing a generation of students learning to imagine what could come next.

At the Hangzhou Technician Institute, for example, children can start from the age of 15. And the scale of what is being taught can feel staggering. There is an entire building dedicated to engines and aeronautics, and a restricted floor for students who will work to keep China at the forefront of processing rare earths – another crucial commodity in the battle with Washington.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62m4zn1q6mo

Andy Burnham has promised to keep up the pressure on Russia despite Moscow’s “outrageous threats”, on his first official visit to Ukraine as UK prime minister.

Burnham met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and chaired his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, set up by the UK and France under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.

He said the coalition was “doing everything we can” while urging the US Congress to “ratchet up” economic pressure on Russia.

The government has agreed to hand over blueprints for British-made components for the Scalp missile, a French version of the UK’s Storm Shadow cruise missile – allowing Ukraine to produce the long-range weapon domestically.

Burnham said allies were doing “everything we can” to “dig into our own stocks and help others dig into their stocks” of air defences to protect Ukraine.

“This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia, the moment to squeeze their ability to fund this illegal war,” Burnham said, praising the “strength” of the Ukrainian people.

“Ukraine has been Europe’s protector, not a drain on our security but the front line in keeping Europe safe.”

It comes after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticised the UK’s decision to share the missile blueprints. Peskov said it prevented “even the slightest progress” towards achieving peace.

He told reporters on Monday that the Russian military was already gathering data to locate any missile production sites to destroy them.

“Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime. Britain methodically and regularly adds fuel to the fire,” he added.

In response, Burnham said: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”

He said the issue of missile interceptors would be the main topic at the coalition of the willing meeting.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov said the UK could face a “semi-military” response in retaliation for sharing military blueprints with Ukraine, but specified this would be “not by Russia, but from unknown sources”.

“Something might happen with enterprises, with factories which are producing drones for Ukraine,” Fedorov said.

Asked if he was OK with a potential attack, he said: “No, I don’t think it’s okay, because the problem is that we are now facing, in front of the danger, that Ukrainian conflict will be beyond Ukrainian borders.”

Burnham has been reaffirming the UK’s backing for Kyiv in the wake of escalating Russian strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks – including one on a shopping centre on Friday that killed at least 16 people.

In a joint statement after the meeting, Burnham and co-chairs French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the group would aim to strength Kyiv’s air defences “as a matter or urgent priority”.

They also condemned Moscow’s “systemic and escalating strikes against Ukraine’s cities, critical infrastructure and civilians” and pledged to “constrain Russia’s war chest through sanctions and actions against the “shadow fleet”.

The Coalition of the Willing is a partnership of 34 countries including Ukraine. Members met on Monday in either Kyiv or by video conference, with a release stating “leaders once again reaffirmed their commitment to support Ukraine’s independence”.

It came as the European Union said it had released €6.1bn (£5.2bn) in military aid for Ukraine to boost its air defences. The finance is part of a wider €90bn loan from the EU to Ukraine.

The UK and Ukraine have also announced a new military technology partnership giving British experts access to Kyiv’s Avengers AI Labs database.

Downing Street says Ukraine has used sensors and cameras to capture data across the battlefield and it can be used to train AI models “to solve key national security challenges” faced by both countries.

On Monday morning the prime minister laid flowers at the graves of Ukrainian soldiers during a service at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

He accepted an award from Zelensky on behalf of the British people recognising the UK’s support for Ukraine during an independence day event outside the St Sofia cathedral in Kyiv.

In a speech, Burnham compared Ukraine’s resistance to Russia to the UK’s fight with Nazi Germany, saying: “My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st.”

In a statement issued ahead of the visit, the prime minister said: “On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes.

“I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security.”

He said the friendship Ukraine shared with the UK would “long outlast Russia’s illegal war”, adding: “Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.”

Moscow earlier warned of “consequences” over the use of British drones by Ukraine in its recent ramping up of strikes on Russian infrastructure.

Kyiv has stepped up long-range attacks on Moscow and other Russian regions, targeting oil refineries and warehouses of the country’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.

The government is allowing UK defence company MBDA to declassify information on its components for the Scalp missile, as Ukraine and France aim to establish assembly lines in Ukraine.

Scalp missiles and its UK-produced version, the Storm Shadow, have already been provided to Kyiv by both Britain and France and used to hit military targets inside Russia.

Ukraine hopes it can also be given more Patriot interceptor missiles, with Zelensky again asking for more of the weapon, which are used to combat Russia’s ballistic missiles.

Ukraine has been relying on American supplies of the Patriots, but its stockpiles are running low due to the war in Iran, leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Russian attacks.

The Russian embassy in the UK has accused Britain of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”, saying “the deeper its involvement in the conflict… the higher the price it will pay”.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyqypkrzq5o

Activists and politicians in Nepal have urged the government to enact tougher laws as the alleged rape and murder of a three-year-old girl has caused outrage across the country.

Nepal has seen continued protests since the girl was found dead last week, three days after she went missing in Madhesh province.

Nine people have been arrested in connection with the case, a local police spokesman told the BBC.

The crime has triggered demands for reform. Police have also been accused of negligence in the initial stages of the investigation after footage of a teenage suspect was leaked onto social media.

After days of demonstrations in the city of Simara, the victim’s family met government ministers, and secured a written agreement over the weekend.

The government has promised to review laws on serious offences, and create a memorial in honour of the child.

The incident has also opened a wider debate over how Nepal deals with young offenders, with some campaigners pushing for harsher punishments for minors convicted of rape or murder.

Prominent human rights activist Gauri Pradhan called the attack a “very painful incident and the government should punish anyone involved in such atrocious act. There should be some serious efforts for wider reforms”.

However, he cautioned against calls for the introduction of the death penalty.

There has also been anger after a video showing a teenage suspect giving a statement about the suspected murder was uploaded to social media, sparking questions as to how footage of the individual under police custody was leaked.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgy58ql288o

The sanctions are part of Trump’s ‘economic D-day’, an effort to seemingly cut off Iran’s lifelines.

The United States has imposed new sanctions on Iranian individuals, companies and ships accused of supporting Tehran’s military activities, cyberattacks and illegal oil trade, the US state department said Monday.

The measures target networks involved in buying weapons, gathering intelligence, hacking US infrastructure and moving Iranian oil to generate revenue for Iran’s regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), department spokesperson Tommy Pigott has said.

“Today, the United States took sweeping action against multiple entities, individuals, and vessels enabling the Iranian regime’s destabilizing activities,” he said in a statement.

The sanctions, announced on August 24, are part of US President Donald Trump’s ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ or ‘economic D-day’, an effort to seemingly cut off Iran’s lifelines.

The United States is targeting individuals and entities involved in the Iranian regime’s weapons procurement; cyber intrusions into U.S. energy, defense, and health infrastructure; and the illicit oil shipments that fund terrorism across the Middle East. We call on the…

— Tommy Pigott (@statedeptspox) August 24, 2026

Two Iran-based groups targeted

The US sanctioned DadeNegar Startup Studio and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC).

The US accused DadeNegar of using commercial Chinese satellite images to help Iran identify US forces and bases in the Gulf during Operation Epic Fury — the joint bombing of Iran by the US and Israel on February 28.

The IRGC-CEC was sanctioned for obtaining information about US forces and bases that Washington said was used to support Iran’s targeting efforts. The US said both groups were involved in activities linked to Iran’s military procurement.

Iranian officials sanctioned

The sanctions also target seven Iranian officials accused of directing military operations and weapons programmes. Those named include former supreme national security council official Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi and Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.

IRGC Aerospace force commander Sayyid Hossein Mousavi Eftekhari and Iran’s conventional military commander Amir Hatami were sanctioned over their roles in the country’s ballistic missile and drone programmes.

Deputy defence minister for industrial and research affairs Seyyed Mahdi Farahi was targeted over his role in weapons procurement. Reza Talaei-Nik, spokesperson for Iran’s defence ministry, was also sanctioned.

Cyber operations also targeted

The US has also sanctioned an Iranian cyber group accused of hacking US critical infrastructure. Pigott said this was coordinated with the FBI, which last week charged eight Iranian nationals over cyberattacks on US energy companies, defence firms, hospitals and government offices.

The US rewards for justice programme is offering up to $10 million for information on five people accused of carrying out the attacks on behalf of Iran.

Sanctions target Iran’s oil trade

The US has also sanctioned Iranian and foreign companies accused of helping move Iranian oil and petrochemical products. Washington said the companies used “shadow fleet” ships and other methods to hide these shipments. The network includes shippers and brokers moving Iranian oil through the UAE, China, Singapore and Europe.

The US said the money from these sales helped fund Iran’s IRGC and other groups linked to the Iranian government.

US says more action is coming

“The United States will continue to disrupt, expose, and dismantle Iran’s military and proliferation activities, procurement schemes, malicious cyber operations, and illicit oil trade that sustains the regime’s malign behaviour,” the state department said.

Washington has also called on other countries to take action against the people and companies targeted by the sanctions.

Iran responds

Iran Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the US did not have the economic strength to restrict Iran’s ties with other countries.

“Americans know that no one buys their bombast; the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries,” Ghalibaf said.

He added that Iran’s trading partners told Tehran that they were not taking the US warnings seriously. “Iran’s trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don’t take these statements into account anywhere.”

آمریکایی‌ها می‌دانند که کسی گُنده‌لافی‌های آنها را باور نمی‌کند؛ آمریکا از لحاظ اقتصادی در شرایطی نیست که بخواهد روابط خود با دیگر کشورها را محدودتر از این کند.
شرکای تجاری ایران، هم در رسانه‌ها و هم با ارسال پیام‌ به ما اعلام کرده‌اند که این اظهارات را به هیچ جا حساب نمی‌کنند.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) August 24, 2026

Iran’s ‘not a single drop of oil’ threat

Earlier, Iran warned that it could stop all oil exports from the Persian Gulf if the US continued its economic pressure on Tehran.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said, “If the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf.” He also said that Iran would consider any country supporting the US campaign against Tehran to be an “act of war.”

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-sanctions-on-iran-military-officials-cyber-threats-oil-trade-operation-economic-outcast-donald-trump-strait-of-hormuz-101787619032378.html

Benjamin Netanyahu has two sons and a daughter. It remains unclear which of his sons was allegedly targeted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday made a massive claim against Iran, alleging that Tehran “tried to kill” one of his sons.

“Something incredible happened: Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill one of my sons,” Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 during a phone interview.

Shortly after Netanyahu’s remarks became public on Monday, prominent Israeli journalist Amit Segal wrote on his Telegram channel that the alleged assassination attempt had been known for “months” but was subject to a gag order.

The claim came during a discussion about reports that the Shin Bet domestic security agency had declined to provide a security detail for Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is running neck and neck with Netanyahu ahead of elections on October 27.

Netanyahu voiced support for around-the-clock protection for Eisenkot, saying it was “not a luxury”.

“Without that, (the Iranians) will succeed,” he said.

Which of Netanyahu’s sons was targeted?

Benjamin Netanyahu has two sons and a daughter. It remains unclear which of his sons was allegedly targeted.

Netanyahu’s elder son, Yair, 35, has spent extended periods in Miami, United States, since early 2024, reportedly under Shin Bet protection.

His stay in the United States has attracted controversy in Israel over the cost to taxpayers of providing security, while some residents in South Florida have expressed concern that his presence could make the area a target for attacks by Israel’s enemies.
The Israeli PM’s other son, Avner, generally maintains a much lower public profile and continues to reside in Israel.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/iran-tried-to-kill-one-of-my-sons-claims-israeli-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-101787592192166.html

Iran promised to retaliate against expanded U.S. sanctions that the Americans said would cut Iran’s economic lifeline, with ​Tehran expressing confidence that major trading partners would resist Washington’s pressure campaign.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures on Monday but stopped short of the most punishing sanctions, saying ‌countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of the dollar-based financial system.

Bessent declined to identify the countries that would be targeted or reveal when the penalties would take effect, saying he would instead give them time to comply with the new directive. The Treasury Department did announce new sanctions on 60 individuals, entities and vessels, but the list did not feature any of the Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating Iran’s oil trade.
Iran and the United States signed an interim ​deal in June aimed at ending the war that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, but the Islamabad memorandum, as it is known, quickly faltered.
Mediator Pakistan made “significant progress” ​in the latest talks with Tehran that focused on measures such as prevention of further escalation of the conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠the Pakistani military said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The Iranian president candidly shared his government’s perspective and we had a very constructive exchange on the issues involved,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who accompanied army chief ​Asim Munir to Tehran, said on X.
The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment made outside business hours. Iran has not yet commented on the latest talks with Pakistan.
Before ​news of the latest sanctions, Iran threatened both a possible military response and further reduction in oil exports from the Gulf in retaliation for any U.S. economic measures.
After they were unveiled, Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said, “We are fully prepared for the U.S. sanctions.”
He told state television, “Naturally, the enemies intend to launch an economic terrorist attack on us, but we also have our own tools and know how to play the game. Our defense is no longer so defensive; the enemies should wait ​for an attack.”

Neither China nor Russia had “accepted” the U.S. measures, he added, predicting that other countries would resist them.
Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, vowed heavy blows to U.S. ​vital interests and energy chokepoints if Iran’s infrastructure is threatened, Press TV reported.

LITTLE SIGN OF DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION

Struggling to resolve an unpopular war that has pushed up energy prices, the administration of President Donald Trump appears to be counting on ‌further economic ⁠pressure, even though Iran has spent decades under layers of U.S. and international sanctions that have battered its economy but have not deterred its leadership.

Despite no major strikes by either side in weeks, the war shows little sign of reaching a diplomatic solution. The United States is seeking new ways to end Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf and, more recently via its allies, in the Red Sea.
Just two commodity vessels transited the key energy chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, for the lowest daily tally since early May, shipping data showed.
Before the conflict, the strait carried about a fifth of global flows of crude oil and liquefied natural ​gas.
Almost six months have passed since the U.S. ​and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Thousands of ⁠people have died, most of them in Iran and Lebanon.
While the war has degraded much of Iran’s conventional military capacity, inflicted economic pain and killed then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran has preserved enough missile and drone capability to attack Gulf neighbors and threaten oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The exact state ​of Iran’s nuclear program, which the Americans and Israelis aim to wipe out, remains unknown.
Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, having fallen more than $2 a barrel a ​day earlier.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/iran-vows-retaliate-after-us-widens-sanctions-2026-08-25/

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Pakistan’s army ​chief Asim Munir last week ahead of Munir’s trip to Tehran on ‌Monday, according to three Pakistani sources, with one saying the main U.S. request was to use Pakistan’s influence to bring Iran back to negotiations.
Trump last week warned of economic consequences against any country that ​provided “any type of lifeline to Iran” as he seeks to isolate the Islamic ​Republic. Iran has in turn vowed to shut down all oil exports ⁠from the Gulf.

Last week’s call, which has not been previously reported, was initiated ​by Trump, according to two Pakistani sources.
The White House Office of the Press Secretary did ​not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear what Munir and Trump discussed in detail.
Munir arrived in Tehran on Monday accompanied by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan’s military confirmed, saying ​it was “part of Pakistan’s efforts to promote regional peace and stability.”
Pakistan, which has played ​a key mediating role between the U.S. and Iran this year, has remained a trading partner of ‌Iran ⁠throughout the recent fighting.

Munir was expected to meet with people close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday, one Pakistani source said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistans-munir-spoke-trump-ahead-tehran-visit-sources-say-2026-08-24/

President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday released a proposed regulation ​to codify an unprecedented fee of more than $100,000 on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers that has been blocked ‌by the courts.
The fee, first temporarily imposed by Trump last year,dramatically raises the cost of visas that are heavily relied on in the tech, education and research sectors.

A federal judge in June ruled that the fee was illegal and blocked the Trump administration from collecting it. A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing that decision while a different court considers whether a judge properly ​rejected a challenge to the fee by a major business group.

Trump’s temporary fee increase expires in September, one year after it was issued. ​The proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, posted in the Federal Register on Monday, would make a ⁠fee of $103,265 permanent. It could be finalized by the end of the year.
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty ​fields and offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. Those visas typically came with fees between $2,000 ​and $5,000 before Trump’s order.
The fee would not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in the United States on student visas, who make up a large share of new H-1B recipients, or to renewals of current visas.

DEBATE OVER VISA PROGRAM

Trump, a Republican, and other critics of the H-1B program say it is abused by many companies who replace ​American workers with cheaper foreign labor. But business groups and many individual companies have said the visa program is needed to address a lack of ​qualified American workers for some jobs and to allow U.S. businesses to recruit top talent.
About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on a total of 85 visa applications as ‌of late ⁠February, according to court filings.
In imposing the fee, Trump invoked the president’s power under immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals who would be detrimental to U.S. interests.
The fee is being challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobbying group, Democratic-led states and a coalition of unions and employers. Those lawsuits could be amended to challenge the rule proposed this week once it is finalized.

LEGAL CHALLENGES MOUNT

The lawsuits claim that Trump’s power to ​restrict entry does not allow him ​to override the law that created ⁠the H-1B visa program. The states and groups that sued also say that the Homeland Security Department cannot impose fees, taxes or other means to generate revenue for the United States without permission from Congress.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-moves-impose-more-than-100000-fee-h-1b-worker-visas-2026-08-24/

The leaders of Britain and France pledged to provide Ukraine with stronger military support — including access to classified technology and faster deliveries of air defence missiles — at a meeting of allies to mark Kyiv’s independence ​day celebrations.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, in Kyiv on his first foreign visit since taking office last month, urged the gathering of the “Coalition of the Willing” to “do everything we can” to bolster Ukraine’s ‌defences against Russian air strikes.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had earlier praised the resilience of the Ukrainian people during more than four years of war.
At the United Nations in New York, dozens of countries issued a joint statement reaffirming support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and urging Russia to accept an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire.

UKRAINE GETS TECH TO MAKE STORM SHADOW MISSILES

“Ukraine absolutely wants peace, but it is not ready to simply surrender,” Zelenskiy said, adding that Russia would not halt its aggression even if Ukraine ceded to its demands for more territory ​in the country’s east.
Wearing a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt, Zelenskiy thanked foreign leaders for travelling to Kyiv to show their support on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s break from the Soviet Union.

Standing alongside Zelenskiy and European ​Council President Antonio Costa, Burnham said his choice of Kyiv for his first foreign visit showed the importance he attached to assisting in Ukraine’s defence.
“We are with you in ⁠this struggle all the way, heart and soul,” Burnham said, vowing to continue that support “despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country.”
“This is the moment to keep up the pressure on Russia. The moment to squeeze their ability to fund ​this illegal war,” Burnham said, calling for further economic sanctions.
Britain announced on Monday it would allow Kyiv access to classified technology to start its own production of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles, capable of carrying out strikes deep within Russia. ​France has already given its assent to license the technology for the European missile.

In response, the Kremlin said the use of classified British technology would “add fuel to the fire” of their worsening relations, after it warned London last week there would be “consequences” for supplying drones to Kyiv.

UKRAINE NEEDS MORE INTERCEPTORS, PRESIDENT SAYS

With Russia escalating its ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, Kyiv is suffering an acute shortage of the U.S.-made Patriot air defence interceptors — the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing such missiles.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine needed at least 300 interceptors ​to make it through the winter, and he appealed to allies to deliver an air defence package before Russia renews its strikes on his country’s energy infrastructure.
French President Emmanuel Macron, co-chairing the coalition meeting via video link, said that ​a string of deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks had shown that allies needed to step up the deliveries of interceptors and France would do its part.

“I think it’s very important that all of us accelerate in terms of delivery,” Macron told ‌the meeting, ⁠urging countries not to back down in the face of Russian intimidation. “The bottom line is, for me, very clear: keep calm and carry on.”
Zelenskiy told the meeting that Ukraine’s war effort was complicated by a $27-billion defence funding gap this year and appealed for additional financial support. He suggested that Russia’s frozen overseas assets could be used to finance the deficit.
Paying tribute to Ukrainian people and soldiers defending Ukraine in the war, Zelenskiy called on allies to give it “everything” needed to stop the war.
“We are not asking you to fight for us,” he said.
In a joint statement, more than 50 countries at the U.N. called on Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire. “This senseless war and the immense human suffering could end immediately,” the ​statement said. “Russia simply needs to accept the unconditional ceasefire that ​Ukraine and the international community has been calling for ⁠for over a year and a half now.”
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused Western countries of using Ukraine as a tool for exerting pressure on Moscow while falsely portraying themselves as peace advocates.

DRONE DEMONSTRATION

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and swathes of Ukrainian territory have been laid waste, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
U.S.-led ​peace talks to bring a lasting end to the war fell apart earlier this year as Ukraine refused Russian demands to cede more territory. Fighting continues along a ​750-mile (1,200-km) front line and Ukraine has ⁠succeeded in bringing Russian advances overall to a virtual halt this year.
Hovering in the sky above Kyiv, a squadron of aerial drones carried out a demonstration of Ukrainian military technology, which has helped to keep Russian forces in check.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-wants-peace-wont-give-zelenskiy-says-independence-day-2026-08-24/

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted one court order blocking President Donald ​Trump’s administration from implementing an executive order restricting the use of mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections.
But the fate of Trump’s order remains uncertain, as a ‌separate injunction blocking a key part of the plan remains in place.

Republicans are locked in a tight battle to retain control of Congress in the midterms. Restricting mail-in ballots would stand to disproportionately benefit Republicans given that Democratic voters traditionally have been more likely to use mail-in ballots.

Monday’s ruling from the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority applied to a June injunction from Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani.
A coalition of 23 mostly Democratic-governed states and the District of Columbia had sued ​to stop the executive order over mail-in ballots. The Supreme Court on Monday said it was too soon for the states to challenge the order but left the door open for ​them to sue again as the midterm contest approaches.

TRUMP’S MARCH EXECUTIVE ORDER

Trump’s executive order, issued in March, directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile and ⁠transmit to the states a list of U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state, and the Justice Department to prioritize investigating and prosecuting state and local election officials who issue ballots to people ​deemed “not eligible” to vote in federal elections.

It also required the U.S. Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list.
Trump has vowed to end the use of mail-in ballots nationwide ​before the midterms, and has long cast doubt on the security of such ballots, although evidence of voter fraud is rare.
The court on Monday did not act on another injunction from Talwani that blocked the USPS nationwide from enforcing the directive’s tighter rules for voting by mail. The judge issued that order on August 11 in a separate lawsuit filed by voting-rights groups.

JUDGE RULED TRUMP LACKED AUTHORITY

Trump’s executive order is part of his wider efforts to make fundamental changes in U.S. elections. ​Trump, who has made false claims of widespread fraud in U.S. elections including his 2020 loss to former Democratic President Joe Biden, has pressed the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a contentious package of voting ​restrictions called the SAVE America Act.

In June, Talwani ruled that the president lacked the authority to order changes in how states administer federal elections, noting that under the U.S. Constitution, states have the role of determining voter-eligibility requirements. ‌The judge ⁠also noted that federal agencies lack the ability to compile accurate citizen lists for each state.
Despite Talwani’s action, USPS on Friday released a finalized rule to implement Trump’s order, which would require states to provide it with lists of voters who received mailed ballots, as well as unique barcodes on outbound and return ballot mail envelopes.
In Monday’s decision, the conservative majority agreed with the Justice Department that the lawsuit challenging Trump’s directive was premature and that the states did not have the required legal standing at this stage to sue.

The agencies have not yet taken concrete actions that impact the states and so any harm they allege ​is speculative, the court said. Trump’s order itself “does not ​harm the states,” the court added.
California Governor Gavin ⁠Newsom, a Democrat, said on Monday: “The Supreme Court just let the Trump administration move ahead (for now) with its plan to disenfranchise voters across the country. California will be suing AGAIN to block these Orwellian rules from being implemented.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The USPS declined ​to comment.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by fellow liberal Justice Elena Kagan, said that the states should not have to wait to challenge the order.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us-supreme-court-lifts-judicial-hurdle-trumps-mail-in-ballot-curbs-2026-08-24/

A WOMAN who was hired by an erotic photographer has claimed he groomed and abused her for years before his home became the center of a house of horrors investigation.

A woman, who asked to be identified by the pseudonym Beth Perry, said she was approached by photographer R.C. Horsch, 82, in the summer of 2020 in Philadelphia with a photoshoot proposition.

Perry, 41, said Horsch, who died in May 2025, showed her a book of modeling pictures that he had taken.

“He presented it as though he was a photographer. He brought his book and gave me a nicer one, with artistic nude photos in,” Perry said.

Perry agreed to the shoot, but over time, she claimed the photoshoots became increasingly sexual.

“He told me there would be no sex, but over time it did turn into sexual favors.” she said.

Years after ending communications with Horsch in October 2024, Perry believes she had a lucky escape.

In June, Horsch’s son, Eugene 44, was arrested at the home the two shared after authorities uncovered video recordings of two missing women who police say are presumed to be dead.

The two missing women were identified as Maribel Fresses, who was last seen in February 2018, and Gabrielle Amarando, who had been missing since September 2012.

Philadelphia Police also found a firearm, a marijuana operation and five urns containing cremated remains.

Perry is now recollecting her relationship with Horsch and how the photographer’s requests allegedly turned more sadistic.

She allegedly recalled instances where Horsch would instruct her to pose naked in graveyards, where she was asked to play dead and look battered and bruised.

Horsch would often capture photos of women naked in graveyards, covered in blood, battered and bruised, or injecting drugs,” Perry claimed.

Perry alleged he made her re-create instances of sexual abuse she had suffered as a child and paid her for sex.

She added that Horsch paid her between $40 and $120 for everything from modeling shoots and nude photographs to sexual favors.

Perry, a home health aide from Philadelphia, recalled the photoshoots lasting hours, at times, well beyond sunset.

“You wouldn’t know how long you would be on a shoot for. He would do the photos during the daylight, so you would either get caught and have to leave, or other times you would be there for longer,” she said.

“It depended on whether he was getting turned on by the pictures, if he was into it.”

Perry said Horsch would take it too far to get the perfect picture.

“The photoshoots were all about degrading me,” she recalled.

“He would want me naked in dumpsters. He would use handcuffs on me and wanted to mark my body.

“R.C. would want real blood in the pictures; he would want as much blood and reality as possible.

“He wanted it to be an authentic mark. If he wanted you to look beat, he would beat you for the picture.”

Perry said Horsch would repeatedly try to persuade her to come to his house, telling her she would be “looked after.”

She claimed Horsch’s “endgame was to get me to his house.”

“I feared that if I went there, I would have disappeared,” Perry said.

“That was why it was so chilling to see the house on the TV. The feelings I got from him is if I went around, I would never leave.

“He pitched his home to me as a place that I could move in, and I would never need to leave.

“That I wouldn’t need to get clean from drugs because he had loads there.”

Perry began distancing herself from Horsch in October 2024 by ignoring his text messages – a move the twisted photographer did not take well.

Towards the end of their relationship, Perry claimed he tried getting her to his house, an offer she always refused.

Perry said, “I would tell him that I would meet him at his house, and then I became unavailable as I was terrified to go around.

“I just had a gut feeling that I did not want to go into the house.

“I don’t know of anyone who has been in the house and come out. He sold it as a haven where I wouldn’t need to leave.”

When Perry saw the news coverage about the horrors authorities found at the home Horsch shared with his son, she said her “heart dropped.”

Perry said she had previously thought about reporting him due to his behavior toward her and his interests, but didn’t follow through.

“At certain points in our relationship, I had thought about reporting him because of what he would write and his interests,” Perry said.

“When there were sexual exchanges between us, he would want me to describe in detail how I was molested as a child.

“Describe how I was raped. He would push through the detail, and I would get upset and feel uncomfortable about sharing those details.”

Horsch’s son Eugene was arrested in June and is currently in custody on federal charges connected to firearms and phony federal credentials.

After his arrest, police searched the Horsch property on West Chew Avenue and uncovered 50 hard drives and electronic devices that contained recordings of Fresses and Amarando, the two missing women.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16875292/erotic-photographer-lured-women-home-graveyard-shoots-two-died/

THE Duchess of Sussex is still in talks to star in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen — despite claims she had been axed after a public backlash.

Netflix bosses are eager to feature Meghan’s screen comeback but no formal agreement has been reached.

A TV source said: “Her return to acting is expected to draw a large audience of both her supporters and critics, and is likely to make a lot of money. It will be seen as a major coup for whoever signs her.”

It is understood Hollywood deals often go up to the wire, and jobs are rarely ever set in stone until the last minute.

It comes after esteemed royal author Tina Brown claimed Meghan had been dropped from the project, writing: “The backlash was so intense it became untenable to go forward.”

Last week we told, left, that the Duchess was in talks to play a ­temptress in Netflix’s action-comedy series about an aristocratic family who turn to crime.

The main character is a duke who formerly served in the Army — just like Meghan’s husband Prince Harry.

The hugely-popular first series in 2024 was even advertised with the slogan “every heir needs a spare”, echoing Harry and brother William.

The show features Ritchie hallmarks such as underworld thugs, drugs, sex, murders and very strong language.

Meghan, who we revealed last week is returning to the UK imminently with Harry and their two children, also has a strong relationship with Netflix.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/royals/16885828/meghan-markle-talks-netflix-the-gentlemen-role/

The Long Island teacher and mom of four killed when her SUV plunged into a backyard pool appears to have suffered a medical episode before the fatal crash, sources close to the investigation told The Post on Sunday.

Allison Rahmani, 40, died Friday when she lost control of her vehicle and drove it into the swimming pool at her family’s Hewlett home.

Police said Rahmani was able to call 911 from the vehicle but could not be saved and died on the way to the hospital.

Sources said police believe she suffered some kind of medical emergency that led to the horrifying accident and do not suspect foul play, although the probe is ongoing.

Rahmani was lovingly remembered Sunday at a funeral service at Boulevard-Riverside Chapels in Hewlett – the same day she was scheduled to leave for a romantic Paris getaway with her husband, Matthew Rahmani, president of Irving Place Minyan Orthodox Synagogue in Woodmere.

Allison, who recently celebrated her 40th birthday, was math coordinator at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/23/us-news/cause-of-death-revealed-in-horror-case-of-long-island-teacher-and-mom-of-4-who-died-after-driving-suv-into-pool/

The bizarre fandom around Lindsay Clancy is the latest example of a moral rot infecting a small cohort of conspiracy-minded, self-engrossed women.

In a clear case of female empathy gone awry, they have transformed a Massachusetts nurse who strangled her three babies into the sole victim in this tragedy, while demonizing their poor father, Patrick.

The murdered children, Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months, barely get a mention in the outpouring of support for Lindsay, who has become a vehicle for the “TikTok Moms’ ” own fake victimhood.

Lindsay has pleaded not guilty to the 2023 murder of her children who she methodically strangled, one by one, with exercise bands after sending Patrick out to pick up dinner and medications. She does not dispute that she killed the children but claims she was “suffering from psychosis at the time.”

The prosecution contends she “acted intentionally, rationally, and swiftly to accomplish a very specific goal — to kill . . . She knew exactly what she was doing.”

The five-week trial has been televised to an increasingly obsessive audience of true crime nuts, assorted snoops and a disturbing number of women who have taken to filming themselves holding babies and whining about how hard it is to be a mom.

Some women even caption their TikTok videos “Same, Lindsay.”

It’s a twisted form of attention-seeking in the guise of empathy. These women are normalizing the horror of a mother killing her children, making it seem like a natural response to the everyday challenges of child-rearing, which far-less privileged women have managed to navigate since the dawn of time, like every other challenge in life.

‘We are all Lindsay’

Lindsay fans have raised almost $1 million in the name of her parents, and hundreds dressed in pink and rallied for her outside the court last week.

“We are all Lindsay” is their sick message.

One woman sobbed on camera that Lindsay can’t hug her children’s stuffed toys because her cruel husband supposedly threw them away. But what about the children who can’t hug their toys? The father who can’t hug his children?

It’s the same inversion behind the Luigi Mangione fangirls, the London mob who valorized Cambridge hoaxer Jason Arday and the demonization of Erika Kirk.

The Lindsay frenzy goes hand in hand with the left’s upending of the moral order, in which sympathy is reserved for murderers, rapists and illegal migrant child molesters while police must be defunded, ICE abolished and prisons closed.

The Clancy trial is simply a promotional vehicle for this new amorality.

There is a soap opera pathos to this real-life drama of a perfect family brutalized by unspeakable tragedy.

Each day, the people who loved the children best have been called to the witness box: the husband, the parents, the in-laws, the sister, the friends, the nanny — all with the same haunted look. You wonder at the public interest of televising their private grief.

Patrick’s father, Chris Clancy, described them as “the all-American family” and praised Lindsay as a “very, very good mother.”

True anguish

But unlike a soap opera, there are no easy villains in this case, apart from the one person who committed the crime, whose suffering is impossible to discount.

Lindsay, 36, presents as a sympathetic figure in court. She is in a wheelchair because a suicide attempt left her paralyzed from the waist down. She sits wan and mostly silent, quietly sobbing when the children are mentioned, her face half-hidden by her long, lustrous brown hair.

In a moment that encapsulates the heartbreak of this family cataclysm, she broke down one day during graphic autopsy testimony, whimpering “I can’t do this” as a medical examiner described the ligature marks around Cora’s neck and the broken blood vessels in her eyes and said it would have been a painful death for the little girl.

Only a heart of stone could fail to be moved by Lindsay’s anguish.

But she showed her children no mercy that day and this trial is for them. Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham makes that point to the jury by wearing bows in her hair every day in memory of Cora who loved big bows in her soft blonde hair.

All three children died the same painful way; Dawson first, then Cora and finally baby Callan, who was still alive when paramedics found him but died in the hospital.

After strangling her children, Lindsay left them in the basement while she went upstairs to her bedroom, slit her wrists and throat and threw herself out the second-story window onto the snow-covered lawn below where her husband found her when he returned from the errands she had sent him on.

You wonder how a woman could inflict such unimaginable cruelty on her husband, let alone her children.

First responders on the scene described primal howls of pain coming from the basement when Patrick found his babies after paramedics arrived to treat his wife.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/23/opinion/miranda-devine-lindsay-clancys-sick-fans-are-just-normalizing-the-horror-of-a-mother-killing-her-three-children/

Andy Burnham is marking his first foreign visit as prime minister with a trip to Kyiv – and will hand over blueprints so Ukraine can build its own long-range missiles.

The prime minister will chair his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, set up by the UK and France under his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer.

He is also set to accept an award on behalf of the British people recognising the UK’s support for Ukraine and to take part in independence day events.

Crucially for the war effort, he will announce his government has agreed to allow defence company MBDA to declassify information on UK components for the long-range Scalp missile – the French equivalent of the UK’s Storm Shadow.

Burnham will be reaffirming the UK’s backing for Kyiv in the wake of escalating Russian strikes on Ukraine in recent weeks – including one on a shopping centre on Friday that killed at least 16 people.

Ahead of his visit on Monday, Burnham said: “On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes.

“I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security.”

He said the friendship Ukraine shared with the UK would “long outlast Russia’s illegal war”, adding: “Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.”

It comes after Moscow warned of “consequences” over the use of British drones by Ukraine in its recent ramping up of strikes on Russian infrastructure.

Kyiv has stepped up long-range attacks on Moscow and other Russian regions, targeting oil refineries and warehouses of the country’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.

The long-range Scalp missile weighs 1,300kg and is 16.7ft (5.10m) in length. It is capable of hitting targets around 150 miles into Russia – not as far as Ukraine’s deep strike drone capability but it is a significant step in showing the willingness of international partners to share weapons technology.

The maker describes them as designed to hit pre-planned, stationary targets. It can be used day and night in all weather, and has advanced navigation systems.

MBDA adds that it is in service with the Royal Air Force, the French Air Force, Italian Air Force and has been used in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Ukraine hopes it can also be given more Patriot interceptor missiles, with Zelensky again asking for more of the weapon, which are used to combat Russia’s ballistic missiles.

On Sunday, he said they have requested 360 of the missiles, but are “working with countries on additional options”.

Ukraine has been relying on American supplies of the Patriots, but its stockpiles are running low due to the war in Iran, leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Russian attacks.

The Russian embassy in the UK has accused Britain of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”, saying “the deeper its involvement in the conflict… the higher the price it will pay”.

In response, Burnham said last week: “We are not fair-weather friends, we will be there in Ukraine’s hour of need and that won’t change.”

Asked on Tuesday about the Russian threat, Burnham maintained the UK was “providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself and that’s been the British position all the way through this conflict, by previous prime ministers – it remains the case with me”.

The visit comes as Russia confirmed its ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, had left his post in London in recent weeks.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyqypkrzq5o

The Democratic Republic of Congo government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group have agreed a roadmap for peace talks.

In a joint statement after five days of talks in Switzerland, they said they had pledged to “pursue negotiations towards comprehensive peace and conflict resolution” and set up a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire.

The roadmap sets out a timeline for talks under a US-brokered peace framework which they signed in 2025 – only for fighting to then continue in eastern DR Congo, which has been engulfed in conflict for decades.

But disagreements remain over issues including sanctions against M23, the release of detainees and the timing of political reforms.

The latest negotiations were attended by M23, the government of DR Congo, Qatar, the US, the Republic of Togo, the African Union Commission and host Switzerland.

“The parties agreed to establish a mechanism tasked with reviewing progress and addressing challenges in implementation of obligations and commitments under the Doha Framework Agreement,” the statement added, referring to the 2025 deal.

They developed “sequenced steps and timelines” while also committing to “flexibility and creativity”, the statement said.

They also agreed to implement a mechanism to monitor ceasefire violations. Its secretariat has been established and the first verification mission is due to take place on Monday in Minembwe, an area of South Kivu affected by fighting.

Fighting has continued in North and South Kivu despite repeated ceasefire commitments, with the government and M23 accusing each other of violations.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cre4e1q3wewo

Iranian officials are considering the offer as regional powers look for security arrangements beyond the traditional US-led framework.

Iran, which has been fighting the US in the Middle East since February, has reportedly been invited to join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan on August 7.

Iranian officials are considering the offer as regional powers look for security arrangements beyond the traditional US-led framework.

Mehdi Rahimi, head of Khaneh Mellat, the Iranian parliament’s official news agency, told Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen that Tehran had received an invitation and that “the matter is under consideration”, Pakistan’s SAMAA TV reported on Sunday.

Who Invited Iran?

Details of the reported invitation remain unclear. Rahimi did not say which government had sent the invitation, when it was received or what conditions Iranian membership would involve. None of the three countries that founded the pact has publicly confirmed the reported approach.

The possibility of Iran joining is significant because the alliance emerged amid a regional war in which Iranian missiles and drones struck Gulf states, while Tehran’s allies threatened Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping.

If Iran were to join, the pact could shift from an alliance widely seen as protection against Tehran into a broader regional security forum that includes Iran itself.

What Is The Mecca Pact?

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Mecca. Its central provision says an armed attack against one member will be treated as an attack against all three.

The arrangement has been compared with Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, although its public text does not specify exactly what military action members would have to take following an attack.

The pact is often described by media and analysts as an “Islamic NATO”.

Its framework includes four main areas: collective defence, defence industrial cooperation, joint military exercises and intelligence sharing.

The agreement calls for deeper cooperation in defence production, including technology transfer and joint manufacturing. It also provides for regular military exercises and mechanisms for sharing intelligence and strategic information.

However, the public text does not set out exact obligations for each member if one comes under attack. The degree, form and format of support would instead be decided through consultations.

The pact reportedly also contains an exclusionary provision under which a member that starts aggression or allows its territory to be used to attack another country would lose the pact’s protection.

Pakistan Wants Pact To Expand

Pakistan has indicated that the alliance should not remain limited to its three founding members.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the pact should not become an “exclusive club”, while Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described it as “purely defensive in nature”.

Egypt has been publicly identified as a possible future member. Syria and Bangladesh are also examining the pact.

Iran’s reported invitation would represent a much bigger geopolitical development.

Saudi-Iran Rivalry Complicates Move

Saudi Arabia and Iran restored diplomatic relations in 2023, but that reconciliation has faced renewed pressure amid the war.

Iran joining the pact could place two longtime rivals under the same defence framework. At the same time, it could expose the difficulties involved in expanding an alliance whose security purpose has been viewed in the context of regional threats involving Tehran.

The Mecca Pact was created as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sought closer security cooperation. An Iranian entry would significantly change the character of that arrangement and raise questions about how its collective defence commitments would operate with Tehran inside the framework.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world-news/iran-invited-to-join-islamic-nato-why-tehrans-entry-into-mecca-pact-with-saudi-arabia-pakistan-turkey-could-be-a-geopolitical-shock-10289103.html

In Bangladesh’s Rangpur city, a retired Hindu teacher and his family were found murdered in their home, as reported by media sources.

A retired Hindu school teacher along with his wife and two children were allegedly killed at their residence in Bangladesh’s Rangpur city, according to a media report. The deceased were identified as Ganapati Chakraborty, 65, Pritilata Chakraborty, 50, Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 23, and Priyam Chakraborty, 12, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

The bodies were retrieved at approximately 11:30 pm on Saturday from a dwelling in the Daspara (Machhuapara) locality of the city. Nazmul Kader, officer-in-charge of Rangpur Metropolitan Kotwali Police Station, said police recovered the bodies after entering the locked house, The Daily Star reported.

The police have detained two men, identified as Mughdho and Siddhartha, for their involvement in the killings. They are cousins.

The duo allegedly entered the rooftop of Chakraborty’s house through a neighbouring building and took the drug yaba there on Thursday night, Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud said in a media briefing on Sunday.

According to the official, Ganapati Chakraborty went to the roof top after hearing noises and questioned the two men about their presence there.

To avoid being exposed, the suspects strangled him with a gamchha (thin cotton towel) he had been carrying on his shoulder, police said. Hearing the noise, his wife went upstairs.

The suspects allegedly strangled her with a piece of cloth on the staircase, the official said. The couple’s daughter and son were also killed during the incident, police said.

The police said the family had no known disputes or enmity with anyone.

This incident coincides with August, historically fraught with crises for Russia, from political upheavals to military conflicts

Ukraine has launched a long-range drone attack on Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the remote Arkhangelsk region, in what appears to be its deepest strike yet against a Russian military facility. About 40 drones were reported to have headed towards strategic sites in the region. Russian authorities said its air defences had destroyed all of them and that there were no casualties or damage.

Plesetsk is Russia’s main operational military spaceport. It is used to launch military satellites, test intercontinental ballistic missiles, including the Sarmat, and support the development of Russia’s planned rival to the Starlink satellite network, known as Rassvet.

The attack highlights Ukraine’s growing ability to strike targets far from the front line. However, analysts have said the design and location of the facility could limit the potential impact of such an attack.

The reported strike comes during what is traditionally seen in Russia as the period of “Black August”, or the “August curse” – a term used to describe a series of major crises that have occurred in the country during the month.

Thirty-five years ago, Communist hardliners staged a failed coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991. The attempted putsch accelerated the forces that eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In August 1998, Russia was hit by a financial crisis that led to a default on domestic debt and a collapse in the rouble. A year later, militants led an incursion into Dagestan, helping trigger the Second Chechen War and contributing to the rise of Vladimir Putin.

Putin became Russian president on New Year’s Eve in 1999 after Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly handed over power. But August brought further crises during his presidency. In 2000, the nuclear submarine Kursk sank, killing all 118 sailors on board. In August 2008, Russia went to war with neighbouring Georgia, signalling an increasingly assertive approach to foreign policy.

This August has again proved difficult for the Kremlin.

Russian forces have made limited progress along the front lines in Ukraine, while Ukrainian drone attacks have increasingly targeted infrastructure deep inside Russia, including oil refineries and distribution centres.

The attacks have also contributed to disruption at fuel stations and growing concerns about a possible new wave of mobilisation.

Speaking on Wednesday about infrastructure and development projects, Putin acknowledged the economic damage caused by Ukrainian strikes on e-commerce warehouses, without naming the company Wildberries.

“It goes without saying that these attacks will not have, do not cause and cannot bring about any critical consequences,” he said. “True, they do cause harm – this much is obvious, and we understand this, we see this, and we are aware of it.”

Putin said the damaged logistics facilities would be rebuilt with government support.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/europe/ukraine-attack-russia-plesetsk-cosmodrome-arkhangelsk-black-august-putin-zelenskyy-war-article-155973546

Powerus, a Florida based start-up, is manufacturing low-cost drone interceptors in a UAE factory as part of a plan to scale global production to 15,000 units a month by 2027.

Inside a small warehouse in the United Arab Emirates, workers are putting in shifts as long as 12 hours, snapping together 3-D printed parts to build interceptors that can take down Iranian drones traveling at speeds up to 200 miles per hour. The facility only opened last month, but it’s already central to a much bigger plan.

The factory belongs to a network tied to Powerus, a start-up based in West Palm Beach, Florida. This is the company’s first expansion into the Middle East, and according to a report from The New York Times, it marks a broader push to turn Powerus into a global weapons supplier.

From Thousands to Tens of Thousands a Month

Right now, factories connected to Powerus turn out about 3,000 drone interceptors every month. That number is nowhere near enough for what the company has planned. The goal is to build a global network of factories capable of producing 15,000 interceptors a month by the middle of 2027.
Powerus has kept quiet about who exactly is buying these weapons or which contractor is running the Emirati factory. What is clear is the strategy behind the scale-up. Rather than building brand new factories in the United States and shipping weapons overseas, the company is partnering with manufacturers already operating in the regions that need the interceptors most. That means faster production and quicker delivery, something that matters a lot given how urgently allied nations are asking for these weapons.

Why the Emirates Needs Interceptors Now

The war with Iran, which started in February, pushed the pace of this shift into overdrive. The Emirates had already been considering ways to build more of its own weapons domestically, but the conflict made that need immediate. Civilian infrastructure in the country became one of Iran’s primary targets, a move widely seen as an attempt to demonstrate power over a nation viewed as a symbol of regional wealth and stability.
The numbers show just how intense the bombardment has been. More than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,200 drones have hit targets inside the Emirates since the war began. At least 15 people have died, hundreds more have been hurt, an oil refinery was shut down, and two Amazon data centers were destroyed. With American-made interceptor stockpiles running low, the pressure to find alternatives has only grown.

Meet the Guardian

The interceptor at the center of this effort is called the Guardian. It functions like a small missile, built to slam into airborne threats such as drones before they can reach their intended target. Each one costs around $5,000, and the design borrows heavily from a Ukrainian model that proved effective against Russian Shahed drones during that conflict.
What makes the Guardian different is how it’s built. Powerus designed the components to click together almost like building blocks, using widely available microchips and GPS modules instead of specialized, hard to source parts. There is a limit to what it can do. Unlike Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 system, the Guardian cannot intercept ballistic missiles. It is built specifically to counter drones like the Shaheds, which happen to be Iran’s most frequently used weapon.

How the Emirati Factory Works

Michael Sinensky, co-founder and executive vice president of marketing at Powerus, explained that the company supplied its Emirati manufacturing partner with everything needed to start building the interceptors, including training, parts, and software. The entire setup was built around one priority: speed.
At the moment, the mostly Filipino and Chinese workforce at the factory assembles about 30 interceptors daily. The company hopes to push that number up to 100 a day in the near future.

Contracts Piling Up

Business has been picking up fast. Powerus recently announced a $22 million commercial contract to help protect oil and gas infrastructure across the Middle East. It has also partnered with a defense company located near Mumbai to begin producing interceptors in India as well.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/inside-the-us-start-up-building-cheap-drone-interceptors-for-the-iran-war-article-155973491

The U.S. threatened Iran with what it called “the greatest ​financial offensive ever marshalled” as it prepared to roll out economic sanctions on Monday that target Iran’s trade partners.
Iran in turn vowed ‌to shut down all oil exports from the Gulf “if the economic war continues.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Monday amid promises to reveal even more severe measures on a country that has endured near-continuous economic sanctions since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

“At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ​ever marshalled against an adversary,” Bessent wrote in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Sunday.
The warring nations have not conducted military ​strikes against each other for weeks, but they also have not engaged in meaningful talks to end the six-month-old conflict.
Thousands ⁠of people have died, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on February 28, degrading much of Iran’s conventional ​military capacity and inflicting economic pain while killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But Iran has preserved enough missile and drone capability to attack its Gulf neighbours and threaten oil ​tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, bringing shipping in the key waterway to a near standstill and pressuring world fuel prices. The exact state of Iran’s nuclear program, which the Americans and Israelis aim to wipe out, remains unknown.
Without detailing specific measures, Bessent signalled the U.S. would target “fearful nations” that practice “appeasement” by engaging with Iran’s economy and financial system.
“They would do well ​to consider the consequences of sustaining it,” he wrote in the Financial Times.
Iran has been bracing for the sanctions for days, issuing a series of strongly ​worded statements hinting at a major military response.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, on Sunday suggested economic retaliation.

“If the economic war continues, not a single drop of ‌oil will ⁠be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf,” Rezaei wrote in a social media post. “Iran will regard any country’s participation in or support for America’s economic war against the Iranian people as an act of war.”
Bessent previously urged China to cooperate with the U.S., noting China historically has received half of its oil imports from the Gulf region. A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington responded with a statement that “sanctions and pressure do not help resolve ​the problem,” while calling for diplomacy.
Iran’s economy ​was already under pressure from international ⁠sanctions before the U.S. and Israeli attacks destroyed parts of its infrastructure.
Though Tehran remains outwardly defiant, Iranian officials have warned that further economic punishment could increase hardships, reignite unrest and further erode the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-says-it-discovered-over-75-trillion-cubic-feet-gas-2026-08-23/

Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir will visit Tehran on Monday to continue efforts to bring peace ​and security to the region, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil ‌Baghaei said on Sunday, according to a statement by the ministry.
Pakistan has taken on a mediator role in negotiations between Iran and the U.S. aimed ​at ending the war which began with U.S. and ​Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

Two Pakistani government sources confirmed ⁠Munir’s visit to Reuters. The first source said that Iran ​and Pakistan were in direct contact.
A second source said the talks ​would also address recent developments in the conflict, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of tougher sanctions on Iran.
“He (Munir) will discuss peace under Islamabad’s MoU, Trump’s ​warning and the situation after the Pakistan-Turkey-Saudi Arab Agreement and Houthi ​issues with Iranian leaders,” the source said.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions as ‌Iran threatens ⁠a military response to U.S. plans for sanctions that could further put a strain on the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/iran-says-pakistans-army-chief-visit-tehran-monday-2026-08-23/

The one-time billionaire who came to personify the boom and bust of China’s property market was sentenced to life in prison last week by a Chinese court.
But the collapse of the sector, entering its sixth year, ​remains a drag on the world’s second-biggest economy, a pain point for millions of households and a force for export-reliant growth and trade friction for ‌China.

Many angry homeowners and creditors — in comments that went initially uncensored on Chinese social media — asked why Hui Ka Yan, once Asia’s richest person and the founder of China Evergrande, was not given the death penalty after being convicted of crimes ranging from misuse of funds to bribery.
Six years after China’s financial regulators cracked down on the heavily leveraged property sector, the pain continues. ​Millions of partially built properties sit derelict across China, a recovery in new-home prices in the biggest cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, has stalled, land sales continue ​to plunge and declines are accelerating in property sales and construction.

In smaller, inland cities, second-hand home prices are down almost a quarter ⁠from 2020 levels, a brake on consumption.
China’s economy grew 4.3% in the three months to June from the same quarter last year, the slowest in more than three years.
And with ​the one-time engine of domestic demand in reverse, China is increasingly relying on exports for growth. The more than doubling of China’s trade surplus since 2019 has escalated trade tensions with ​the European Union and the United States and driven concerns about a “China Shock 2.0” as exports displace local industries for trading partners, including in the Global South.

NO EASY FIXES

“The problem is systemic, and there’s not much you can do about it,” said Sam Radwan, chief executive of Chicago-based real estate consultancy Enhance International. “You have more homes than households – second homes were used as an investment by over a third ​of the population.”

Evergrande defaulted in 2021 and began liquidation in 2024. Competitor Country Garden (2007.HK), defaulted in 2023 and has not made any land purchases since then, while China Vanke (000002.SZ), is ​seeking to extend some bond repayments and has replaced most of its top management with executives from state-owned enterprises.
President Xi Jinping has sought to redirect bank credit and state support from real estate ‌to strategic ⁠tech industries, like robotics and semiconductors. But those emerging sectors remain too small to offset the drag from a continued housing slump, analysts say.
“Growth and the benefits of growth are much more narrowly distributed throughout the economy,” said Max Zenglein, senior economist at the Conference Board Asia. “That’s a key reason why consumption isn’t picking up.”

Since most private property firms have defaulted, state-owned property developers now dominate. Market participants expect the property sector to become more subject to state oversight.
“The main consideration is who is behind it — whether it is a central or local ​state-owned enterprise,” said a loan officer at ​a major state-owned bank. “In practice, banks have ⁠largely stopped lending to private developers for a long time.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-property-crisis-grinds-after-evergrande-sentencing-2026-08-23/

Holding a wartime election in Ukraine while active fighting with Russia continues would “destroy” the country by splitting ​Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
His comments, released to reporters on Sunday, ‌were Zelenskiy’s first on the subject since ousted former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for a wartime poll in a bombshell address last week.

Fedorov’s surprise dismissal last month sparked ​widespread protests, but supporters calling for his reinstatement later baulked at his ​call for an election – the first such demand by a major ⁠Ukrainian political figure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

“I believe that ​if we want to destroy the country, then we can move towards elections ​during this kind of war,” Zelenskiy said.
Elections in war are prohibited by Ukrainian law. Analysts also say security concerns and the millions of Ukrainians abroad, under Russian occupation or ​fighting at the front mean it would be too difficult to hold ​an election.

ELECTIONS WOULD SPLIT UKRAINE, PRESIDENT SAYS

Zelenskiy’s approval rating has remained generally stable at about ‌60%, ⁠but pollsters have said that while Ukrainians want fresh faces in politics, many have little appetite for voting now.
An August 5 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 57% of Ukrainians want elections only ​after fighting ends.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wartime-election-would-destroy-ukraine-zelenskiy-says-2026-08-23/

Two Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza ​Strip on Sunday killed at least two people, including a four-year-old boy, and wounded seven others, Palestinian health officials said, as ‌Israel warned it would intensify strikes after what it said were launches of balloons, drones and kites from Gaza toward Israel.
One of the strikes hit a building in Zawayda town in the centre of the enclave and followed a warning by the Israeli army for the owners of the property to leave the area, residents said.

Medics said flying ​debris and shrapnel that spread for dozens of metres around had wounded at least six people, including the four-year-old, Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, ​who was later pronounced dead at hospital.
“There is no ceasefire, there is nothing,” said Abu Ahmed, a displaced Palestinian who ⁠was sheltering close to the building, which the airstrike reduced to a pile of mangled steel and concrete.
“We want solutions, we want to live ​in peace,” he said.
The second airstrike took place in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp, the health officials said.
Israel’s military said it was looking into both strikes.

ISRAEL ​TARGETS HAMAS DESPITE CEASEFIRE

An October 2025 U.S.-backed ceasefire halted major fighting in the shattered territory, but it failed to end strikes by the Israeli military, which it said aimed to thwart attacks by Hamas and other Gaza militants.
The military said in a statement late on Saturday that it had struck and killed a senior Hamas militant, Sharif Al-Hasnat, ​in the city of Deir Al-Balah. It said he was leading efforts to restore Hamas’ “underground infrastructure”.
Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts ​to implement a broader plan by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the Gaza conflict, which also includes Israeli withdrawals and Hamas disarmament.

More than 1,280 Palestinians have been killed ‌in Gaza ⁠since the ceasefire took effect last October, according to Gazan health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.

Israel has reported the launch of drones, balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. Following a situation assessment on Sunday, it warned Hamas it would intensify strikes in Gaza and order civilians to evacuate areas if the launches didn’t stop immediately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim ​dismissed Israel’s warning, writing on X that ​children launch the kites “in search ⁠of their innocent childhood amid the rubble.”

WEST BANK VIOLENCE

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an Israeli man was stabbed and wounded by a suspect believed to be a Palestinian man, police and the Israeli military said.
Security camera footage distributed ​by the military showed a man waiting by a vehicle next to a main highway near Jericho before ​stabbing the Israeli man ⁠when he approached his parked car.
The suspect fled on foot and Israeli soldiers were searching for him, the military said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/israeli-airstrikes-gaza-kill-two-people-including-4-year-old-boy-medics-say-2026-08-23/

Safety concerns reached a tipping point after several high-profile crash incidents left occupants unable to quickly exit burning vehicles

In China’s largest automotive recall to date, Tesla and eight rival carmakers are recalling roughly 4.3 million electric vehicles due to potential safety risks involving emergency door-release mechanisms. Regulators raised serious concerns that electronic and flush-fitting concealed door handles could leave passengers or emergency responders trapped during severe collisions accompanied by electrical system failures.

Tesla Leads Massive Multi-Brand Action

American EV pioneer Tesla makes up the bulk of the regulatory action, recalling nearly 2.98 million imported and domestically produced vehicles—including Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X lines. Domestic Chinese EV brands are also facing significant participation in the recall:

• Xiaomi: Recalling over 390,000 electric vehicles.
• Leapmotor: Recalling approximately 371,000 units.
• Xpeng: Recalling around 264,000 vehicles.
• Geely & Others: Covering smaller volumes across various models.

Hidden Handles in the Crosshairs

Flush, flush-deploying, and touch-sensitive electronic handles—popularised globally by Tesla and widely copied by Chinese brands—have come under intense scrutiny from market regulators. When a vehicle loses power following an impact, mechanical manual release latches can be difficult to locate or operate. Safety concerns reached a tipping point after several high-profile crash incidents left occupants unable to quickly exit burning vehicles.

In response to these persistent risks, Beijing announced a complete ban on concealed door handles starting in 2027, making China the first nation to mandate traditional or easily accessible mechanical door mechanisms.

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/open-shut-case-china-bans-tesla-style-hidden-door-handles-after-unprecedented-4-3-million-ev-recall-10287904.html

The attack coincided with simultaneous cyber threats against US water facilities

Hackers linked to Iran shut down a small British power plant for four days in what is believed to be the first successful cyber-attack of its kind against a UK energy facility, according to The Telegraph. The incident is understood to have happened last month, at the same time as a series of cyber-attacks targeting water infrastructure across the US.

The affected UK facility was relatively small and the outage had no impact on the wider electricity supply or Britain’s overall energy generation, according to the report.

British officials have declined to identify the plant, citing security concerns. The incident was reported to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the public-facing arm of the intelligence agency GCHQ responsible for helping protect UK organisations and critical infrastructure from cyber threats.

While foreign hacking groups have previously disrupted NHS systems, schools and industrial facilities, no hacker is thought to have previously succeeded in bringing a British power plant to a standstill.

The four-day outage is therefore believed to be one of the most significant cyber-attacks against UK energy infrastructure. The plant is understood to have been a small-scale facility. Britain has dozens of such generators connected to the national grid, many of which operate only for limited periods when additional electricity is needed.

The disruption therefore did not threaten the wider grid.

A UK government source described the incident as highly limited in scale. “We have thresholds for important generators to legally notify us of cyber activity, and this site is nowhere near. It’s a very small scale site, less than a rounding error compared to grid capacity,” the source told The Telegraph.

A government spokesman added: “The UK has a highly resilient energy system. We work closely with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and ensure the highest security standards. “This story refers to an incident impacting a small-scale energy generator, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.”

This series of earthquakes has reignited fears regarding Japan’s vulnerability to seismic events, given its history of such occurrences.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck eastern Japan, shaking Tokyo and surrounding areas early on Sunday. The quake struck at about 2 am local time, with its epicentre in southern Ibaraki Prefecture at a depth of about 70km, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) gave the quake a preliminary magnitude of 5.8.

There was no tsunami threat, authorities said.

The earthquake registered lower 5 on Japan’s seven-point seismic intensity scale in parts of Tokyo, Ibaraki, Saitama and Chiba prefectures. At least five people were injured in Ibaraki, Chiba and Saitama, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Officials said further injuries were being investigated.

The earthquake triggered emergency alerts on mobile phones and was strongly felt across Tokyo and neighbouring areas. NHK footage showed traffic continuing normally on roads in cities including Mito and Saitama, although the tremor caused some disruption to transport.

Express trains serving Tokyo and Narita Airport, as well as local services in northeastern Japan, were delayed. Shinkansen bullet trains were operating normally, East Japan Railway Company said.

In Tokyo’s eastern Koto ward, an underground water pipe ruptured, sending water onto a road, NHK reported. About 460 homes in Tokyo temporarily lost power, according to TEPCO Power Grid. Electricity had been restored by Sunday morning.

There were no reports of abnormalities at about a dozen nuclear power plants and other facilities handling nuclear materials, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government had established a task force to assess any damage.

Sunday’s earthquake comes weeks after a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on Kyushu on 28 July. The quake caused widespread destruction, with the death toll and number of injuries reported in the aftermath.

The latest information provided by Japanese authorities said 38 people were killed and 364 injured. More than 1,500 buildings were destroyed and nearly 20,000 others damaged.

One of the worst-hit locations was the Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima, which was crowded with thousands of people when the earthquake struck.

About 3,000 customers were evacuated to a car park before a gas explosion occurred elsewhere in the mall, where workers were still present.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/asia/japan-earthquake-today-tsunami-warning-latest-updates-tokyo-ibaraki-article-155954692

Convicted killer Karmelo Anthony’s bid for a retrial was shot down by a Texas judge Saturday.

The 19-year-old lawyers argued that the murder trial was compromised due to strict courtroom rules, and improper instructions to the jury. They also clashed with prosecutors over an agreement to focus on events leading up to the fatal stabbing.

Anthony was found guilty of murder on June 9 and sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing another high school student, Austin Metcalf, at a track meet near Dallas.

The teen murderer scored a legal win following his conviction by getting the original Judge John Roach tossed from the case after he told a reporter with a local outlet that jurors “got it right” when they convicted Anthony.

“Yeah, they did, whatever they say, they got it right,” Roach told WFAA TV.

Anthony, who did not testify in his trial, claimed to have acted in self-defense when he stabbed Metcalf, 17, inside a tent at the April 2025 track meet.

The stabbing occurred after Metcalf told Anthony to leave the tent, which belonged to his high school.

Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent which was erected beneath the bleachers at the meet that multiple high schools were taking part in when Metcalf and other students repeatedly told him to leave.

The situation escalated and Anthony threatened Metcalf: “touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony – who witnesses testified was the aggressor – who pulled a knife put of his bag and fatally stabbed the football standout.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/22/us-news/judge-makes-decision-on-karmelo-anthonys-request-for-a-new-trial/

One morning in October 2024, the writer Julie Summers received a call at her home in Oxford conveying astonishing news.

A boot containing the remains of a human foot had been found on the north flank of Mount Everest. A woolen sock tucked into the boot bore a white name tape, with red letters spelling out: A.C. IRVINE.

Andrew Comyn “Sandy” Irvine, a 22-year-old college student who accompanied British mountaineer George Mallory on his ill-fated attempt to summit Everest, had been lost for more than a century. Noel Odell, a fellow Everest expedition member, was the last person to glimpse him and Mallory — as two black spots far in the distance “going strongly for the top” along the mountain’s crenulated ridgeline on June 8, 1924.

When mist moved in, engulfing the pair, they vanished, never to be seen alive again. Only in 1999, when Mallory’s mummified body was located in Everest’s high-altitude “death zone,” 2,000 vertical feet below the peak, did investigators begin to piece together the valiant climbers’ fate.

No trace of Irvine had been found — until now.

THE Duchess of Sussex’s deal to star in Netflix smash-hit series The Gentlemen is worth more than £1million.

We revealed yesterday that Meghan was in advanced talks for a major role in the gangster comedy-drama by Guy Ritchie.

But last night a journalist claimed the deal was off.

Tina Brown claimed on X: “I learned this morning the casting of Meghan in The Gentlemen has been withdrawn.

“The backlash in the UK was so intense, it became untenable. This does not bode well for Meghan’s acting comeback in the UK.”

Former Tatler and Vanity Fair ­editor Tina is regarded as well ­connected in US showbiz circles.

Meanwhile, sources have told The Sun on Sunday that former Suits actress Meghan will be raking in a seven-figure sum if the contract is finalised.

And fans are excited she could potentially be attending the London premiere of the show’s second series on September 2, when she and Prince Harry are expected to be in the UK.

A source said: “Meghan will be getting at least £1million for a role on The Gentlemen, perhaps even more.

Signing her would be a major coup for the show’s bosses and it would absolutely be worth parting with a sizeable fee.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/royals/16882531/meghan-markle-the-gentlemen-tv-deal-earnings-deal/

HUNDREDS of people dressed in pink traveled near and far to gather silently outside of the courthouse where Lindsay Clancy faces three murder charges after strangling her kids in January 2023.

Men, women and children stood outside the Plymouth County Superior Court in Massachusetts on Thursday for Lindsay wanting “to be still and be quiet and just kind of be her calm,” the rally organizer exclusively told The U.S. Sun.

Lindsay has not denied killing her children, and instead, her defense seeks to argue she was not criminally responsible for murder because she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis.

Five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan were found in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on January 24, 2023, by their father Patrick Clancy.

While Patrick was briefly out of the house running errands, Lindsay strangled her kids before cutting herself and jumping from her second-story bedroom window in an attempt to end her life.

Lindsay claims she heard a male voice tell her, “This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself,” and has since been held at a state mental health facility under constant one-on-one monitoring.

In the months before she killed her kids, Lindsay met with several healthcare providers, was prescribed 13 different psychiatric medications, was hospitalized for suicidal ideation, and called suicide hotlines that turned her away.

Renee Kimball from Maine had been watching the trial from the beginning and told The U.S. Sun, “I think we all remember the moment that Lindsay was in shambles in the courtroom after some difficult questions from the prosecution during testimony and that stuck with me.

“I felt like she must feel so alone,” Kimball said, adding that she struggled with her own mental health issues after she had her son at 19 years old.

Seeing Lindsay sobbing in the courtroom, Kimball decided in the middle of the night to organize an event to bring people together who are in support of Lindsay.

“So I created the event right then and put it out into the world, and by four o’clock the next morning it had gone global,” she said.

When she arrived on Thursday morning around 6:30am, she was shocked to see dozens of women lined up an hour before the support rally was scheduled to begin.

“Over the next hour, the crowd just grew enormously to hundreds of people, men and women. I think 25% of our crowd was men in pink, so that was awesome to see.

“And it was beautiful. Women were sharing their stories with each other, embracing for hugs. It was the most peaceful gathering of that scale that I’ve ever seen.”

The first hour was spent with attendees mingling and bonding over their mental health struggles and putting ribbons in their hair to honor Lindsay’s daughter Cora, but excitement began when defense attorney Kevin Reddington arrived.

“When Mr. Reddington showed up, there were some cheers from the crowd. But after that, it was very peaceful, very silent,” Kimball said.

“He drove in his car with his window down. He nodded at the crowd, and everyone just cheered for him.

“I think it’s been clear from day one that Mr. Reddington really cares about Lindsay. He really understands the portion of the mental health issues that she was struggling with.

“And it appears that he is angry at the mental health systems for failing her.”

After Lindsay’s white-haired, black-belt defense attorney with tattoos hidden under his suit arrived, supporters gathered in silence.

“We stood facing the courthouse the way we set out to. And then shortly thereafter, everyone gathered in a circle, and we said a prayer,” she recalled, adding that they made heart shapes with their hands before standing in a moment of silence.

“Mental health can be chaotic and loud, and that’s what Lindsay has been suffering with. So we wanted to just be there to be her calm,” she explained.

“I think the general message is that many of them have been failed by the mental health care systems.

“People need to know the words postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. I think that a lot of us have not even heard that term.

“We all know – those of us that have had mental health struggles – that it doesn’t need an invite. We don’t ask for it. It just shows up uninvited. And it overstays its welcome, and it intrudes on every part of our daily lives.

“Then to watch Lindsay go through what she’s going through, knowing that she never asked for this, it’s actually devastating.”

April Vincent, a 52-year-old paralegal and mother of two from East Providence, Rhode Island, traveled over an hour to attend the rally after she heard about it on TikTok.

“It instantly attracted me because I knew that this was something I could attend because it was so close to me, but also because I saw myself in Lindsay.

“I, myself, had postpartum depression with both my pregnancies … I was married to a man who was not very good to me, and I had been afraid to speak out loud the feelings I was having about myself and being scared about how I was going to be able to take care of this tiny human I created with no help.

“I was believing that anything I did would be my fault. I had no one to rally around me.

“I am heartbroken that here we are 25 years later, and we are still having people afraid to speak up, and I am even more horrified to see how critically broken the system is after hearing Lindsay being ignored, dismissed, cast aside when she was very much begging for help.

“I want our voices to be heard so that the talk of change starts and the planning and implementing of that change begins.

“It is long overdue, and while we can’t change what’s happened, I am hopeful we can prevent it from happening to other mothers and their babies moving forward.”

She told The U.S. Sun she spoke with several attendees, including a therapist who said she has seen “firsthand how difficult the system makes it for medical professionals to do their jobs adequately.”

Vincent also spoke with a woman who flew in from Florida, and while that supporter didn’t experience postpartum mental health struggles, “here she was full of empathy and compassion and felt in her heart that this was something she needed to stand up and support.”

A man who lost his sister to her battle with postpartum depression ten years ago also joined the rally, telling Vincent, “he and his family have been touched by something they never expected to be a part of.”

Kimball said the overall message she hopes to send with the rally is that “It should not take tragedy for people to pay attention to mental health, and it shouldn’t cost lives.

“And by that I mean the lives of Cora, Dawson and Callan – and nearly Lindsay – and many others throughout the world for psychiatric doctors to hear their patients.

“Lindsay begged for help. In the testimony, I heard that she begged for help. I don’t know much more that she could have said, and she was failed.

“And a lot of people are asking, what about the children? But they are the forefront of this message because nobody wants another family to face what their family is facing now.

“If mental health was approached differently and there was some systemic change, then a lot of tragedies that have happened may not have happened.”

Kimball created spreadsheets to keep track of the nationwide and global support of people who rallied at the same time as those in Massachusetts.

The spreadsheets revealed the former labor and delivery nurse had people supporting her in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Greece, Germany, Korea, Peru, Portugal and more.

“And it sounds like they have the same crisis for obtaining help for their mental health issues. And people were sharing their stories of postpartum depression or anxiety, but also in general, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, the effects of longstanding trauma,” Kimball said.

“They were just sharing their stories of their issues and why this resonates with them with each other, with me.

“There was the most precious young woman that walked up to me in tears, and I hugged her, and I wish I could find her because she was just amazing. She impacted me that day.

“She thanked me, and she said that I think her exact words were, ‘You’ll never know how much this means to me.’

“It’s been overwhelming and quite emotional to have women all over the world kind of trusting me with their stories.”

Closing arguments are expected to come in Lindsay’s murder trial on Monday or Tuesday.

Reddington spoke with reporters outside of the courthouse on Thursday, saying he was thankful for the supporters who showed up.

He rested his case on Friday after calling members of Lindsay’s family to the stand, including her mother, sister and former mother-in-law, and expert witnesses like the psychologist who met with Lindsay after the killings.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/16877470/lindsay-clancy-support-rally-courthouse-organizer-murder-trial/

Authorities have not yet confirmed details of the reported shooting or the number of people injured.

Multiple victims have been reported following a shooting in Hebron, Indiana, according to local police and media reports. Police told a local news outlet that one of the dead is believed to be the shooter. A third person, a woman, was shot and injured. Her condition is not currently known.

The shooting was reported at about 19:40 local time on Saturday near Karmic Sunshine, in the 2900 block of E 181st Avenue, according to local reports. A large area has been secured by police as officers investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Nearby businesses were initially placed under lockdown while police worked to determine whether the suspected gunman was among those killed.

Earlier, D.W.’s Junction 2-65, a bar in the area, said it had gone into lockdown following reports of an active shooter. “There was an active shooter between here and the truck stops,” the bar said in a social media post. “People have been shot and we are on lockdown,” it added.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/hebron-indiana-shooting-today-active-shooter-dw-junction-2-65bar-lockdown-article-155970368

With the Iran war now at a costly standoff and crises from Ukraine to Gaza still unresolved, President Donald Trump’s ambitious foreign policy agenda appears stuck as he heads into November’s midterm elections.
The setbacks are striking for a president who returned to office last ​year promising to be a “peacemaker” and made resolving international conflicts a centerpiece of his second-term agenda.

Trump has grown impatient with reporters’ questions and even U.S. allies. This week, he lashed out at reporters ‌pressing him on foreign policy issues and renewed his threat to bomb Oman, a U.S. ally negotiating with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Labor Day, on September 7 this year, is traditionally when election campaigns kick into high gear, and Republicans face the prospect that unresolved conflicts abroad and their economic fallout at home could cost the party its hold on Congress.

IRAN STALEMATE TAKES POLITICAL TOLL

Trump has called off talks with Tehran after pushing for weeks for a diplomatic solution and announced on Wednesday a new campaign of “economic warfare” against the Islamic Republic in an ​apparent acknowledgment that months of military attacks have not forced the concessions the U.S. wants to see.

As inflation persists and the Iran war drives up gasoline prices, Trump’s approval rating has fallen to another low point with just ​33% of Americans in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll approving of his performance.
Other efforts to broker peace have also stalled.
On Monday, Trump’s negotiator and son-in-law Jared Kushner left empty-handed from talks to ⁠advance a Gaza peace deal. And an expected visit to Kyiv by Kushner and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to revive long-stalled negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine has yet to happen.
After a string of early foreign policy achievements, including ​a Gaza ceasefire and the capture of Venezuela’s leader, Trump’s record has become increasingly defined by his stalled diplomatic efforts.
“Trump has successfully challenged and disrupted the comfortable foreign policy consensus in Washington, but has not translated that disruption into a strategy with ​deliverables for Americans,” said Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

IRAN WAR TESTS TRUMP AT HOME

The conflict with Iran has weighed “intensely” on the president and there is no consensus inside the White House on how to resolve it, one Trump ally said on condition of anonymity.
The pressure could increase if investors conclude the war will drag on, driving up U.S. borrowing costs and further constraining Trump’s domestic agenda. Trump has said the economic costs are worth it in order to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon despite ​Iran’s denials it seeks one.
“President Trump has successfully made America respected again, and the results speak for themselves – nine wars have ended, hostages have been freed from Gaza, trade deals are fairer, and now, Iran will be prevented from ever possessing ​a nuclear weapon,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly.
A senior Trump administration official said U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade had crippled Iran’s economy and left it “completely broke,” adding, “There are many levers the president can crank harder in the weeks ahead.”

AN UNORTHODOX STYLE WITH ‌MIXED RESULTS

Some experts ⁠give Trump credit for a willingness to grapple with issues they believe other presidents have been unable or unwilling to solve.
“The president wants a more stable world and that means attempting to resolve disputes, whether hot like Ukraine or cold like trade and overcapacity,” said Nick Snyder, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, adding that Trump also worked to settle conflicts between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thailand and Cambodia.
Trump has upended traditional diplomatic norms of peacemaking, relying on leveraging America’s economic and military might including with U.S. allies, but that unorthodox style has yielded mixed results.
He brought parties to the table with the aim of ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the longest war in Europe since World War Two is nowhere ​near ending, with the latest Russian airstrikes killing 16 people ​in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday.
In Gaza, mediators fear ⁠that intensifying Israeli strikes on the enclave undermine efforts to end the conflict as both Israel and Hamas balk at conditions needed to advance a peace plan Trump forged in October last year. In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes killed 11 people on Sunday even as a U.S.-mediated peace framework between the two countries remains in effect.
One notable success came in Venezuela, where the ​U.S. military captured President Nicolas Maduro without U.S. casualties. Analysts say the operation helped convince Trump that joining Israel in attacking Iran would also proceed smoothly.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-heads-into-midterms-short-foreign-policy-wins-2026-08-22/

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments published on Saturday ​that Kyiv had opened “Pandora’s box” with its strikes on Russian ‌economic targets, saying that Russia would hit back at Ukraine’s “most sensitive economic sectors”.
Ukraine has this summer escalated a campaign of drone strikes targeting Russian ​economic infrastructure, including oil refineries and online retailers’ warehouses, ​seeking to destroy infrastructure it says is central to ⁠Russia’s war effort.

Russia has responded with strikes against Ukrainian economic infrastructure, ​including Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.
“The Kyiv regime set ​out to damage our economy. What did it do? It opened this Pandora’s box itself. Well then, expect a response targeting your most sensitive economic ​sectors,” Putin said in comments to a Russian state television ​journalist.
He said that the strikes, which have jeopardised Ukraine’s agricultural exports, would not ‌cause ⁠global food shortages, because Russia would be able to replace Ukrainian exports, even as Kyiv has targeted Russian grain export infrastructure.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-ukraine-opened-pandoras-box-with-strikes-economic-targets-2026-08-22/

A Chinese ‌humanoid robot ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds in a preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, faster than the men’s world record held by Jamaican sprinting great Usain Bolt.
Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation ​Center, won its heat at the opening of the games’ second edition, organisers said.

The robot overtook smartphone ​maker Honor’s Lightning near the finish after falling behind early in the race. Lightning ⁠finished in 9.47 seconds, also faster than the 9.58-second record Bolt set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships ​in Berlin.

The two robots lacked Bolt’s flair, slamming straight into a thick mat designed to stop them in their ​tracks, with Tiangong stumbling wildly into the sidelines, forcing onlookers to move out of the way. Lightning was carried away on a stretcher after collapsing to the ground.
The results nevertheless marked a sharp improvement from last year’s inaugural games, when Tiangong Ultra won ​the 100 metres in 21.50 seconds. Tiangong also won the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon, held in Beijing ​last year.
Earlier on Saturday, Chinese state media reported that Lightning had run 100 metres in 9.32 seconds in a preparatory test, ‌reaching a ⁠peak speed of 14.5 metres per second.

Lightning won this year’s humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the pace of the elite men’s human world record.

Lightning stood 169 cm tall and had 95-cm legs during the half-marathon. Its researchers later lengthened its legs by 10 cm, to 1.05 metres, ahead of the games, ​according to broadcaster CCTV.
The 100 ​metres is among 51 ⁠events at the games, which include football, dancing and industrial-task contests.

CHINA SEES HUMANOID ROBOTS AS STRATEGIC INDUSTRY

China has promoted humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers ​and companies betting that advances in AI and hardware will accelerate their use in ​manufacturing, logistics ⁠and consumer applications.
Investor enthusiasm for the sector was on display earlier this week when shares in Unitree (688836.SS), China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, jumped more than five fold in its Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, giving the company a market value of ⁠about $50 ​billion.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/chinese-humanoid-robot-lightning-beats-human-100m-world-record-state-media-says-2026-08-22/

Iran has granted permission for a number ​of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the ‌Strait of Hormuz following repeated requests from Baghdad through various channels, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
IRNA ​said obtaining special permission for Iraqi tankers was ​one of Baghdad’s main requests during Iranian ⁠parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s visit to Iraq.

Iraqi ​President Nizar Amedi said on Saturday that Iran had facilitated ​the passage of vessels carrying Iraqi oil through the Strait in recent days and Baghdad had discussed the export of ​Iraqi oil through Hormuz with Iranian officials.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-grants-permission-number-iraqi-oil-tankers-pass-through-hormuz-2026-08-22/

THE Duchess of Sussex is in advanced talks to play a role in the hit Netflix Guy Ritchie gangster series The Gentlemen, eight years after she quit acting.

Yesterday it was revealed that she had been offered an opportunity to return to acting, which contributed to her and Harry’s plan to come back to the UK.

The former Suits star, 45, is said to be “very excited” about the opportunity to act again.

She is understood to be joining the Guy Ritchie Netflix series, which films near the King’s Highgrove Estate, for its third season as the “ultimate temptress” of the underworld action comedy.

The series is predominantly filmed at the Badminton estate in Gloucestershire – just seven miles from Highgrove.

Harry and Meghan have an estranged relationship with the King having barely seen him in the six years since they left for California, with Meghan now likely to be working on the show withing just a few miles of Charles.

An insider said: “The gossip in TV circles is that Meghan could play the ultimate temptress, who puts the cat among the pigeons by seducing an aristocrat.

“The Gentlemen would be perfect for her as it’s a big budget, glossy production which is quintessentially British.

“But because it is on Netflix that gives it a huge global audience. In fact it is one of the streaming giant’s biggest hits of recent years.

“It would see her star opposite Theo James, who plays Eddie and he is one of the frontrunners to be the new James Bond.

“Everything about the project screams quality, but it is also one with a bit of an edge too.”

The Gentlemen stars Theo James as Eddie Horniman, the 13th Duke of Halstead, who inherits the family’s country pile and partners with crime boss Susie Glass [Kaya Scodelario] to turn it into an underground cannabis farm.

It premiered on March 7, 2024, with Series 2 dropping on Netflix on September 3 following a massively successful first series.

Love Island star Maya Jama is due to be making an appearance alongside Theo James in the upcoming series.

And, Meghan may be seen on screen alongside Maya who will return in Series 3, as confirmed by The Sun.

It comes after The Sun revealed in a bombshell world exclusive that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are moving back to the country — six years after leaving for the US.

Meghan’s last major role was in hit US drama Suits, which she left in late 2017 just before she gave up acting and married Harry in 2018.

News of Meghan’s return to acting broke yesterday, sparking wild speculation about what her next role would be.

People guessed she could be the new James Bond, or a character on EastEnders, Line of Duty or even the new Harry Potter series.

She is confirmed to have a cameo in upcoming film comedy Close Personal Friends, with Lily Collins and Brie Larson.

Meghan already has a relationship with Netflix due to her two series, and a Christmas special of her lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, which dropped last year.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/royals/16876467/meghan-eyes-guy-ritchie-gentlemen-role/

President Donald Trump sought Friday to boost Sen. Darline Graham’s effort to win a full term, telling thousands of supporters that the first step toward keeping her as their senator involves helping the political newcomer triumph in a Republican runoff next week.

The Republican president also begged them to pretend that he’s on the ballot Tuesday — even though he is not — if that will help get them out to vote.

Voters will decide Tuesday whether Graham or Rep. Ralph Norman will be the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate on the ballot in November.

“You have to get out and vote,” Trump said about Darline Graham, who is serving out the remainder of the term of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly in July. “And we need every South Carolina patriot to go to the polls and vote for Darline Graham.”

Trump nodded to the reality that Republican base voters lose interest in elections when he is not a candidate for office, as is the case this year. Trump is serving his second and final term as president.

“So what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot. Just come and vote. It’s so important,” Trump said. “So just say that I’m on the ballot one more time. You got to say it, and you got to come out and vote.”

Trump, who encouraged Darline Graham to run and has given her his “complete and total endorsement,” called her to the stage as he neared the end of his remarks.

“This is Trump country,” she declared before leading the crowd in chants of “U.S.A.”

Trump visits friendly territory in Myrtle Beach

Trump opened his remarks by declaring he was in a “very good mood” because Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts earlier Friday allowed construction to continue for now on the $400 million ballroom Trump is adding to the White House. The project is being challenged in federal court.

He appeared jovial throughout and noted at several points that it was the end of the week.

“It’s a Friday night. We have plenty of time, right?” Trump said at one point. “What the hell do I have to do? Go back, bomb Iran a little bit more?”

At another point, he resurrected a campaign staple by reading the lyrics from the 1960s song “The Snake” as he steered the speech toward illegal immigration. Trump used to read the lyrics in his past campaigns to illustrate what he said are the perils of allowing people to enter the United States without authorization.

“Haven’t done that in a long time,” he said after he finished the reading. “That’s our border.”

He also called a cast of people on stage, ranging from Republican Tim Scott, South Carolina’s other U.S. senator, to Karoline Leavitt, his outgoing White House press secretary.

Trump closed by encouraging people to vote for Darline Graham on Tuesday to preserve tax cuts, among other things. He said choosing her would be a tribute to her brother, who was very close to the president, and, “I want it to happen.”

“Good luck, Darline,” he said before leaving the stage.

The Myrtle Beach rally was the sort of campaign trail occasion that Trump hasn’t done as much of this year, compared with past midterms, making it a signal of the importance he is placing on a win for his pick.

It was also an opportunity for the president to wade into friendly territory before the midterm elections that leave his party’s control of Congress hanging in the balance. South Carolina hasn’t elected a Democrat statewide in decades, its House delegation has only one Democrat and Trump’s own victory in the 2016 presidential primary here helped propel him toward the nomination and ultimately the White House.

Darline Graham draws contrasts with Norman

“I am many things: a problem solver, a mother, a leader, but I am not a career politician,” Darline Graham said. Norman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017.

In the scramble of a special Republican primary election that was called after Lindsey Graham’s sudden death, his sister was picked by Gov. Henry McMaster — also a Trump ally — to serve as interim senator and entered the special primary at Trump’s urging. The president had said he told McMaster that appointing her would be a “fabulous tribute to Lindsey,” although the governor pointed out that he asked Graham to serve “in the wee hours” after her brother’s death, adding that Trump “thought it was a great idea” when he later told him of his pick.

Hours before the rally, McMaster officially endorsed Graham. When he appointed her Graham last month, a person familiar with McMaster’s thinking but unauthorized to speak publicly about it said the governor had never contemplated that she would run for the seat herself.

The president pressed “RUN DARLINE, RUN” on social media, and gave her his “Complete and Total Endorsement” before she’d officially announced her campaign. And at every turn on the campaign trail, she’s reminded voters of this anointing, as well as her commitment to advancing his priorities if elected. On the eve of the primary two weeks ago, he held a tele-rally for Graham.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-south-carolina-campaign-darline-graham-senate-96df66a656438fb97daf9d9a551ebda5

A Texas court on Friday slashed a $50 million judgment that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre over his false claims that one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history was a hoax.

The Infowars founder can only be forced to pay about $6 million, the Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled in a unanimous opinion, citing state laws that limit lawsuit damages.

The ruling does not affect a separate $1.25 billion judgment against Jones in Connecticut, where he was also found liable for defaming and causing emotional distress to relatives of the 20 first-graders and six educators killed in the Newtown shooting.

The punishing financial verdicts against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in recent years have forced him into bankruptcy, led to some of his personal property being put up for auction and led to him leaving his Infowars platform. For decades, he used the platform to push conspiracy theories about the United Nations, the federal government, gun control and more.

Sandy Hook families have yet to collect any money from Jones, who has waged lengthy appeals in state and bankruptcy courts as his company faces liquidation. He remains on air after moving onto new websites and streaming platforms.

Friday’s ruling did not throw out the trial court’s finding of defamation against Jones. Still, he called it “a gigantic victory for the First Amendment,” and said he will continue to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court to get the remaining damages thrown out.

“I got lawyers who are good constitutional lawyers and they are not backing down,” Jones said.

Jones has already tried to appeal the Connecticut judgment to the U.S. Supreme Court but was denied last year.

The decision by the Texas Third Court of Appeals left intact more than $4.1 million in compensatory damages awarded by a jury to Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis for defamation and emotional distress. But it slashed more than $45 million in additional punitive damages down to $1.5 million to comply with the state’s $750,000 cap for each plaintiff.

The court found Heslin and Lewis did not show evidence that the harassment following Jones’ hoax claims rose to a level that would allow them to exceed the cap. It also said the trial judge improperly allowed the parents to seek higher damages after trial.

Mark Bankston, an attorney for Heslin and Lewis in the Texas lawsuit, shrugged off the appeals court ruling as “irrelevant” given that Jones still faces massive financial judgments in Connecticut.

“The families care not at all about this irrelevant ruling which affects only two of the 19 claims they all share. Jones still faces over a billion dollars of liability, so this changes absolutely nothing. All it does is highlight the absurdity of Texas law,” Bankston said.

Newtown families harassed as Jones claimed the massacre was a hoax

Heslin and Lewis’s 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was among those killed in the Sandy Hook attack. Their lawsuit against Jones and the 2022 verdict marked the first time he was held financially liable for peddling lies about the massacre, claiming it was faked by the government to tighten gun laws.

Jones portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his First Amendment rights, but conceded during the trial that the shootings were “100% real” and that he was wrong to have lied about them.

At the Texas and Connecticut trials, victims’ relatives testified that Jones’ followers — believing his claims that the shooting didn’t happen — subjected them to death and rape threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media. Jones argued there was no proof that linked him to those actions.

Heslin and Lewis told jurors that an apology wouldn’t suffice and initially called on them to make Jones pay more than $150 million for the years of suffering he has put them and other Sandy Hook families through.

Almost immediately after the punitive damages in Texas were announced, Jones’ trial attorney predicted the award would be reduced to $1.5 million on appeal.

Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut lawsuit, said Friday’s ruling has no bearing on the ongoing lower court proceedings in Texas involving the liquidation of Infowars’ parent company.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-newtown-b7866ab5ef652bbc7307ae55b09937ce

Tom Brady’s celebrity status did not get him a discount on one of his big summer purchases.

One of the NFL legend’s business partners, Chris Costa, told the California Post on Friday that when Brady made a deal to acquire Fernando Mendoza’s rarest rookie card last month, it cost him a small fortune.

“It’s a life-altering amount of money for most people,” Costa said, “if not all people.”

The exact figure was not disclosed, but Costa — the co-founder and managing partner at CardVault by Tom Brady — said the price tag made it “the most expensive Fernando Mendoza card that’s ever sold.”

“That is a fact,” Costa said.

Brady’s pursuit of the 1-of-1 item all began in the spring, when Topps revealed that members of the 2026 draft class were signing cards with “My 1st NFL Auto” inscriptions on them after learning their NFL destinations.

Brady, of course, had a tremendous desire for it, considering the team he partly owns, the Las Vegas Raiders, ended up selecting Mendoza with the first overall pick.

“Tom basically raised his hand and was like, ‘I want that card,’” Costa said. “‘I need that card.’”

It took several weeks for the piece’s owner to come forward, but Costa said once they located the man — who he described as a resident of the Southwest United States — some tense negotiations took place.

“It was several weeks, if not close to a month, of us going back and forth,” Costa said.

Ultimately, Brady agreed to fork over “a hefty cash number” as well as an autographed jersey for it, Costa said.

A meetup between the two at a future CardVault By Tom Brady location is also in the works, Costa added.

The deal got done just days before Fanatics Fest kicked off in mid-July, and Brady was actually able to proudly show the card off to a crowd of people while speaking at the event.

Source : https://nypost.com/2026/08/21/sports/fernando-mendoza-rookie-card-cost-tom-brady-life-altering-money/