Category: World

The “New York Declaration” seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The UN General Assembly voted Friday (Sep 12) to back the “New York Declaration”, a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict – without the involvement of Hamas.

The text was adopted by 142 votes in favour, 10 against – including Israel and key ally the United States – and 12 abstentions. It clearly condemns Hamas and demands that it surrender its weapons.

Although Israel has criticised UN bodies for nearly two years over their failure to condemn Hamas’s attack on Oct 7, 2023, the declaration, presented by France and Saudi Arabia, leaves no ambiguity.

Formally called the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the text states that “Hamas must free all hostages” and that the UN General Assembly condemns “the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians on the 7th of October”.

It also calls for “collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the Two-State solution”.

The declaration, which was already endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries, also goes further than condemning Hamas, seeking to fully excise them from leadership in Gaza.

“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” the declaration states.

The vote precedes an upcoming UN summit co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris on Sep 22 in New York, in which French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to formally recognise the Palestinian state.

“SHIELD” AGAINST CRITICISM

“The fact that the General Assembly is finally backing a text that condemns Hamas directly is significant,” even if “Israelis will say it is far too little, far too late,” Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group, told AFP.

“Now at least states supporting the Palestinians can rebuff Israeli accusations that they implicitly condone Hamas,” he said, adding that it “offers a shield against Israeli criticism.”

In addition to Macron, several other leaders have announced their intent to formally recognise the Palestinian state during the UN summit.

The gestures are seen as a means of increasing pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, which was triggered by the Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.

The New York Declaration includes discussion of a “deployment of a temporary international stabilisation mission” to the battered region under the mandate of the UN Security Council, aiming to support the Palestinian civilian population and facilitate security responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/israel-hamas-palestinian-state-un-vote-5347586

More than 20 others were injured in the night-time attack on the Thayet Thapin village in Kyauktaw township, an area controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army, said an armed group and local media reports.

An airstrike by Myanmar’s military on two private schools in a village in Myanmar has killed at least 18 people, most of them students, an armed group and local media reports said Friday (Sep 12).

More than 20 others were injured in the night-time attack on the Thayet Thapin village in Kyauktaw township, the area controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army in the western Rakhine state, they said. The military has not announced any attack in the area.

Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press that a jet fighter dropped two bombs on Pyinnyar Pan Khinn and A Myin Thit Private High Schools.

He said most of the victims were “17 to 18-year-old students from the private schools.”

Polls predict strong gains for the far-right Alternative for Germany in the country’s most populous state this weekend. That makes the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia a concern for the government in Berlin.

It is “only” local elections. But it is the first election in Germany since the nationwide government took office in May. The coalition includes the conservative Christian Democratic Union and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).

“It is effectively a litmus test for the federal government,” Oliver Lembcke, a political scientist at the Ruhr University Bochum, told DW of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) on September 14.

The Social Democrats in particular face a further decline in their former heartland, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining in the polls.

The election is also meaningful because the western state is Germany’s most populous, with 18 million residents. Its economic and societal diversity also makes it a microcosm of the country. It contains large cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, plus rural areas, industry and services as well as agriculture. The structural change in the Ruhr district transitioning from coal and steel production toward the service sector, is a development reflected in many areas. In NRW, one in every four residents has an immigration background, the same as Germany overall.

A test for Chancellor Merz

The local elections are widely seen both as a test case for the federal government of Merz, who hails from NRW, but also for state Premier Hendrik Wüst and his state government.

Fifty-year-old Wüst (CDU) has been governing with the Green Party since 2022 and has been tipped as a possible successor to 69-year-old Friedrich Merz. While they have had their disagreements in the past, this week the two men are now demonstrating unity.

The election results will impact not only the two politicians and their CDU party, but also the Social Democrats and SPD Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, who hails from the Ruhr Valley town of Duisburg. That region has always been considered to be the SPD’s home turf, the “heart of social democracy.”

Feeling let down by politics

On September 14, city and municipal councils, county councils, mayors and district administrators will be voted in — about 20,000 seats in total. In local government elections, individuals often play a more important role than parties: Local representatives are on the ground, dealing with grassroots issues, for example, schools, local public transport and the local economy. That is why people sometimes vote for a different party than in the federal elections, which focus on “big picture” policies.

However, it is already clear: Many people in NRW are dissatisfied with the state of their communities, especially with the infrastructure, said Oliver Lembcke: “Streets, bridges, local transport, schools — people are very quickly dissatisfied, especially if they feel those in power are not taking care of it.”

But it is not all about local problems. “We are also seeing on the campaign trail that topics which are matters for the federal government also play a part: especially immigration; being overwhelmed by immigration, the integration demands of immigration.” Fixing these problems are not necessarily the domain of local politics, but “they still matter for this election,” according to Lembcke.

Far-right AfD catching up in the West

According to the polls, the Social Democrats must expect the heaviest losses, especially in the cities of the Ruhr area, such as Gelsenkirchen or Duisburg, while the far-right AfD is likely to gain in strength there. These industrial areas were the traditional strongholds of the SPD. In the previous local elections 5 years ago, the AfD received only about 5% of the vote, in the February 2025 general election, that had gone up to 20% in some towns in the Ruhr Valley. Now, pollsters predict a strong showing, but expect results to be below the AfD’s results in eastern Germany, which are well over 30%.

Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil of the SPD warned his fellow party members during the election campaign: “We need to address people’s concerns.” Many workers in the steel, chemical or automobile industries fear for their jobs.

Political scientist Oliver Lembcke points out that the AfD connects housing shortages, high rents or bad schools with immigration. “This connection is what the AfD thrives off; that is its winning topic. The SPD is losing here the most because it — in many ways rightly — does not see these connections so strongly and also rejects them on principle. However, they tend to gloss over the issues rather than address them.”

Despite this, Lembcke thinks that the AfD will probably not gain a mayoral position, for which the absolute majority of over 50% of the vote is required. “The other parties will unite behind the most promising candidate and thereby prevent mayoral posts from going to the AfD,” Lembcke predicts. “But in county councils and the parliaments of the municipalities, we will see growth of the AfD representation.”

Great dissatisfaction with the federal government

The mood in NRW aligns with the results of the latest nationwide ARD Deutschlandtrend survey from September 3. These numbers are also unsettling for the federal governing parties in Berlin.

According to that poll, only 22% of voters are satisfied with the work of Friedrich Merz’s federal government. Perception of the AfD’s competence to solve problems has risen significantly in many different fields, including economic policy, foreign policy, and financial policy. With regard to refugee and asylum policy, for the first time, those surveyed thought the AfD was the most competent party of all.

Earlier this year, Friedrich Merz confidently announced that an economic upswing was coming and would be felt by the summer. However, the economy hasn’t come out of recession, while the number of unemployed has now risen to more than 3 million for the first time in 10 years.

Strong results for the AfD in NRW could put pressure on the governing coalition in Berlin, especially when it comes to questions of immigration, internal security and social issues. It would also confirm a political polarization in western Germany, which until now was predominantly in the eastern states, where the AfD is significantly stronger than in the west.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz seems to want to cover himself against possible bad results in NRW: “Local elections are local elections,” he said during a recent visit to the state, downplaying the national significance of the vote, arguing that while they are held against a backdrop of state and national politics, the results in local elections depend on the popularity of the individual candidates on the ground.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/why-chancellor-merz-is-concerned-about-local-elections/a-73965238

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s son is getting married to a Brazilian pop star next summer, and the guest list is shaping up to be a motley crew of disaffected dynasties and political rivals — including Donald Trump and Brazil’s Marxist leader.

Conor Kennedy, 31 — Kennedy’s eldest son, who once dated Taylor Swift — is set to marry Giulia Be, 26, in the US in June.

Be made the announcement this week in an interview with Brazilian media after announcing that the wedding, originally scheduled for November in Sao Paulo, had been postponed until after the release of her new album.

“Conor’s father has his list of invitees, and Conor and I have ours,” said the Latin Grammy nominated singer, whose real name is Giulia Bourguinon Marinho.

“If Trump’s on that list, then Lula is also on the list.”

Be supported the Marxist leader’s campaign in 2022, according to Brazilian media reports.

The guest list could lead to some serious tension following this week’s Supreme Court decision in Brazil to convict former president and Lula rival Jair Bolsonaro of leading a coup, with his supporters descending on the Brazilian capital to attempt to overturn Lula’s election victory in 2022.

The former army captan was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison Thursday. Trump has said he is “very unhappy” with the conviction.

Following his mother Mary Richardson Kennedy’s suicide in 2012, Conor began dating Swift.

He had just turned 18, and the megastar, then 23, was reportedly so smitten she bought a seven-bedroom house in the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. Swift later sold the home after the summer romance ended.

Conor and Be, who live in Los Angeles, announced their engagement last year in a series of Instagram posts and a video.

The “Loose Girl” singer captioned one of the posts showing off her diamond engagement ring, “Easiest ‘Yes’ of all time.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/12/celebrity-news/donald-trump-may-come-face-to-face-with-marxist-president-of-brazil-at-rfk-jr-sons-wedding/

Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika, has officially broken her silence on the conservative pundit’s fatal shooting.

The former Miss Arizona addressed the nation via a YouTube livestream on Friday night, remembering him as the “perfect” father and husband.

Erika began by thanking law enforcement and first responders who were present on the day of Charlie’s passing as well as those who protected their Turning Point USA team.

She went on to tearfully thank President Donald Trump as well as Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, before jumping into her speech.

“Two days ago, my husband Charlie went home to see the face of his savior and his God. Charlie always said that when he was gone, he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith,” Erika started.

After acknowledging the couple’s faith and the “worldwide outpouring” of support she’s received in light of her husband’s death, she went on to send a pointed message to Charlie’s alleged killer.

“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said.

“They should all know this: if you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you have just unleashed on this country,” Erika continued, adding that “the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”

“No one will ever forget my husband’s name and I will make sure of it,” she vowed. “My husband’s mission will never end”

She then recalled how she broke the news of her husband’s death to their 3-year-old by telling her that he was on a “work trip with Jesus.”

She closed by addressing her husband, promising to “never let [his] legacy die” and said “I can’t wait to see you again, one day.”

Erika signed off, offering a final thank you and a “God bless” to Charlie’s fans.

Charlie, who founded the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, died on Sept. 10 after he was shot during his speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. He was 31.

His appearance at the college was apart of his “American Comeback Tour,” which was traveling to multiple college campuses across the country. In her address, Erika promised that the tour will go on as planned.

Celebrities and public figures alike all mourned Charlie’s death on social media including Trump.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” he wrote on his Truth Social account soon after Charlie’s death was confirmed.

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” the president wrote.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/12/celebrity-news/charlie-kirks-widow-erika-breaks-her-silence-on-husbands-death-after-fatal-shooting/

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton allegedly used a private email account that was at one point hacked by a “foreign entity,” an FBI search warrant affidavit released Friday revealed.

The 41-page document – used by federal investigators to justify the raid of Bolton’s Maryland home last month – suggests the hacking incident gave the FBI reason to believe the former Trump administration official mishandled classified records.

The Post previously reported that Bolton allegedly used his personal email account to send “highly sensitive” documents to his family while working in the White House.

“Hack of Bolton AOL Account by Foreign Entity,” reads a section of the affidavit, where investigators explained the probable cause for the searches.

The roughly 10 pages detailing the hacking incident are completely redacted. It’s unclear which foreign nation may have been responsible.

FBI Director Kash Patel recently reopened a dormant probe into Bolton’s alleged use of a private email account to send classified national security documents to his wife and daughter before he was fired by President Trump in September 2019, The Post reported last month.

The probe was initially opened in 2020, and continued into the Biden administration, which froze the investigation.

Bolton, 76, has not been arrested and is not currently charged with any crimes.

The sensitive emails Bolton allegedly sent to his family members were obtained by the US intelligence community when it retrieved them from an adversary government’s spy agency, sparking the initial probe into the longtime diplomat, the New York Times and NBC News have reported.

The hacked emails collected by the US intelligence community appear to show that Bolton mishandled classified information, according to the outlets.

“While Bolton was a national security adviser, he was literally stealing classified information, utilizing his family as a cutout,” a senior US official told The Post last month.

The search warrant affidavit also notes that the manuscript for Bolton’s 2020 book, “The Room Where it Happened,” appeared to contain “significant amounts” of classified information, including top-secret level material, when it was reviewed by a National Security Council (NSC) official before publication.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/09/12/us-news/john-boltons-personal-email-account-was-hacked-by-foreign-entity-fbi-docs-reveal/

A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
The document, dated May 28, 2021, was issued to Cook by her credit union in the weeks before she completed the purchase and shows that she had told the lender that the Atlanta property wouldn’t be her primary residence. The document appears to counter other documentation that Cook’s critics have cited in support of their claims that she committed mortgage fraud by reporting two different homes as her primary residence, two independent real-estate experts said.

Reuters was unable to reach Cook for comment. She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing regarding her properties, which also include a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and an investment property in Massachusetts.
Administration officials led by Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, have used mortgage documents from her Atlanta and Michigan properties to accuse Cook of claiming both as her “primary residence.” The allegedly false claims of residence, which could improve mortgage and tax implications for a homeowner, led Pulte to refer the matter to the Department of Justice, prompting a federal investigation and an order by President Donald Trump to dismiss her.

Cook, who remains at the Federal Reserve, has sued the president to resist her dismissal. Reuters was unable to determine whether Pulte or administration officials are aware of Cook’s Atlanta loan estimate. Spokespeople at the FHFA, the agency led by Pulte, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The documents cited by Pulte, opens new tab include standardized federal mortgage paperwork which stipulates that each loan obtained by Cook for the Atlanta and Michigan properties is meant for a “primary residence.” But documentation reviewed by Reuters for the Atlanta home, filed with a court in Georgia’s Fulton County, clearly says the stipulation exists “unless Lender otherwise agrees in writing.” The loan estimate, a document prepared by the credit union, states “Property Use: Vacation Home.”
The document appears to help Cook’s case, said two real-estate experts who aren’t involved in representing her. That’s because it indicates that during the loan-application process, she told the lender she intended to use the property as a vacation home.

The lender, Washington-based Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In another point that could help Cook’s case, she never requested a tax exemption for the Georgia home as a primary residence, according to property records and a Fulton County tax official.
A separate document reviewed by Reuters, related to a federal form completed by Cook as she obtained security clearance for her role at the Federal Reserve, shows that in December 2021 she also declared the Atlanta property as a “2nd home.” Though unrelated to the mortgage, the declaration on that document, a supplement to a U.S. government national security form known as SF-86, is consistent with the claim on her Atlanta loan summary.
Surrounding the accusations against Cook is a battle over Trump’s effort to wield more control over the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States and an independent institution meant to be free of political meddling. Trump has often criticized Fed governors because of their reluctance to cut interest rates since he returned to the White House earlier this year.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fed-governor-cook-declared-her-atlanta-property-vacation-home-documents-show-2025-09-12/

South Korean workers who returned home on Friday after being detained for a week by U.S. immigration authorities described their horror over the raid at their workplace in the state of Georgia and their relief at being reunited with their families.
“It was like a military operation,” said one of the workers of the September 4 raid at the car battery plant that is owned by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution, adding the authorities had deployed across the site in less than 10 minutes.

Like many others who spoke to Reuters after their charter plane landed at Incheon airport, he declined to give his name due to the sensitivity of the matter.
A second worker said U.S. government agents had arrived at the site in helicopters and armoured vehicles and had separated workers according to visa type, arresting those on the ESTA visa-waiver programme or with a B-1 business traveller visa.
Workers’ phones were confiscated, and some were unable to inform their families back home until their eventual release.
In total, some 475 workers – including more than 300 South Korean nationals – were detained at the plant, in the biggest single-site operation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in its history.

U.S. officials said the workers were engaged in activities beyond the scope of their visa authorisation or had overstayed their visas.

RELIEF AND ANGER

“I am really relieved now,” said Hwang In-song, the brother of a detained engineer. “I was so worried and couldn’t sleep well for a week.”
The anxiety of the detainees and their families increased further when diplomatic wrangling over the terms of their release delayed their departure.

“I didn’t know when I would actually be able to leave. That was the hardest part,” said one of the workers.
Asked about life at the detention center in Folkston, Georgia, where they were held, he said: “It was the worst.”
Others complained about the quality of the food and said the water smelt of bleach.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to Reuters’ questions about the allegation of poor conditions at the facility.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/like-military-operation-koreans-describe-anxiety-after-us-immigration-raid-2025-09-12/

Group of Seven nations’ finance ministers discussed in a call on Friday further sanctions on Russia and possible tariffs on countries that they consider “enabling” its war in Ukraine, as the U.S. called on its allies to impose tariffs on purchasers of Russian oil.

Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne chaired the G7 meeting, which was held to discuss further measures to increase pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, according to a statement from Canada, the head of the rolling G7 presidency.

The ministers agreed to speed up discussions to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defense, and discussed a “wide range of possible economic measures to increase pressure on Russia, including further sanctions and trade measures, such as tariffs, on those enabling Russia’s war effort,” the statement said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told finance ministers during the call that they should join the U.S. in imposing tariffs on countries that purchase oil from Russia, Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a separate statement following the meeting.
“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” Bessent and Greer said.

Bessent and Greer welcomed commitments made during the call to increase sanctions pressure and explore using immobilized Russian sovereign assets to benefit Ukraine’s defense, according to the joint statement.
Earlier in the day, a U.S. Treasury spokesperson called on G7 and European Union allies to impose “meaningful tariffs” on goods from China and India to pressure them to halt their purchases of Russian oil.
President Donald Trump has imposed an extra 25% tariff on imports from India to pressure New Delhi to halt its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, bringing total punitive duties on Indian goods to 50% and souring trade negotiations between the two democracies.
But Trump has refrained from imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports over China’s purchases of Russian oil, as his administration navigates a delicate trade truce with Beijing.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-calls-g7-eu-impose-tariffs-china-india-over-russian-oil-purchases-2025-09-12/

Seven technology companies are being probed by a US regulator over the way their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots interact with children.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is requesting information on how the companies monetise these products and if they have safety measures in place.

The impacts of AI chatbots to children is a hot topic, with concerns that younger people are particularly vulnerable due to the AI being able to mimic human conversations and emotions, often presenting themselves as friends or companions.

The seven companies – Alphabet, OpenAI, Character.ai, Snap, XAI, Meta and its subsidiary Instagram – have been approached for comment.

FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson said the inquiry will “help us better understand how AI firms are developing their products and the steps they are taking to protect children.”

But he added the regulator would ensure that “the United States maintains its role as a global leader in this new and exciting industry.”

Character.ai told Reuters it welcomed the chance to share insight with regulators, while Snap said it supported “thoughtful development” of AI that balances innovation with safety.

OpenAI has acknowledged weaknesses in its protections, noting they are less reliable in long conversations.

The move follows lawsuits against AI companies by families who say their teenage children died by suicide after prolonged conversations with chatbots.

In California, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine are suing OpenAI over his death, alleging its chatbot, ChatGPT, encouraged him to take his own life.

They argue ChatGPT validated his “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts”.

OpenAI said in August that it was reviewing the filing.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to the Raine family during this difficult time,” the company said.

Meta has also faced criticism after it was revealed internal guidelines once permitted AI companions to have “romantic or sensual” conversations with minors.

The FTC’s orders request information from the companies about their practices including how they develop and approve characters, measure their impacts on children and enforce age restrictions.

Its authority allows broad fact-finding without launching enforcement action.

The regulator says it also wants to understand how firms balance profit-making with safeguards, how parents are informed and whether vulnerable users are adequately protected.

Ukraine insists on the return of children who were forcibly transferred from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, saying this a ceasefire condition.

Fourteen-year-old Sasha from Mariupol in southeast Ukraine had tears in his eyes when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told his story during her State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

He was only 11 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of his homeland in 2022. After the storming of Mariupol, Russian soldiers took him and his mother to a “filtration camp.” Russia has set up such camps in the territories it occupies to subject Ukrainians to ideological screening before transferring them to Russia.

Sasha was separated from his mother in the camp and taken to occupied Donetsk. He was able to call his grandmother, Liudmila, who lives in an area under Ukrainian control. She brought Sasha back, but his mother’s fate remains unknown.

Sasha and his grandmother were guests of honor during von der Leyen’s speech, in which she emphasized that theirs was not an isolated case. Russia denies that Ukrainian children were abducted.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities have abducted tens of thousands of children from their homes in occupied Ukrainian territories and either placed them in orphanages or handed them over to adoptive families in Russia.

The fate of these children became the focus of recent peace talks. The Ukrainian government has made the return of deported children to Ukraine a prerequisite for a possible ceasefire and a long-term peace deal.

However, Russia denies that the children were abducted and deported. In June, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, claimed that Ukraine was “staging a show on the topic of lost children.” He even said that Russian soldiers had “rescued” these Ukrainian children.

Mounting pressure on Russia over abducted children

In August, 38 countries, the Council of Europe and the European Union issued a joint statement demanding Russia return the children, provide information on their whereabouts and well-being and “cease to alter” their identity. US First Lady Melania Trump, wife of US President Donald Trump, wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterating the call, and US senators have made similar demands.

The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported in August that it had taken months of lobbying for the repatriation of Ukrainian children from Russia to cross the Trump administration’s radar. In April 2025, 40 faith leaders in the US appealed to Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to help return the children.

A bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic senators put forward a resolution in March calling for the return of the children and insisting that the US should provide support to Ukraine in this matter.

Conflicting numbers of Ukrainian children

The US Senate resolution from March spoke of at least 20,000 children, though the Ukrainian president’s “Bring Kids Back” initiative mentions 19,546 children whose names are known. Verifying the figures is difficult because the Ukranian government keeps the list confidential.

“It’s not only about the personal data of minors in need, but about their safety,” Myroslava Kharchenko, a lawyer with the NGO Save Ukraine, which is strongly involved with the campaign to bring back repatriated children, told DW.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the list of 19,546 children is “fake.” In a recent interview, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, said that the list was based on figures from reports of children with whom contact had been lost since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Even some members of the Bring Kids Back initiative unofficially have doubts about the list. “It’s probably based partly on lists from boarding schools in the occupied territories and partly on research from open sources and social networks. Some of the children may have moved to Russia with their parents, and some of them have since moved to Europe,” a representative of an international organization, who asked to remain anonymous, told DW.

Since children from the occupied territories have ended up in Russia in different ways, compiling a uniform list is challenging. The Ukrainian authorities recorded the first cases as early as 2014, when children from boarding schools in the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in Donbas were taken to Russian recreation camps.

In early February 2024, just before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the “People’s Republics” called on the Kremlin to evacuate all orphanages. Around 500 children ended up in different parts of Russia.

They were followed by other minors, from Mariupol, for example. Like Sasha, some of them were separated from their parents in “filtration camps.”

In early 2023, the Ukrainian government said that there were 4,390 Ukrainian children from special children’s institutions in the territories under Russian control. It said that they were orphans and children deprived of parental care.

According to Kharchenko, roughly the same number of children were in family-like orphanages. She pointed out that, in legal terms, the Ukrainian state was responsible for these children.

Putin simplifies procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship

In May 2022, before he signed “accession treaties” and formalized the illegal annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine in September of the same year, Putin simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for orphans and children without parental care from these regions.

Consent from biological parents or legal guardians in Ukraine was no longer required. This exception was partly justified on humanitarian grounds, as Russian citizenship enabled access to social benefits, medical care and education. Lvova-Belova explained in an interview that Putin had ordered that Ukrainian children without legal guardians be placed in Russian foster families.

Journalists and researchers suspect that many more Ukrainian children were handed over to Russian families than is currently estimated. The Ukrainian government says this is a war crime and act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children. In April, the Council of Europe welcomed this decision.

Though Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and rejects all the allegations, it did react to the arrest warrants against Putin and Lvova-Belova. In 2023, Russia stopped transferring Ukrainian children en masse — at least officially. Instead, Lvova-Belova has said that Russia is promoting the return of children to Ukraine — but only on condition that they are personally handed over to blood relatives. That applies to parents, if they have regained custody, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers. Kharchenko said that DNA tests were increasingly required.

Save Ukraine is currently helping to bring back between 60 and 70 children to Ukraine each month. Relatives first need to obtain custody under Ukrainian law and then travel to Russia, where they have to go through the same bureaucratic process again.

“Russian law is quite strict when it comes to the adoption of children by foreigners,” Kharchenko explained. “And the deported children have all been granted Russian citizenship already.”

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/thousands-of-children-forcibly-taken-from-ukraine-by-russia/a-73967242

The Ukrainian leader said that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot stop his war machine “unless he is forced to fundamentally change his personal goals.”

In response to the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace, NATO is launching a new operation called “Eastern Sentry” to protect its members who are vulnerable to Russia.

NATO chief Mark Rutte announced on Friday that the alliance is launching a new operation, “Eastern Sentry,” to protect its eastern flank in response to Russian drones entering Polish airspace.

“Our assessment of the incidents on Wednesday is ongoing and whether or not Russia’s actions were deliberate, Russia violated NATO airspace,” Rutte said about the incident.

“Whether intentional or not, it is dangerous and unacceptable,” he added.

Rutte said that the Russian drone incursion in Poland on Wednesday was the most significant violation of NATO airspace, though not the first. Similar violations have occurred in Estonia, Romania, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The new mission is set to involve a range of assets integrating air and ground bases. It will involve “allies, including Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Germany, and others,” Rutte said.

Speaking alongside Rutte, NATO’s top commander, Alexus Grynkewich, said the alliance would defend every inch of its territory.

“Poland and citizens from across the Alliance should be assured by our rapid response earlier this week and our significant announcement here today,” he said.

Grynkewich said Eastern Sentry was designed to be a flexible operation that would strengthen defenses along NATO’s entire eastern flank. This area extends from Finland and the Baltic states in the north to Romania and Bulgaria in the south.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/nato-launches-new-mission-to-protect-eastern-flank/a-73981968

Two separate incidents this week in DR Congo have killed at least 193 people. Dozens are missing as rescue work continues.

Two separate boat accidents in the Democratic Republic of Congo this week have killed at least 193 people, authorities said Friday.

The accidents occurred on Wednesday and Thursday at locations in the northwestern Equateur province, around 150 kilometers (93 miles) from each other.

What do we know about the boat accidents?

One boat carrying nearly 500 passengers capsized after catching fire while traveling on the Congo River near Malange village, Lukolela territory, on Thursday evening, the Ministry of Social Affairs said.

In a report, the ministry said 209 survivors had been rescued, while 146 people were missing.

The boat drifted downstream as it burned, the report said, adding that the fire had destroyed the vessel’s cargo and ignited 15 homes on the riverbank.

Naval personnel and volunteers from the local community were assisting in search and rescue operations, which were still ongoing on Friday.

On Wednesday, at least 86 people — most of them students — died after a motorized boat capsized at the confluence of the Nsolo and Great Maringa rivers in Basankusu territory, according to state media.

Several people were still missing, although it was unclear how many. State media said eight survivors were rescued from the water by local residents.

The accident was caused by “improper loading and night navigation,” according to the report, which is “formally prohibited,” civil society activist Akula Mboyo said.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/dr-congo-boat-accidents-leave-over-190-dead-scores-missing/a-73982266

The “New York Declaration” outlines steps towards a Palestinian state and an end to Hamas rule in Gaza. Israel has rejected the resolution. Follow DW for the latest.

The complaint said Tesla relies heavily on H-1B visa holders for technical roles. In 2024 alone, Tesla reportedly hired approximately 1,355 visa workers while laying off more than 6,000 US employees, the majority believed to be American citizens.

A lawsuit filed against Tesla, the electric vehicle company led by Elon Musk, alleges the company systematically prefers H-1B visa holders over American citizens when hiring and firing employees to save on labour costs. The proposed class-action complaint was submitted Friday in San Francisco federal court and accuses Tesla of violating federal civil rights laws.

According to the complaint, Tesla’s alleged bias disproportionately affects US citizens, particularly in highly skilled roles that the company often fills with H-1B visa holders. The lawsuit claims that this practice allows Tesla to pay lower wages to visa-dependent employees compared with American workers performing similar duties.

ALLEGED BIAS AGAINST AMERICAN APPLICANTS

The lawsuit was brought by software engineer Scott Taub and human resources specialist Sofia Brander. Both individuals say Tesla refused to hire them after finding they would not require employment sponsorship, indicating that they were US citizens.

Taub alleged he was discouraged from applying for a position after being told it was H-1B only. He claimed the company excluded him from an interview for a second role.

Brander, who had previously worked at Tesla as a contract employee, said she was denied interviews for two positions despite her prior experience with the company.

“While visa workers make up just a fraction of the United States labour market, Tesla prefers these candidates over US citizens, as it can pay visa-dependent employees less than Americans performing the same work–a practice known in the industry as wage theft,” the complaint states.

ELON MUSK’S H-1B RELIANCE

Brittany Mahomes appeared to address Charlie Kirk’s assassination with a cryptic social media post.

On Thursday, the Kansas City Current co-owner reposted via her Instagram Story quotes by author Sharon McMahon that read, “Hate will not get us out of this mess.”

“Your feelings might lie and try to tell you otherwise, but hate doesn’t know how to heal or build, only how to harm and destroy.”

Mahomes has not confirmed whether the post is about Kirk, the right-wing activist who was shot dead while at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Her reps also did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.

However, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been a subtle supporter of the Republican party — although she has never publicly stated for whom she voted.

In August 2024, she was called out for “liking” a “Make America Great Again” post on Instagram.

She said in response at the time, “To be a hater as an adult, you have to have some deep rooted issues you refuse to heal from childhood.

“There’s no reason your brain is fully developed and you hate to see others doing well.”

Chris Pratt wrote via X shortly after the shooting, “Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need God’s grace. God help us.”

Tim Allen also chimed in online, “On this sad and day remembering 9-11. I add a somber prayer for Charlie Kirks family. This is a very dark moment.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/12/celebrity-news/brittany-mahomes-seemingly-reacts-to-charlie-kirks-death-with-cryptic-post/

CHARLIE Kirk’s heartbroken widow Erika Frantzve was seen for the first time since her husband’s shocking assassination.

The 31-year-old former Miss Arizona arrived in Phoenix on Thursday night alongside Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha.

Wearing dark sunglasses and clutching a rosary, brave Erika descended Air Force Two hand-in-hand with Usha before watching the conservative firebrand’s coffin be transferred to a hearse.

Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday by a sniper who opened fire from a rooftop 200 yards away as he launched his “American Comeback” tour at Utah Valley University.

Vance, who cancelled plans to attend a 9/11 commemoration at Ground Zero, personally arranged for Kirk’s casket to be flown to Arizona and stood at Erika’s side throughout the heartbreaking journey.

Earlier on Thursday, the 41-year-old vice president helped carry Kirk’s wooden casket onto Air Force Two during a private ceremony at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base in Salt Lake City.

Mum-of-two Erika and second lady Usha watched in silence as the coffin was placed aboard.

Vance paid tribute to Kirk in a moving post on X, calling him a true friend.

He wrote: “Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers.

“After every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do.”

He recalled their unlikely first exchange in 2017 after a TV appearance, describing Kirk as “fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind”.

“When others were right, he learned from them. When he was right –as he usually was – he was generous. With Charlie, the attitude was never, ‘I told you so.’ But: ‘welcome,’” Vance said.

Vance revealed Kirk had even campaigned for him before he ran for the Senate, saying: “no reason to do this, no expectation that I’d go anywhere… He did it because we were friends, and because he was a good man.”

Erika, who married the Turning Point USA founder in 2021, had been in Utah with Kirk’s parents when the assassination unfolded.

The couple shared two young children.

President Trump told reporters Thursday he had spoken at length with the devastated widow.

“I spoke to Erika, his wife. And we had a long talk,” Trump said.

“And she’s devastated. She is absolutely devastated, as you can imagine.”

Trump confirmed he will attend Kirk’s funeral, calling it an “obligation,” and announced the conservative firebrand would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

And on Friday morning, Trump revealed a suspect in Kirk’s assassination is in custody after being turned in by his own father.

Speaking on Fox & Friends, the President said cops have a “high degree of certainty” they have the “person they are looking for,” adding: “They have somebody that they think did it.”

Trump explained the dad, urged by a church minister, drove his son to police HQ after the sniper evaded capture for more than 24 hours.

He added: “They drove into the police headquarters. He’s there now.”

The President cautioned he was “always subject to be corrected” but said it was looking “real good.”

It comes as chilling CCTV footage released by the FBI shows the assassin sprinting across the roof of UVU’s Losee Center seconds after firing the fatal shot.

The grainy clip captures the suspect — described as a male who “appears to be of college age” — racing across the roof before lowering himself over the edge, leaping down, and blending into the crowd of students.

He left behind a palm print, footwear impression, and forearm imprints before vanishing into a wooded area, where investigators later recovered a high-powered bolt action rifle believed to be the murder weapon.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15171081/charlie-kirk-widow-erika-seen-coffin-jd-vance/

TYLER Robinson has been identified as the suspect behind the shocking assassination of right wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

The 22-year-old has been pictured for the first time today after being arrested in connection to the horror shooting.

His name was reported by multiple US media sources as Donald Trump sat down with Fox & Friends this morning.

During that interview, the President said cops had a “high degree of certainty” they got the “person they are looking for”.

Little is known about Robinson at this time, but it is understood he was a student at Utah State University.

Pictures from social media shed some light on the suspect, who was reported to dislike Charlie Kirk.

They also include a snap of a Halloween costume showing him “riding” Donald Trump.

Robinson had reportedly “become more political in recent years” according to his family, and had made his disdain for Kirk clear at home.

One video on Facebook shows him reading a letter that had been selected to receive a scholarship at the college.

It has been confirmed at an FBI press conference he is 22 years old, meaning he will have been born in 2002 or 2003.

The presser also confirmed that he is from Utah, where he had lived in a $600,000 six-bedroom home.

After a lengthy manhunt to chase down a suspect linked to Kirk’s shooting, Robinson was identified earlier today.

Some sources have reported that his own dad turned him in to cops.

But the Utah governor suggested it was a family friend.

In his Fox interview, Trump said that “someone very close” to the suspect had turned him in.

Robinson’s dad was involved with law enforcement, according to reports.

Sources have told the press that Robinson confessed to him, who then tipped off the authorities.

Messages were found inscribed onto bullet casing from unused ammunition.

One read: “Oh, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao” in reference to a popular Italian anti-fascist song sung during World War II.

Others include disturbing messages such as “If you read this, you are gay lmao”.

Speaking at a press conference following Robinson’s apprehension, Utah governor Spencer Cox said a family member revealed the suspect “had become more political in recent years”.

Upon learning that Charlie Kirk was coming to town, they had “talked about why they didn’t like him”.

Investigators had interviewed one of his college roommates during their probe.

They said he had made a “joke” on the platform Discord.

Cox went on: “The content of these messages included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15174198/tyler-robinson-what-we-know/

XI Jinping’s largest and most advanced warship was spotted cruising past Taiwan – in China’s latest warning of an impending invasion. 

The menacing carrier, dubbed the Fujian, steamed through the Taiwan Strait – issuing a chilling reminder to the West that the island nation must come under Chinese control.

It comes as Beijing continues to pump out baseless propaganda claiming the self-governing island is part of China’s territory.

The behemoth aircraft carrier made the daring trip for the first ever time on Friday, the CCP said.

They added that the colossal vessel was doing “sea trials” ahead of its commissioning and was en route to the South China Sea.

Beijing claimed the carrier was not targeting anyone else, while state TV made similar claims.

The Fujian sailed southwest alongside two guided-missile destroyers.

The US Navy and other Western nations occasionally send warships through the strait in order to deter China’s territorial ambitions.

The red scare was seen as Xi Jinping’s newest effort to send a message to the rest of the world – that Taiwan will one day become part of China.

Although the US does not formally recognise Taiwan’s government, it does provide weaponry for its defence.

The White House also encourages that any differences between the two nations should be settled diplomatically.

Taiwan and China split in the civil war that brought the communists power in 1949.

The defeated Nationalist government fled to Taiwan and set up its own government on the island.

Beijing claimed last week it was on high alert after the Canadian frigate Quebec and the Australian destroyer Brisbane sailed through the strait.

It accused the two ships of provocative actions and claimed the journey heightened security risks.

Japan’s military said it spotted China’s latest carrier for the first time on Thursday afternoon.

The convoy was reportedly sailing about 200 kilometres from the disputed Senkaku islands, which are named the Diayou islands in China.

Both Japan and China claim the remote and uninhabited stretches of land.

It comes after President Xi Jinping wheeled out his flashy new hypersonic nukes, laser cannons and robot dogs among a slew of other impressive weapons at his major military parade in Beijing earlier this month.

With the world watching, Xi smiled as he walked flanked by Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin as the latest weapons were put on show.

The parade – marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 – was a big chance for Xi to flaunt his military might on the world stage.

An endless row of tanks, drones, armoured trucks, missiles and both sea and air planes were all shown off to both the Chinese people and the country’s rivals.

But some are still doubting the true nature of Beijing’s weaponry and their ability to even use them on the battlefield.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15175915/china-warship-taiwan-xi-invasion/

Chelsea were hit with 74 charges by the Football Association on Thursday after the London club were accused of breaching regulations covering football agents, intermediaries and third-party investment in players spanning more than a decade.

The FA did not elaborate on the charges but Chelsea said the matters were ‘self-reported’ by the club after the change in ownership in May 2022.

“The conduct that is the subject of the charges ranges from 2009 to 2022 and primarily relates to events which occurred between the 2010-11 to 2015-16 playing seasons,” the FA said in a statement.

At the time, the London club was owned by Roman Abramovich, but the Russian billionaire put Chelsea up for sale in 2022 following sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich, who bought the club in 2003, completed the sale to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

“During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules,” Chelsea said in a statement.

“Immediately upon the completion of the purchase, the club self-reported these matters to all relevant regulators, including the FA.

“The club has demonstrated unprecedented transparency during this process, including by giving comprehensive access to the club’s files and historical data.
“We will continue working collaboratively with the FA to conclude this matter as swiftly as possible.”
The FA said Chelsea have until September 19 to respond to the charge.
A source at the club told Reuters they had opened their books to the FA so England’s soccer governing body can make educated judgements on the historical payments.
The source could not reveal the nature of the charges or the irregular payments as it is an ongoing legal matter but confirmed they were related to the men’s team.
Chelsea are also hoping the FA takes their transparency into account if the alleged breaches result in sanctions which could range from fines, points deductions or even transfer bans.

PREVIOUS PUNISHMENTS

FIFA had handed Chelsea a transfer ban in 2019 after they were found guilty of breaching rules regarding 29 overseas players under the age of 18.
In July 2023, European soccer body UEFA had reached a settlement with Chelsea over the submission of incomplete financial information, related to “historical transactions” between 2012-2019.
At the time, the owners said they had proactively reported instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting to UEFA.
Two weeks later, the Premier League said it was investigating potential financial rule breaches at Chelsea under Abramovich’s ownership.
The Times reported that the inquiry encompasses multi-million-pound payments to undisclosed offshore entities, with connections to football intermediaries.

https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/fa-charge-chelsea-with-74-breaches-rules-regarding-agents-intermediaries-2025-09-11/

Source : 

Reiterating India’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said that India favours an “early end to hostilities and a durable solution for the Ukraine conflict”.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and conveyed India’s concern over recent developments affecting Poland’s security.

In a post on X shared on Thursday, Jaishankar said: “Spoke to Foreign Minister @sikorskiradek of Poland today. He shared his concern about recent developments pertaining to Poland’s security.”

Reiterating India’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, he said that India favours an “early end to hostilities and a durable solution for the Ukraine conflict”.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced the deployment of three Rafale fighter jets to Poland in response to recent Russian drone incursions, saying the move was aimed at strengthening NATO’s eastern flank and protecting European security.

In a post on X, Macron said, “Following the Russian drone incursions into Poland, I have decided to deploy three Rafale fighter jets to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and of NATO’s Eastern Flank together with our Allies.”

Source : https://www.news18.com/world/eam-flags-concerns-on-polish-airspace-violation-stresses-durable-solution-to-ukraine-conflict-9566695.html

In the photographs, a young man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was captured in a stairwell of a building.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Utah authorities have released new photos of the “person of interest” in connection with the murder of conservative activist and President Donald Trump’s close ally, Charlie Kirk, at Utah Valley University.

In the photographs, a young man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was captured in a stairwell of a building. He was seen carrying a black backpack and wearing a shirt with what appeared to be an American flag printed on it.

“We are asking for the public’s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” the FBI’s Salt Lake City office said on X on Thursday, while sharing four new images of the suspect.

The shooter who assassinated Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later.

What We Know About Suspected Shooter

The screenshots were taken from the campus’s surveillance footage from before Kirk was shot dead, the Utah Department of Public Safety said.

According to authorities, the suspect is believed to be a college-aged individual. The FBI has announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s murder.

Officials said they are working “around the clock” to locate the individual as the manhunt for the killer continues. Authorities also recovered a “high-powered bolt action rifle”– the weapon believed to be used in the deadly shooting. It was found in a towel in the wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.

A spent cartridge was recovered from the chamber, and three other rounds were loaded in the magazine. The weapon and ammunition were being analysed by law enforcement at a federal lab.

He further stated that a “footwear impression” and “a forearm imprint” have also been found, which are also in the process of being studied.

“I can tell you this was a targeted event”, Bohls commented on the attack.

Earlier, police said Kirk was killed by a single bullet fired from the roof of the school’s Losee Centre, a campus building 100-200 yards (roughly 90-180 metres) from the event area.

But they had yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing they were treating as the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States across the ideological spectrum.

Charlie Kirk’s Murder

The attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues from a university courtyard, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.

The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a “college-age” appearance, fired a single shot from the rooftop where they were perched before jumping off.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/fbi-releases-more-photos-of-person-of-interest-in-charlie-kirk-murder-case-9262108?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

Likely in her early teens and bearing a close resemblance to her mother, the daughter of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un is increasingly viewed as his likely heir.

The girl, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, was in the spotlight again as she accompanied her father on his high-profile China trip, his own first visit to a major gathering of world leaders and her first known trip abroad.

Video and images carried by North Korean state media showed her right behind her father and ahead of Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui as they got off a train in Beijing, clapping as officials at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing bowed to her father, and standing near him as he was seated with senior officials in a meeting room inside his train.

South Korea’s spy agency said Sept. 11 that it assesses that the trip solidified her status as her father’s likely heir.

She is believed to be 12 or 13 years old. Not much else is known about her, but her repeated appearances at high-profile events with her father have prompted speculation that she’s being groomed as North Korea’s next leader.

China trip is analyzed intensively

In a closed-door briefing for lawmakers, the South Korean National Intelligence Service said Kim Jong Un was believed to have brought his daughter to China to help her acquire overseas experience and cement her status as his likely heir, according to lawmaker Park Sunwon, who attended the meeting.

The spy agency cited coverage of her appearances in China in the country’s main state TV station and newspaper, which target the ordinary citizens, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who was also present at the meeting.

Her name and age are unconfirmed

North Korean state media outlets have never published her name, referring to her as Kim Jong Un’s “respected” or “most beloved” child.

The belief that she is named Ju Ae is based on an account by former NBA champion Dennis Rodman, in which he recalled holding Kim Jong Un’s baby daughter during a trip to Pyongyang in 2013.

Her exact age is unconfirmed but South Korean intelligence officials believe she was born in 2013.

In 2023, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers it assessed Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju also have an older son and a younger third child whose gender is unknown.

She’s being increasingly showcased in her father’s events

Kim Jong Un allowed his daughter to be seen in public for the first time during a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2022. Photos in state media showed Kim Ju Ae wearing a white coat and red shoes as she watched a soaring missile from a distance and walked hand-in-hand with her father.

Her carefully-crafted appearances have included missile tests, military parades, and the launch of a naval destroyer in April.

Kim Jong Un has recently expanded his daughter’s public appearances beyond military events to include some of his most ambitious economic projects and cultural events, including the opening of a beach resort in June.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-jong-un-daughter-beijing-70681f4dc3c6b2f9a06d90d73d67f597

President Donald Trump’s push to revitalize American manufacturing by luring foreign investment into the U.S. has run smack into one of his other priorities: cracking down on illegal immigration.

Hardly a week after immigration authorities raided a sprawling Hyundai battery plant in Georgia, detained more than 300 South Korean workers and showed video of some of them shackled in chains, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned that the country’s other companies may be reluctant to take up Trump’s invitation to pour money into the United States.

The detained South Koreans were released Thursday and most were flown home.

If the U.S. can’t promptly issue visas to the technicians and other skilled workers needed to launch plants, then “establishing a local factory in the United States will either come with severe disadvantages or become very difficult for our companies,” Lee said Thursday. “They will wonder whether they should even do it.”

The raid and subsequent diplomatic crisis show how the Trump administration’s mass deportation goals are running up against its efforts to bring in money from abroad to drive the U.S. economy and create more jobs. Moves like workplace immigration enforcement and visa restrictions could risk alienating allies that are pledging to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. to avoid high tariffs.

South Korea is already a big investor in the US

Trump’s economic agenda is built around using hefty tariffs on imports, including a 15% levy on South Korean products, as a cudgel to force manufacturing to return to the U.S. He’s repeatedly said foreign companies can escape his tariffs if they produce in America. South Korea, already a top investor, pledged to invest $350 billion in the U.S. when the two sides announced a trade deal in July.

It made more investments in new construction, such as factories, on previously undeveloped land than any other country in 2022. Last year, it ranked 12th in the world with $93 billion in total American investment — including acquisitions of existing companies, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

But the dramatic roundup of South Koreans and others working to set up the battery plant threatens to put a chill on the investment push. Indeed, Trump seems to be trying to undo the damage.

While demanding that foreign investors “LEGALLY bring your very smart people,” Trump also promised to “make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so.”

“President Trump will continue delivering on his promise to make the United States the best place in the world to do business, while also enforcing federal immigration laws,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement Thursday.

For now, the South Koreans are furious and immigration experts are puzzled. It’s been common practice for decades for foreign companies — such as the Japanese and German carmakers that have built factories in the American Midwest and South — to send technical specialists from their home countries to help open plants in the United States. Most of them train U.S. workers, then go home.

“Japanese managers, senior engineers, other technical experts had to come to the United States to set this stuff up,” said Lee Branstetter, a professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University who’s studied Japanese auto plants in the U.S.

American companies do the same thing, sending U.S. workers overseas temporarily to get operations started.

Some experts call it a baffling, ‘performative’ raid

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched the roundup last week at a manufacturing site that state officials have touted as Georgia’s largest economic development project.

“It’s really baffling to me why this raid would have occurred,” said Ben Armstrong, executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Industrial Performance Center. “The existence of these workers shouldn’t have been a surprise.”

U.S. immigration officials could have audited the workers’ documents without the drama, retired immigration lawyer Dan Kowalski said, adding that “raiding and arresting and putting them in chains and shackles is 100% performative.”

It had to do with “wanting to look tough — arresting as many foreigners as possible for the photo-op,” said Kowalski, who is now a writer and editor.

U.S. work visa categories make it a challenge to bring in foreign workers quickly and easily, said Kevin Miner, an immigration lawyer in Atlanta.

Some run on a highly competitive lottery system, are for seasonal workers and have a cap, or are restricted to managers and executives. Other short-term visas have strict limits on employment.

After meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week in Washington, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said they agreed to set up a joint working group for discussions on creating a new visa category to make it easier for South Korean companies to send their staff to work in the United States.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau also plans to visit Seoul this weekend.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-trump-immigration-raid-foreign-investment-ddfbe7d34ffedf46a25fa648c96a0000

An active-duty Navy chief saw four tic-tac shaped UFOs off the coast of California while working on the USS Jackson — and convinced a doubting radar officer the craft were real with an undeniable “checkmate.”

US Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Alexandro Wiggins witnessed multiple UFOs on radar on the evening of February 15, 2023 — observing the first one emerge seamlessly out of the ocean, he said.

“What am I seeing?” recounted Chief Wiggins, who spoke to The Post on behalf of himself as an individual and not as a representative of the Navy. “From my observations, it did in fact come from the water.”

“It was first seen on radar and once I saw it on radar, I wanted to confirm visually what I was seeing on radar if it was clouds and atmospherics and something else.”

Wiggins then moved out to the core bridge wing of the USS Jackson and went through his mental checklist of things the object could be — but was convinced by an odd maneuver it made that it was not standard human technology.

“It [was] rising into the air high enough to where I’m like, alright, that’s definitely: A. too fast and B. not something I’ve seen before,” the 21-year Navy veteran said.

The keen-eyed officer saw three other objects moving in coordination roughly 8 nautical miles away from the USS Jackson — then reported the unknown objects to a tactical officer and rushed to observe the craft on a Sapphire radar.

A video recording of the Sapphire radar tracking was published by George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell on the Weaponized Podcast in April.

“From the video, that’s what you get, you see that original Tic-Tac object that I visually saw off the port bridge wing,” Wiggins said.

The clip showed an oval-shaped black spot on the radar moving up and down with apparent ease — and then rendezvousing with three other similarly shaped crafts.

“In utilizing the Saphire system, you’re able to see silhouettes and heat signatures of different objects. So, in relation to the tic-tacs – once it went away at near instantaneous speed, we had some skeptics in ICC-1,” Wiggins said of the other Navy men on the bridge.

At least one of the radar operators claimed the object was likely a plane, but Wiggins said he knew what he saw.

Then an actual plane passed by on the radar and its form was clearly visible, unlike the tic-tac-like figures they had just observed.

“About 30, 45 seconds pass, and I see an incoming or a passing by commercial aircraft. And so I tell the CSM, slew into that aircraft around the same location, and lo and behold, you see the air signature coming off the back. You see the wings perfectly. You see the tailwing. The side wings. You see the shape of the nose of the aircraft. You see it perfectly.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/09/11/us-news/active-duty-navy-chief-who-witnessed-ufo-convinced-doubting-colleagues-with-radar-expertise-it-was-like-checkmate/

Surveillance cameras captured the accused, identified as 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, retrieving a machete before charging at the victim, Chandra Mouli ‘Bob’ Nagamallaiah, outside the Downtown Suites motel. In the video, the suspect can be seen sprinting behind Nagamallaiah, grabbing him and launching a violent assault amid piercing screams.

A 50-year-old Indian-origin motel manager was brutally beheaded in Dallas, Texas, in the US, on Wednesday after a dispute with a co-worker. The killing took place in front of his wife and his 18-year-old son in broad daylight.

The most chilling details emerged through CCTV footage, now central to the investigation. Surveillance cameras captured the accused, identified as 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, retrieving a machete before charging at the victim, Chandra Mouli ‘Bob’ Nagamallaiah, outside the Downtown Suites motel. In the video, the suspect can be seen sprinting behind Nagamallaiah, grabbing him and launching a violent assault amid piercing screams.

Graphic Footage Warning: Visuals can be disturbing. Viewers’ discretion advised.

G7 finance ministers will debate new US proposals for tougher economic measures on Russia, as Washington urges allies to escalate pressure and accelerate Europe’s shift from Russian energy.

The Donald Trump administration in the US will pressure G7 countries to hit India and China with sharply higher tariffs for buying Russian oil in an attempt to force Moscow into peace talks with Ukraine, British daily Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the plans.

The suggested tariff levels are said to be between 50 and 100 percent. Finance ministers from the G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — are scheduled to discuss the proposal in a video call on Friday.

This follows President Trump’s earlier appeal this week for the European Union to implement similar tariffs.

“Chinese and Indian purchases of Russian oil are funding Putin’s war machine and prolonging the senseless killing of the Ukrainian people. Earlier this week, we made it clear to our EU allies that if they are serious about ending the war in their own backyard, they need to join us and impose meaningful tariffs that will be rescinded the day the war ends,” the US Treasury department spokesperson told Financial Times.

Canada, which holds the G7 presidency, confirmed the meeting, saying it would consider “further measures to increase pressure on Russia and limit their war machinery”.

The push comes as Washington steps up pressure on allies to align with Trump’s “Peace and Prosperity Administration” initiative aimed at bringing Russia to the negotiating table. The US administration believes that exerting economic pressure on India and China, Russia’s largest oil buyers, could significantly weaken Moscow’s economy.

Last month, the Trump administration raised tariffs on Indian imports to 50 per cent, — 25 per cent reciprocal duty and a 25 per cent punitive levy tied to India’s Russian oil purchases. In April, Trump also hiked tariffs on Chinese imports but partially rolled them back in May after facing a sharp market backlash.

Last week, Donald Trump called on the European Union to hit China and India with tariffs of up to 100 per cent to force Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The US president made the demand during a meeting between US and EU officials, discussing options to increase economic pressure on Russia.

The European Union, however, remains hesitant. Officials are wary of slapping steep tariffs on two of their biggest trading partners, citing economic risks and the likelihood of retaliation from Beijing. Instead, Brussels is pushing to accelerate its 2027 deadline for phasing out Russian energy imports, while also considering tighter sanctions.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/us-to-push-g7-for-higher-tariffs-on-india-china-over-russian-oil-report-glbs-2786009-2025-09-12

Spinal Tap have never had much luck with drummers.

As fans of the parody British rock band will know, their original sticksman, John “Stumpy” Pepys, died in what was described in the original 1984 mockumentary as “a bizarre gardening accident”.

His replacement, Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs, fared no better. He died having choked on (someone else’s) vomit, while the next man behind the kit, Peter “James” Bond, also perished in mysterious circumstances. He exploded on stage, taking the rock ‘n’ roll death cliche to its natural comic conclusion.

Now, more than 40 years after the release of This Is Spinal Tap – the film that would go on to inspire many other deadpan, fake documentaries including The Office – the band are back together for a sequel which finds them in search of a new drummer, to help them fulfil a freshly triggered contractual obligation: one last gig in New Orleans.

“We looked everywhere [for a drummer] but people knew our history somehow and they said, ‘no thank you’,” says frontman David St Hubbins, played by Michael McKean, but speaking to us in character alongside his two bandmates.

The film sees drum heroes Questlove, Lars Ulrich and Chad Smith all sounded out about taking on the most dangerous role in rock, but they decline, leaving room for newcomer Didi Crockett (Valerie Franco).

“They thought of all these reasons not to play, and then here comes this lovely girl who says, ‘I’ll play in your bloody band. I will dare the Reaper’,” he explains.

Bassist Derek Smalls, played by Harry Shearer – also the voice of Mr Burns in The Simpsons – confirms: “People made up excuses like, ‘I’ve got to wash the dog.’

“But the key was to get somebody who was fully breathing. And had no dog.”

“Yeah that helped a lot,” agrees guitarist Nigel Tufnel, portrayed by Christopher Guest in his best mockney accent. “Young is good as well because you’ve got a better chance of survival.”

In truth, Spinal Tap exist in a weird realm somewhere in-between fiction and reality.

While the hilariously inept “British” band were the brainchild of the American improvisers who play them, along with US director Rob Reiner, such has been their popularity since the first film that they have gone on to perform in real life to fans at Wembley Arena, Glastonbury Festival, the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall.

The foursome won a legal battle in 2020, after four years in court, to reclaim the rights to their own creation – which they claimed had earned them next to nothing due to some alleged “Hollywood accounting” – and potentially revive the franchise.

In Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, Reiner, who also directed Stand By Me and When Harry Met Sally, reprises his role as documentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi.

He investigates what the rockers have been up to in the 15 years since their tumultuous split as a way to immortalise their reunion gig.

The concert has come about after Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s country cover of the band’s track Big Bottom went viral, propelling them back into the charts (think Kate Bush and Stranger Things).

DiBergi finds Tufnel working as a cheesemonger in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Smalls as the proprietor of London glue museum and St Hubbins living in Los Angeles making answering machine jingles.

The groundbreaking first film – Ricky Gervais’s favourite – focused on Tap’s disastrous US tour, and the band still brand DiBergi’s treatment as “a hatchet job”.

It wasn’t a huge box office success at first but slowly became a cult classic (“a cult with no leader,” jokes Smalls), as videotapes (and later DVDs and links) got passed down the generations.

As well as their countless comically deceased drummers, the 1980s band were also known for being the loudest around. Their amps, like the volume settings on BBC’s iPlayer and Tesla cars, famously went all the way up to 11. Lesser bands stuck on 10 could only dream of such dizzy sonic heights.

In 2002, the phrase “up to eleven” entered an Oxford English Dictionary phrasebook to describe anything going beyond its supposed maximum.

I wonder, how will they sound in the modern era?

“Marshall made me a new amplifier some years ago,” reveals Tufnel. “It goes to infinity on the dial. It just keeps turning.

“There should be no boundary at all in terms of sound, of volume or anything else. And so they’ve done that for me as a custom feature.”

“They actually test those amplifiers on fish,” St Hubbins chips in.

“It’s carp actually, the saddest fish really, isn’t it?” Tufnel continues.

“But if you blast them underwater speakers, it’s the only time it makes them have an expression on their face.”

The film has received some positive early reviews. Awarding four stars, the Guardian said the “still funny” mockusequel was full of “pin-sharp laughs and melancholy”.

The Radio Times suggested “such beloved characters deserve a better film”, while the Telegraph offered only three stars, telling fans to “dial down your expectations to -11”.

“Despite some great lines and an inspired climax, the rock spoof’s sequel doesn’t come close to the comic genius of the original,” the newspaper said.

Actors Chris Addison and Kerry Godliman recently told The One Show it had become a sort of “holy text of comedy”.

Addison plays the band’s pompous new promoter while Godliman plays the daughter of their late manager who is now looking after their legal affairs in light of a newly discovered chart return gig clause.

While the likes of Steven Tyler, Axl Rose and Ozzy Osbourne didn’t find the original that funny as it was all too real for them, it has become a rite of passage for bands to experience their own “Spinal Tap moment”: when everything goes spectacularly wrong.

Some of the funniest moments from the first film, including the band getting lost backstage, or the ridiculous food requests on their rider, are at least in-part inspired by true stories. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers apparently got lost backstage, while Van Halen prohibited the presence of any brown M&Ms.

Reiner recently told the Discourse podcast with Mike DeAngelo: “We tried to be as honest as we could as to what really happens on rock ‘n’ roll tours and I think that’s what resonates with people.

“When I first met Sting, he told me he’s seen it many times and every time he watches it he doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

He added: “We love rock ‘n’ roll… but there are excesses that we can make fun of.”

No-one knows more about all that than actual rock ‘n’ roll knights of the realm, Sirs Elton John and Paul McCartney who both feature in the new film.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5039lqzgvo

RUSSIA’S drone attack on Poland was deliberate and shows Vladimir Putin is laughing at Donald Trump’s peace efforts, Warsaw has claimed.

Poland’s deputy PM Radek Sikorski yesterday dismissed the Kremlin’s “lies and denials” over the blitz.

He said: “Poland’s airspace was breached 19 times by drones manufactured in Russia.

“The assessment of Polish and Nato air forces is that they did not veer off course but were targeted.”

He added: “The Kremlin is again mocking President Trump’s peace efforts.”

The drones crossed into Polish airspace early on Wednesday.

Three were shot down and others crashed near its borders with Ukraine and Belarus in the east of the country.

The attack appeared to be testing radar defences, military sources said.

It follows reports that Russia has used Polish and Lithuanian sim cards in drones so they can connect to mobile masts to navigate in the countries.

Lithuania, Ukraine and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz also said they believed the blitz was deliberate.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15168326/putin-laughing-trump-war-poland-drone-attack/

DONALD Trump has revealed Charlie Kirk’s heartbroken wife Erika is “absolutely devastated” after the conservative firebrand was shot dead.

The former beauty queen, 36, held a “long talk” with the US President earlier today after a cowardly rooftop sniper opened fire on Kirk at a university event in Utah.

Kirk and Erika shared a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.

Speaking to reporters outside of the White House Donald Trump opened up on his phone call with a shaken Erika.

He said: “I spoke to Erika his wife and we had a long talk and she is devastated, she’s absolutely devastated as you can imagine.”

Erika is yet to publicly comment on the loss of the 31-year-old MAGA ally who often said raising a family was his “greatest privilege.”

Just two weeks ago, Kirk had posted online saying: “Having a family will change your life in the best ways.”

His killer remains on the run with the FBI continuing to search for the gunman who pulled off the chilling targeted assassination.

Kirk’s body is due to be returned to his home in Arizona in the coming days where he will be reunited with Erika.

Vice President JD Vance arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier today on Air Force Two to pick up his late friend’s remains.

Though hailed as one of Donald Trump’s most powerful young allies, Kirk’s life away from the political spotlight was devoted to Erika and their children.

Rather than red-carpet parties, the couple preferred trips to Sesame Street sets and basketball games with their kids.

The proud dad wrote once: “Raising my children with Erika was the greatest privilege.”

Erika, crowned Miss Arizona USA in 2012, described her husband in a recent speech: “He is my husband Charlie Kirk, he is a force. He is the force.

“He is bold when the world demands silence. He is fearless where others flinch.”

The pair regularly shared their affection in public and Erika often urged women to “empower and encourage and love your husband.”

She added: “If you married the right man and equally yoked this is easier to do.”

THE RISE OF A FIREBRAND

Kirk went from high school dropout to founder of Turning Point USA — a non-profit he built into a $100million political powerhouse credited with helping deliver Trump’s second presidential win.

He cut his teeth carrying bags and fetching Diet Cokes for Donald Trump Jr, who remembered him last night as “like a little brother to me — and to millions of people around the world — he was a true inspiration.”

Charlie’s outspoken podcast The Charlie Kirk Show and campus tours made him a household name among conservative Gen Z voters.

But his proudest role was father. “Raising my children with Erika was the greatest privilege,” he wrote.

HORROR IN UTAH

Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University, the first stop of his “America Comeback Tour.”

Authorities say he was shot dead by a sniper positioned on a rooftop a few hundred yards away.

Two people initially arrested were later released, and a huge manhunt is now under way.

The FBI says the suspect is a male of “college age” who used a high-powered bolt action rifle.

Forensic experts recovered a palm print and forearm imprints, and investigators are tracing his movements before and after the attack.

If they fail to track him down soon, images of the suspect may be released.

Trump quickly turned to Truth Social to share his grief.

Confirming Kirk’s death on Truth Social, he wrote: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.”

Hours later he appeared on video, saying he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk” and branding it a “dark moment for America.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15165480/charlie-kirk-wife-erika-breaks-silence-assassination/

“Multiple leads are currently being investigated, but no suspect is in custody,” say Utah law enforcement officials.

US President Donald Trump urged supporters on Thursday (Sep 11) to respond peacefully to the killing of right-wing campaigner Charlie Kirk, as the murderer continued to evade a manhunt more than 24 hours after the shooting put an already divided US on edge.

Trump, who soon after the killing angrily pledged a wide-ranging response against the “radical left”, told reporters that Kirk had been “an advocate of nonviolence”.

“That’s the way I’d like to see people respond,” he said.

Kirk, a 31-year-old superstar on the Republican right who sparked surging youth support for Trump, was shot while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

A day later, authorities said the gunman remained at large.

“Multiple leads are currently being investigated, but no suspect is in custody,” Utah law enforcement officials posted, after cancelling a previously scheduled media briefing.

“We’re doing everything we can to find him, and we’re not sure how far he has gone yet,” FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said earlier.

The FBI, which described the attack on Kirk as “targeted”, published grainy photos of a young person it called “the potential shooter”.

The pictures showed a man wearing a black baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and what appeared to be jeans, with a long-sleeved top emblazoned with a design that included an American flag.

A reward of up to US$100,000 was posted for information leading to his capture.

Police say they believe the shooter fired a single bullet from a rooftop up to 180m, hitting Kirk in the neck.

A high-powered bolt-action rifle was recovered in a wooded area.

“DARK MOMENT”

Reflecting the highly political nature of the killing, Kirk’s coffin was transported to his home city of Phoenix on JD Vance’s official plane.

Footage showed the vice president with his hands on the casket as it was carried to Air Force 2.

Kirk’s widow, Erika, held hands with Vance’s wife as they got off the plane in Arizona, the headquarters of the powerful Turning Point USA.

The right-wing mediasphere remained in a state of heightened emotion Thursday, with Fox News contributors recounting the impact Kirk had on their lives.

Conspiracy theories ricocheted around the internet, while calls for a return to civility vied with those demanding vengeance.

“THIS IS WAR” wrote the popular right-wing X account of @LibsofTikTOK

Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday said the killing signified that his side of the political spectrum was under attack.

“Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it?” he asked his audience.

“MARTYR” FOR THE RIGHT

Students at Utah Valley University on Thursday described the shock and their broader fears as political divisions deepen across the country.

Dave Sanchez told AFP that witnessing the killing made him “sick to my stomach”.

“We watch him all the time, and so it really does feel like one of your own family members, your own brother’s been killed,” said Sanchez, 26.

Kirk, who supporters have hailed as a “martyr” for conservative ideals, had an outsized influence in US politics.

He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to drive conservative viewpoints among young people, with his natural showmanship making him a go-to spokesman on television networks.

Kirk used his enormous audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for anti-immigration policies, outspoken Christianity and gun ownership, and to spread carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.

Three months ago, a Minnesota man shot dead a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in their home, and Trump survived an assassination attempt during his election campaign in July 2024.

Javed Ali, an associate professor of practice at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy, said it is difficult to form a complete picture of the gunman. He noted that the individual appeared capable of carrying out the attack but then acted rashly and carelessly afterward.

Ali, a former senior official at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, added that this kind of targeted political violence is not new.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/charlie-kirk-killing-peaceful-response-trump-5345371

The Trump administration wants to drastically cut how long foreign journalists are allowed to live and work in the US. Media groups, including DW, say the move would erode press freedoms.

Over 100 media organizations from around the world have called for the United States government to roll back a proposal that would severely shorten how long foreign journalists are permitted to live and work in the country.

Under the current regulations, journalists holding the I visa are permitted to stay in the US for periods of five years that can be renewed indefinitely.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Kristi Noem, a conservative ally of US President Donald Trump, wants to shorten that period to just 240 days.

What have the world’s media said about the proposal?

In a joint statement, 118 media groups — including DW — urged the Trump administration to keep the I visa program in place.

Allowing journalists to spend “years, not months” in the country serves US interests by “ensuring that America’s policies, culture, and leadership are clearly and accurately communicated to international audiences in their own languages,” the statement said.

Disrupting the current system “risks leaving the world less informed about American news and current affairs,” it added.

“Rival nations and powerful adversaries will waste no time in filling the resulting vacuum with narratives about the US that serve their own interests before the truth,” the media groups warned.

“The US has always stood for openness, freedom of expression and a strong, independent press. Restricting foreign media access risks undermining that legacy because it emulates countries where press freedom is near extinct. That would damage, not enhance, America’s global standing,” they said.

In a statement, DW’s Director General Peter Limbourg said, “The proposed changes to US visa regulations would directly affect our ability to maintain a strong journalistic presence in the United States.

“It would limit access for our international correspondents, undermining our mission to provide independent news coverage. Deutsche Welle stands firmly with its international media partners as we call on US authorities to ensure fair conditions for foreign media organizations,” Limbourg said.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also urged the Trump administration to “abandon” the proposal, saying “it serves no purpose other than to erect unnecessary barriers for foreign reporters and will produce a chilling effect on press freedom.”

Who else would be affected by the proposed visa changes?

The DHS also wants to limit holders of F and J visas, which affect foreign students and people visiting as part of exchange programs.

It explained that since 1978, foreign students holding F visas have been able to remain in the US for “an indefinite amount of time without further screening and vetting.”

These students “have taken advantage of US generosity and have become ‘forever’ students, perpetually enrolled in higher education courses to remain” in the country, the DHS said in a press release.

“For too long, past Administrations have allowed foreign students and other visa holders to remain in the US virtually indefinitely, posing safety risks, costing untold amounts of taxpayer dollars, and disadvantaging US citizens,” a DHS spokesperson said.

“This new proposed rule would end that abuse once and for all” and ease “the burden on the federal government to properly oversee foreign students and their history,” it added.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/global-media-urge-us-not-to-restrict-journalists-visas/a-73964585

Just hours after Congress released Jeffrey Epstein’s so-called “birthday book,” which included a note from Leon Black, MoMA welcomed the financier and art collector — along with another Epstein associate — to a swank bash.

On Monday Congress released the book, which most famously includes a drawing that appears to have been signed by Donald Trump, showing for the first time a poem apparently penned by Black to honor Epstein’s 50th birthday. (Trump denies that he signed the book).

The verse in the 2003 tribute includes lines like “A liver, a lover, a Jeff, a Jeffrey/Let’s all give a cheer for today he’s 50” and “Wet dream and cauchemar, an architecht’s wild spree/Moscow, Paris, Santa Fe, Alhambar East jamboree.”

So art insiders were wide-eyed to see Black, as well as fellow Epstein pal Glenn Dubin, stride into a private party, apparently hosted by the institution itself, at the Midtown museum a few hours later.

Black — who owns, among other important pieces, a version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” — stepped down as chairman of the museum in 2021 after protest from artists and workers over his connections to Epstein.

On Tuesday, a rep for Black told us, “Mr. Black was proud to be at the dinner as a longtime supporter of the arts and member of the MoMA board.”

Black has said that he had a “limited relationship” with the late pedophile and that he regrets their association. A review carried by a legal firm found that, while Black paid him millions for financial services, the former Apollo Global Management head didn’t know about his sexual misconduct.

Also on the scene was Dubin, who was also a longtime pal of Epstein’s. Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that Epstein’s girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell once instructed her to sleep with Dubin.

A rep for Dubin strongly denied the allegation to the Post in 2024 after Giuffre testified about the alleged tryst, calling her statements “unsubstantiated.”

Both Black and Dubin have galleries in MoMA named after them.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/09/society/hours-after-congress-released-leon-blacks-note-in-epstein-birthday-book-moma-welcomed-him-to-swank-bash/

Wasn’t this the plot of the Zendaya movie “Challengers”?

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Brooks Nader was romantically playing doubles with both men’s finalists at the 2025 US Open, a source tells us.

The reality honey deuce was dating both the tennis tournament’s No. 1 and 2 seeds — archrivals Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — at the time of the tournament, a source tells Page Six.

Call it the opposite of a double fault!

Nader’s tennis romance buzz was first served up on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio late last month when the star of the new Hulu reality show, “Love Thy Nader,” and her sisters revealed the Sports Illustrated alum was playing the field (or the court?) with “a little roster” of suitors.

Grace Ann Nader said her older sister was seeing men from “every field and court” — but “not the NBA” kind.

Grace Ann then dropped another clue about her sister’s beau, telling us his name “rhymes with winner.” (Meaning Italian star Sinner!)

The chatty sibling quipped, “There are many players in the game,” before Brooks, 28, told her, “Stop talking! I’m going to punch you when we get home already.”

After the Page Six Radio exclusive, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel asked Brooks flat out if she was dating Sinner, to which she replied, “Is this, like, an interrogation? I’m so scared right now,” before adding, “You’re close… you’re warm.”

Then on Wednesday, Grace Ann threw us a curveball when she told to E! her sister was actually romancing 24-year-old Sinner’s biggest competitor.

“Dating is such a loose term, but I do know he’s the man of the hour,” Grace Ann revealed.

Brooks had been sitting front row when Alcaraz, 22, played Arthur Rinderknech at the Open on Aug. 31. The Spanish athlete then went on to beat Sinner in the finals on Sept. 7.

Reps for Nader did not comment, and reps for Alcaraz and Sinner did not immediately get back to us.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/11/entertainment/brooks-nader-dated-both-carlos-alcaraz-jannik-sinner-during-us-open/

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking during a signing ceremony for a controversial settlement that would effectively cut the occupied West Bank off from East Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that “there will be no Palestinian state.”

Netanyahu made the remarks during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank.

He formally signed a proposal that will see thousands of new homes built nearby as part of controversial plans to expand West Bank settlements.

“We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state, this place belongs to us,” Netanyahu said.

“We will safeguard our heritage, our land and our security,” the Israeli prime minister added during the event, which was livestreamed by his office.

What do we know about the E1 settlement project?
The project will see around 3,400 new homes built on a tract of land known as E1 that is roughly 12 square kilometers (five square miles) in size.

It will cut through the occupied West Bank, isolating it from East Jerusalem.

Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of a potential future state. The principle is central to the two-state solution, which the majority of the international community supports.

The project was approved last month by Israel’s right-wing government

Several Western governments, including Germany, have condemned the plans.

The project had been stalled for years amid strong opposition from the international community.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967, are illegal under international law.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/netanyahu-vows-there-will-be-no-palestinian-state/a-73967725

Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two,” though he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war.”

Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft scrambled in an operation to shoot down drones entering Polish airspace from Tuesday evening until morning, officials said.
One drone smashed into pensioner Tomasz Wesolowski’s two-storey brick house in the eastern Polish village of Wyryki-Wola at 6:30 a.m. while he was downstairs watching news about the incursion.
The roof was destroyed, and debris was strewn across the bedroom. Wesolowski told Reuters the house “needs to be demolished.”
A blackened spot in a field elsewhere in southeastern Poland showed where some other drones had fallen.

MOSCOW DENIES RESPONSIBILITY

Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine, but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist and political ally whom Trump hosted at the White House last week. “This conversation is part of a series of consultations I’ve been conducting with our allies,” Nawrocki said in a post on X. “Today’s talks reaffirmed our unity.”
Ahead of the phone call, Trump posted on social media: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” He did not elaborate.
The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, and Canada were among the NATO leaders to condemn the suspected Russian incursion.

European leaders, who have been trying to persuade Trump to join them in tightening sanctions on Russia and boosting support for Kyiv, said it justified a collective response.
Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, France, and Britain have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Friday over what they deemed Russian violations of Polish airspace, diplomats said.
Poland said 19 objects had entered its airspace during a large Russian air attack on Ukraine, and that it had shot down those posing a threat.
Tusk called the incident a “large-scale provocation” and said he had activated Article 4 of NATO’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies.
Neither Poland nor NATO has yet given a full account of what they suspect the drones were doing. One senior military source said at least five of the drones’ flight paths indicated they were headed towards Rzeszow airport, NATO’s main hub for arms supplies to Ukraine.

TESTING NATO CAPABILITIES?

The source said Russia may have been testing the capabilities of NATO’s air defences and warning systems.
NATO referred questions to alliance chief Mark Rutte’s remarks earlier when he said an investigation was ongoing but that the incursion was “absolutely reckless.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after speaking by phone to Tusk, Rutte, and other European leaders, that the drone incursion into Poland meant Europe had to work on creating a joint air defence.
Andrey Ordash, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Poland, was cited by the RIA state news agency as calling accusations of an incursion “groundless” and said Poland had not given any evidence that the drones were of Russian origin.
The Kremlin declined to comment directly on the incident, but spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the EU and NATO “accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis.”
The Czech Defence Ministry said it was ready in the coming days to send three Mi-171S helicopters to Poland to aid its defence against drones at lower altitudes.
During the incident, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces urged residents to stay home, with three eastern regions at particular risk.
Several Polish airports were temporarily closed, including Rzeszow, which has been used as the main access point for Western officials and supplies travelling to Ukraine overland.
The suspected incursion was conducted at least in part with Gerbera drones, according to a Polish army official. It is a cheap long-range drone that Ukrainian intelligence says is assembled from kits supplied by Chinese manufacturer Skywalker Technology at Russia’s Yelabuga facility.
Countries bordering Ukraine have reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace during the war, but not on such a large scale, and they are not known to have shot them down. Two people were killed in Poland in 2022 by a Ukrainian air defence missile that went astray.
Since NATO’s creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is going to shock the NATO alliance and the border countries, they’re all in the same situation,” said Riki Ellison, an expert on missile defence close to U.S. and allied military forces.
“It’s not the beginning of World War Three, but it’s evolving Russia’s understanding of how we fight and our weaknesses.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/poland-downs-drones-its-airspace-becoming-first-nato-member-fire-during-war-2025-09-10/

Beyond the bonhomie of Xi Jinping’s unprecedented meeting with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un last week, there are limits to what the European Union described as an “autocratic alliance” defying the West, diplomats, lawmakers and analysts said.
While the gathering at China’s Sept. 3 military parade sparked concern among some world leaders that they were bearing witness to an important geopolitical shift, Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang are far from forming a cohesive bloc, the sources said.

They pointed to the lack of an official trilateral summit during the event and uncertainty over marquee economic deals like a pipeline project. Vague pledges of closer cooperation may be aimed more at gaining leverage in mooted talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, they added.
“I don’t see this as a declaration of a new order,” said Victor Cha, head of the geopolitics and foreign policy department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington DC-based think tank.
“It is a declaration of disorder and opportunism based on myopic self-interest,” said Cha, who formerly served as the Director for Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council.

Even so, “optics do matter,” said a long-serving U.S. diplomat in Asia, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“While China, Russia, and the DPRK will no doubt continue to have differences on specific policy areas, all three have made clear they are united in their antipathy for the U.S.-led international system,” the diplomat said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.
Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba used his resignation speech on Sunday to note that the image of its nuclear-armed neighbours standing side-by-side underscored a severe security risk. The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas earlier described the gathering as a burgeoning “autocratic alliance”.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Xi, Putin and Kim were conspiring against him, a comment the Kremlin suggested was ironic. A U.S. official said Trump is “disappointed to see some countries siding with the Chinese” and that “America is going to re-evaluate” the situation, but gave no details.

STICKING POINTS

The parade capped a diplomatic tour de force for Xi, helped Putin combat Western narratives about his international isolation over the Ukraine war, and gave Kim implicit support for his banned nuclear weapons, analysts said.
But while Xi hosted one-to-one talks with both Putin and Kim, the trio did not sit down together for a formal summit.
“China did not seem to be signalling that formal trilateral cooperation is starting,” said Jenny Town, director of 38 North, a Washington-based project that monitors North Korea.
That suggests a more direct show of force like three-way joint military drills remains a distant prospect, analysts said.
It also stands in contrast to rival superpower, the United States, which relies on security alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and multilateral summits with Japan and South Korea, and the ‘Quad’ group with Japan, Australia and India, to project its global power.

On the economic front, there appeared to be more tangible results, headlined by a “binding memorandum” between Russia and China on a vast gas pipeline announced during the summit.
However, despite its promotion by Putin, China did not mention the pipeline in any of its official readouts and deflected questions on the subject at a regular press briefing.
Sticking points on the long-stalled project to ship gas some 3,000 km (1,860 miles) through Siberia to China, like price and terms, remain.
Beijing is also refusing to open its winter wheat market, according to agriculture minister Oksana Lut, who travelled with Putin to Beijing in the hope of securing access to China.
Since the summit, there have been signs that China is moving to open its domestic bond markets to Russian companies shut out from Western capital. Russia’s finance ministry, however, has cautioned they would prefer bonds be issued locally.

TRUMP FACTOR

The ensemble of senior Chinese economic officials that participated in Xi’s first in-person meeting with Kim in six years suggests trade was likely also on the agenda, said one senior foreign diplomat in Beijing, requesting anonymity.
Beijing’s official readout of those talks also made no mention of “denuclearisation” for the first time in years, in what some analysts said was a major concession to Kim.
In response, South Korea’s foreign ministry urged Beijing to play a constructive role in bringing Pyongyang to dialogue over its nuclear programme.
Xi told Kim in a letter after the summit that China was also ready to enhance strategic communications with North Korea, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/how-united-is-autocratic-alliance-challenging-west-2025-09-10/

World stocks idled near all-time highs and there was little reaction from either the euro or the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank kept its interest rates steady and U.S. inflation data nudged higher.
The ECB’s hold at 2% had been widely expected and with it trimming its inflation forecasts and its chief Christine Lagarde in the midst of her press conference, traders were waiting for any kind of signal on when another rate cut might come.

The euro ticked fractionally lower to $1.1672 having soared nearly 13% versus the dollar this year, while the bond vigilantes hadn’t yet managed to decisively push politically strained France’s borrowing costs above Italy’s.
August U.S. consumer price inflation data had just come in too at headline rate of 2.9% from a year earlier – the highest rate since January – while the core measure held at 3.1%.
That was almost bang in line with forecasts so stock markets largely shrugged.
Wall Street futures stuck to pricing more record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after a 36% leap in Oracle shares on Wednesday had been the latest driver, while the pan European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab was up 0.4% ahead of Lagarde.

ABN AMRO strategist Benoit Begoc said with the ECB having been widely expected to hold rates, the focus is on whether Lagarde keeps the door ajar for further cuts any time soon.
“I think the question will be why are you not cutting rates more?” Begoc said. “We know we have some deflationary pressures and there is no big rise in consumer confidence, so what is the rationale behind that?”
Oracle’s U.S. surge meanwhile had helped Asia overnight where Japan, Taiwan and South Korea’s main bourses all scored record peaks too.
As Lagarde started to speak, Germany’s 10-year bond yield eased to 2.63% having touched 2.80% – its highest since March – just last week. GVD-EUR
In the commodity markets, oil prices also dipped 1.2% after gaining for three days straight. On Wednesday Poland’s downing of suspected Russian drones had triggered fresh talk of sanctions while Israel attacked Hamas leadership in Qatar the day before.

Safe-haven gold edged away from its recent record highs too and bellwether metal copper took a breather from its more than 20% rally since U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs shook global markets back in April. /GOL

TRADERS BET ON TRIO OF FED CUTS

The higher U.S. consumer price data was not expected to prevent a much-anticipated interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week given recent signs of weakness in the jobs market.
Wall Street futures pointed to more fractional gains when markets resume at record levels shortly. Oracle’s (ORCL.N), 36% leap on Wednesday had been the biggest one-day gain since 1992 for the 48-year-old tech giant.
Investors have now fully priced in a quarter-point move from the Fed at next week’s meeting, with an 8% chance of a 50 basis-point cut.
“Despite the modest inflation uptick, market expectations remain anchored around a 0.25% rate cut next week” Katy Stoves, an Investment Manager at Mattioli Woods said, adding a more aggressive 0.5% “mega cut” remained unlikely despite the labour market concerns.

Turkey’s central bank was also back in the spotlight as it cut its interest rates by a larger-than-expected 250-basis-point amid rising concerns about a clampdown on the country’s political opposition and after recent higher-than-expected inflation.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-4-pix-2025-09-11/

Governments in sub-Saharan Africa have provided school meals to roughly 20 million extra children over the past two years, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday, showing a move away from dependence on foreign aid and a stronger commitment to education.
The region saw the biggest rise in school feeding of any region, by nearly a third to 87 million in 2024. Ethiopia, Rwanda and even severely impoverished Madagascar and Chad all managed to feed six times as many over the period.

“Government investments in school meals … (signal) a significant shift from reliance on foreign aid to recognising school meals as a strategic public investment in children’s education (and) health,” the report said.
It was a welcome bright spot on a continent plagued by rising numbers of hungry people as a result of extreme weather linked to climate change, armed conflict and food inflation.
A U.N. report at the end of July found that more than one in five Africans, 307 million, were chronically malnourished, meaning hunger is worse than two decades ago. It predicted the continent would have 60% of the world’s hungry people by 2030.

Poor countries face falling aid from their rich counterparts, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration gutting its aid arm and some European nations slashing assistance to reallocate spending to defend themselves against Russia.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/africa-feeding-20-million-more-children-with-school-meals-wfp-says-2025-09-10/

Protesters across France obstructed highways, burned barricades and clashed sporadically with police on Wednesday in a show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron, the political elite and planned spending cuts.
Authorities deployed more than 80,000 security personnel across the country, removing barriers and spraying water hoses at demonstrators as tensions flared in several places.

In Paris, riot police periodically used teargas to disperse crowds. Nearly 200 people were detained in the capital.

The “Block Everything” movement – a broad expression of discontent that has spread on social media – sprang up online in May among right-wing groups but has since been co-opted by the left and far-left.
The unrest added to the political turmoil on a day when conservative Sebastien Lecornu took office as President Emmanuel Macron’s new prime minister, after his predecessor was ousted by parliament over his unpopular plans for sharp budget cuts.
“It’s the same shit; it’s the same, it’s Macron who’s the problem, not the ministers,” said Fred, a CGT union official at the Paris public transport company RATP. “He has to go.”

France is under pressure to lower a budget deficit that stands at nearly double the European Union’s 3% ceiling, and a debt pile equivalent to 114% of GDP.
In Paris, students and school age youngsters swelled the protesters’ ranks. Over 300 protesters were arrested across the country, though many rallies were peaceful.
Nearly 200,000 people across France participated in the movement, a mobilisation outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described as “significant” though he added that “those who wanted to block the country failed to do so.”
The movement reflects anger with what protesters say is a dysfunctional ruling elite bent on austerity – the discontent deepened after the last government proposed cuts of 44 billion euros ($52 billion) in government spending.
Outside the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, hundreds of youths chanted anti-Macron slogans. One carried a placard with the Tricolor flag and the slogan “The rich elite’s Republic”.

“We’ve come to make some noise,” said Sorbonne student Emma Meguerditchian, 17. “We want them to know we can’t take this any more, we want another type of government.”

ANGER OVER BUDGET CUTS

In the west, protesters in Nantes blocked a highway with burning tires and bins. Police used teargas to disperse people trying to occupy a roundabout. In Rennes, a bus was torched.
In Montpellier, in the south, police fired teargas at protesters who had set up a barricade to block traffic at a roundabout. A large banner at the site read: “Macron resign”.
Paris police fired teargas at youths blocking the entrance to a high school and firefighters removed burnt bicycles and trash cans from numerous barricades. Scuffles broke out on the fringes of a protest near the Chatelet shopping mall in the centre of the capital and firefighters put out a fire that broke out in a nearby building.
The ‘Block Everything’ movement has drawn comparisons with the ‘Yellow Vest’ rebellion that erupted in 2018-2019 over taxes and the cost of living and forced Macron to make policy concessions costing billions of euros.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/block-everything-protests-sweep-across-france-scores-arrested-2025-09-10/

Three people were killed and 67 more were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on a highway in Mexico City. At least 19 people have severe burns.

A gas tanker truck explosion along a highway in Mexico City killed three people and injured 67 more, the mayor of Mexico City said on Wednesday.

The vehicle blew up under a highway overpass in the populous Iztapalapa district in the southeast of Mexico’s capital.

The explosion sent flames and smoke billowing over the area, causing widespread damage and burning numerous other vehicles.

Nineteen people are seriously wounded with second- and third-degree burns, local officials said, adding that three people died of their injuries.

Calling the explosion an “emergency,” Mexico City’s head of government, Clara Brugada, said the wounded had been taken to hospitals across the city.

Brugada said prosecutors were investigating the incident, but it appeared that the truck exploded after it tipped over on the highway.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/three-killed-dozens-injured-in-gas-explosion-in-mexico-city/a-73955361

Three former senior officials have said they were fired without cause as part of a “campaign of retribution” against those who had worked on previous criminal investigations against Donald Trump.

Brian Driscoll, the former acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with two other former senior FBI officials, sued the Trump administration and FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday, alleging they were dismissed for political reasons.

The three officials said in the lawsuit, filed in a Washington DC federal court, that they were fired by FBI Director Kash Patel in a “campaign of retribution” to purge officials considered disloyal to President Donald Trump.

“Patel not only acted unlawfully but deliberately chose to prioritize politicizing the FBI over protecting the American people,” the lawsuit said.

In the complaint, Driscoll said that Patel told him that the firings were “likely illegal,” but maintained that he could not stop them because the White House and the Justice Department are determined to remove anyone involved in previous criminal investigations of Trump.

Purge of Trump investigators

According to the lawsuit, Patel told Driscoll in August that “the FBI tried to put the president in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.”

It alleges that Patel authorized the firings to protect his own job. It added that the fired top officials had opposed moves to remove or punish agents who had worked on investigating Trump.

Since Trump took office and tipped loyalist Patel as FBI director, concerns have grown over the integrity of the US’ top law enforcement agency as officials with years of experience are either fired or step down.

Along with Driscoll, other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Steve Jensen, the former assistant director of the Washington field office, and Spencer Evans, the former top official in the Las Vegas field office.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/former-fbi-leaders-sue-trump-administration-over-firings/a-73954287

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II”, though he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war”.

Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday (Sep 10) with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II”, though he also said he had “no reason to believe we’re on the brink of war”.

Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft scrambled in an operation to shoot down drones entering Polish airspace from Tuesday evening until morning, officials said.

One drone smashed into pensioner Tomasz Wesolowski’s two-storey brick house in the eastern Polish village of Wyryki-Wola at 6.30am local time (12.30pm, Singapore time) while he was downstairs watching news about the incursion.

The roof was destroyed, and debris was strewn across the bedroom. Wesolowski told Reuters the house “needs to be demolished”.

A blackened spot in a field elsewhere in southeastern Poland showed where some other drones had fallen.

MOSCOW DENIES RESPONSIBILITY

Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine, but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.

United States President Donald Trump spoke with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist and political ally whom Trump hosted at the White House last week.

“This conversation is part of a series of consultations I’ve been conducting with our allies,” Nawrocki said in a post on X. “Today’s talks reaffirmed our unity.”

Ahead of the phone call, Trump posted on social media: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” He did not elaborate.

The leaders of France, Britain, Germany, and Canada were among the NATO leaders to condemn the suspected Russian incursion.

European leaders, who have been trying to persuade Trump to join them in tightening sanctions on Russia and boosting support for Kyiv, said it justified a collective response.

Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, France, and Britain have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Friday over what they deemed Russian violations of Polish airspace, diplomats said.

Poland said 19 objects had entered its airspace during a large Russian air attack on Ukraine, and that it had shot down those posing a threat.

Tusk called the incident a “large-scale provocation” and said he had activated Article 4 of NATO’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies.

Neither Poland nor NATO has yet given a full account of what they suspect the drones were doing. One senior military source said at least five of the drones’ flight paths indicated they were headed towards Rzeszow airport, NATO’s main hub for arms supplies to Ukraine.

TESTING NATO CAPABILITIES?

The source said Russia may have been testing the capabilities of NATO’s air defences and warning systems.

NATO referred questions to alliance chief Mark Rutte’s remarks earlier when he said an investigation was ongoing but that the incursion was “absolutely reckless”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after speaking by phone to Tusk, Rutte, and other European leaders, that the drone incursion into Poland meant Europe had to work on creating a joint air defence.

Andrey Ordash, Russia’s charge d’affaires in Poland, was cited by the RIA state news agency as calling accusations of an incursion “groundless” and said Poland had not given any evidence that the drones shot down were of Russian origin.

The Kremlin declined to comment directly on the incident, but spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the EU and NATO “accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis. Most of the time without even trying to present at least some kind of argument”.

The Czech Defence Ministry said it was ready in the coming days to send three Mi-171S helicopters to Poland to aid its defence against drones at lower altitudes.

During the incident, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces urged residents to stay home, with three eastern regions at particular risk.

Several Polish airports were temporarily closed, including Rzeszow, which has been used as the main access point for Western officials and supplies travelling to Ukraine overland.

The suspected incursion was conducted at least in part with Gerbera drones, according to a Polish army official. It is a cheap long-range drone that Ukrainian intelligence says is made of plywood and foam and assembled from kits supplied by Chinese manufacturer Skywalker Technology at Russia’s vast Yelabuga facility.

Countries bordering Ukraine have reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace in the past during the war, but not on such a large scale, and they are not known to have shot them down. Two people were killed in Poland in 2022 by a Ukrainian air defence missile that went astray.

Since NATO’s creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This is going to shock the NATO alliance and the border countries, they’re all in the same situation,” said Riki Ellison, an expert on missile defence close to US and allied military forces.

“It’s not the beginning of World War Three, but it’s evolving Russia’s understanding of how we fight and our weaknesses, and the weaknesses of the alliance.”

Russia has long said it has no intention of stoking a war with NATO and that Western European countries suggesting it is a threat were trying to worsen relations.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/poland-shoot-down-russia-drones-airspace-first-nato-member-fire-ukraine-war-5343036

Prince Harry says his dad King Charles III is doing “great” after their momentous reunion.

The Duke of Sussex stoically gave the update before thanking reporters during a reception for his Invictus Games on Wednesday, per the Daily Mail.

He appeared in good spirits as he went on to rub shoulders with the games’ corporate sponsors and government officials, the outlet added.

The royal reportedly arrived at the reception immediately after leaving his meetup with the king.

A rep for the Duke of Sussex did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

Prince Harry was spotted arriving at King Charles’ London home, Clarence House, for a “private tea” earlier on Wednesday, marking their first meeting in over a year amid their long-reported feud.

The father-son duo chatted for a little under an hour — a promising sign since it went much longer than their previous 30-min chat in February 2024 after the sovereign announced his cancer diagnosis.

Harry, 40, arrived to the meeting in a black SUV, photos obtained by Page Six revealed.

Prince Harry has been embroiled in a contentious family feud with his father, 76 and brother, Prince William, 43, since he and his wife, Meghan Markle, resigned from their royal duties in 2020.

Harry and the Duchess of Sussex went on divulge royal family secrets in some of their bombshell interviews about the royal family after moving to Montecito, Calif.

Harry even went so far as to share intimate details of his feud with his dad and his older brother in his 2023 memoir “Spare.”

The rift seemed to be further fueled by the prince’s legal battle to have his publicly funded security reinstated while in the UK.

Prince Harry previously argued that he was treated unfairly when he was stripped of his security detail after his resignation. He also claimed that his father had the power to resolve the situation for him.

Though, Harry has recently made attempts to mend his relationship with the royals.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/10/royal-family/prince-harry-gives-update-on-dad-king-charles-following-first-reunion-in-more-than-a-year/

Get a leg up on fall dressing.

The chicest time of the year is nearly upon us: New York Fashion Week. With it comes amazing street styles that rival the runways, yet one brand has a place in both categories: Daniella Shevel footwear.

Aside from being a regular in runway shows — including Cinq à Sept and Bibhu Mohapatra — and editorial shoots, the low-key label is also worn on stage by music stars like Maggie Rogers and Sierra Ferrell. The leather shoes and boots are handmade in Brazil and Italy using padded insoles and stable heel structures — so comfort is not sacrificed for style.

Scroll on to shop some rock-star boots, elegant shoes and more to see if they’ll strut into your wardrobe.

Daniella Shevel Bella Donna

Both Rogers and Farrell regularly rock out in the BellaDonna bootie. Besides the mint, pink and marshmallow colors, neutrals such as camel and black are available in US sizes 5.5-13.

Daniella Shevel BellaDonna

The white version looks smashing with monochromatic looks like the ones Rogers wears, and the steady heels offer stability for all-day wear.

One shopper wrote, “These are FOREVER shoes,” while others praise the boots as incredibly comfortable.

Daniella Shevel Poet

A statement heel that won’t soon be forgotten, the Poet offers ankle ties and a near four-inch height with a memory foam insole so you can wear it all night.

Daniella Shevel Milani

The bestselling Milani has hooked brand devotees, with one shopper saying they own three pairs and call them “most comfortable boots ever!” It’s an investment, but one that’s worth making since they will elevate any outfit in your closet.

Made with stretch leather that molds to your ankle and foot, they come in fun colors like this soft pink, as well as lavender, black, camel and other rich hues.

Daniella Shevel Pinot

A scene stealer, the glimmering gold Pinot wraps around the ankle, yet has heat-molded straps to tailor the fit to feet. Handmade with Nappa leather, they also feature a memory foam footbed for comfort.

Daniella Shevel Frida

This open-toe soft raffia bootie has laces up the front for a bespoke fit. Handcrafted in Brazil, they get five-star reviews like, “Love these heels so much. They are beautiful!”

A second shopper echoed the sentiment, calling them “so sexy and comfortable!”

Daniella Shevel Cora

This pretty, braided leather slingback with a two-inch kitten heel adds visual interest to any outfit with its intricate latticework. Since it’s handmade, no two are exactly alike.

Brand fans are enchanted, giving the pair five stars and comments like, “The shoes are gorgeous and well made. Absolutely stunning. So frigg’n comfortable while remaining chic.”

Daniella Shevel Aliza

If you’re seeking something a little more everyday and versatile, the Aliza offers an on-trend breathable mesh upper for four-season wear and a lower heel.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/10/style/daniella-shevels-bold-boots-were-made-for-stages-and-runways/

DONALD Trump has broken his silence after Russia’s “deliberate” drone incursion brought Europe to the brink of war.

In an ominous post on Truth Social, the US president said: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones. Here we go!”

It comes as the government said more Brit troops could be deployed to Poland to bolster Nato’s eastern flank against Russia’s rising threat.

Nato has vowed to defend “every inch” of allied land after Kremlin drones invaded Polish airspace overnight – forcing Warsaw to shoot them down and trigger Nato Article 4, one below the threshold of war.

Answering calls from Poland and Ukraine, the UK today vowed it would step up to meet Putin’s “test”.

Defence Secretary John Healey condemned Russia’s “reckless, dangerous and unprecedented” escalation after meeting with E5 defence officials from Germany, France and Italy – with Poland’s defence minister diverted by the crisis.

He said: “Following our discussions today, I’ve asked our UK Armed Forces to look at options to bolster Nato’s air defence over Poland.”

The UK already has around 300 troops in Poland as part of a “regular air policing mission” – and Healey vowed to “do what we can” to make that more robust.

That could mean increasing the number of boots on the ground in the eastern European nation.

Healey added: “Russia’s actions are reckless, they’re dangerous, they’re unprecedented. We see what Putin is doing. Yet again he is testing us. Yet again we will stand firm.”

Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer condemned Russia’s “egregious and unprecedented violation” of Nato airspace and slammed it as proof of Putin’s “blatant disregard for peace”.

He said he had spoken to Polish PM Donald Tusk to show Britain’s support, adding: “My sincere thanks go to the NATO and Polish forces who rapidly responded to protect the Alliance.”

No10 also confirmed the RAF played no part in the Nato emergency response to the Russian drones, after our six Typhoons were rotated out of Poland in July.

Poland’s Prime Minster Donald Tusk said 19 Russian drones sailed across the border amid an onslaught against western Ukraine, taking his country to the “closest to conflict since WW2”.

He said four were shot down by Nato fighter jets – understood to be from Poland, Italy, the Netherland the US – and officials later said seven had been found on the ground.

This is the first time since the outbreak of war that Nato has directly clashed with Russia, though jets have been scrambled many times without engaging.

Kremlin spokespeople have denied there is any evidence the drones were Russian, and even outrageously implied they had been launched by Kyiv.

Calling for action from allies, Zelensky said it sets an “extremely dangerous precedent for Europe”.

“A strong response is needed and it can only be a joint response by all partners: Ukraine, Poland, all Europeans, the United States,” he said.

Nato chief Mark Rutte said the Security Council met this morning to discuss Poland’s request for Article 4.

He said: “Allies are resolved to defend every inch of allied territory.”

Rutte wouldn’t confirm whether Vlad’s drones were being treated as deliberate – but branded the night’s events “absolutely reckless” either way.

And the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the incursion looked “deliberate”.

Article 4, a clause in Nato’s founding treaty, brings all of the allies together when the security or territory of one is threatened.

But it stops short of Article 5’s key promise that an attack on one is an attack on all that demands a military response.

The only previous “hot” exchange between Putin’s Russia and a Nato member came in 2015 when a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft which violated its airspace.

The incident came during the Syrian civil war where Russia was backing the former Assad regime against rebels.

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the Poland drone strikes were proof of a “deliberate policy shift by Putin”.

He welcomed Poland’s decision to trigger Nato’s Article 4 – and urged allies to stand up “to bullying behaviour”.

He told The Sun: “Over the last month we have seen bomb damage to British Council and the EU headquarters in Kyiv, we have seen the first strikes on Ukrainian government buildings in Kyiv, and now these strikes on Poland.

“Putin is trying to make us back off. He is trying to send a warning to the US and Nato that he is no longer going to turn a blind eye to our support for Ukraine.”

Wallace vowed: “We always had a reaction to that kind of bullying behaviour – no one will tell us who we can and can’t help.”

NATO warplanes roared into action when the fleet of hostile drones breaches Polish airspace.

Air defences blasted several out of the sky – damaging a house in the eastern village of Wyryki.

Wreckage was also found in Czosnowka as terrified residents were ordered to stay indoors across three regions.

Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS planes and NATO refuelling aircraft all took part in the overnight operation, while Patriot systems tracked the swarm on radar.

Nato sources stressed the drone incursion is not being treated as a Russian “attack”, but confirmed it was the first time alliance aircraft had directly engaged threats in allied airspace.

Explaining its reaction, Poland’s Defence Ministry said: “Polish airspace was repeatedly violated by drones, which posed a direct threat.”

It said that in order to ensure security, the commander of the Polish army “activated all necessary procedures” and the drones were shot down “pre-emptively”.

A senior Nato source told The Sun: “We should ramp up support to Ukraine big time.”

They warned Putin was “flexing his muscles” and the tyrant has “a skip in his step” after his back-to-back red carpet meeting with President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.

The source claimed Moscow was deliberately probing Nato’s eastern flank and gambling on Trump’s reluctance to support Europe.

Only days earlier, Trump welcomed Poland’s new president Karol Nawrocki to the White House with a military flyover.

Don pledged to keep – and even increase – US troops in Poland and strongly guaranteeing the country’s security on NATO’s frontline.

Now, the pressure is on for him to keep that promise after Putin’s drone swarm tore into Polish skies overnight.

Republican representative Joe Wilson, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Russia was “attacking NATO ally Poland” with drones.

He called it an “act of war” and urged Trump to respond with sanctions “that will bankrupt the Russian war machine”.

Wilson added: “Putin is no longer content just losing in Ukraine while bombing mothers and babies, he is now directly testing our resolve in NATO territory.”

Polish President Karol Nawrocki called the strikes an “unprecedented moment in NATO’s and Poland’s history”.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen branded Russia’s actions a “reckless and unprecedented violation” of Polish airspace and demanded tougher measures.

She told MEPs: “Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland. The message is clear, and our response must be equally clear.

“We need more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. We need more sanctions.”

Von der Leyen said the bloc is working on a 19th sanctions package – with options including a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels and action against the Kremlin’s shadow fleet, while urging more support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Britain’s ambassador to Poland said she was “deeply concerned” by the drone incursion, praising Warsaw’s “speedy response” and insisting: “The UK stands with Poland.”

Millions of citizens in Podlaskie, Mazowieckie and Lublin were ordered to stay indoors as chaos unfolded overnight.

They were also sent chilling SMS alerts warning: “Attention! Due to the operation to neutralise objects which have violated the border of the Polish Republic, inform services about drones and locations where they fall. Do not approach them.”

Videos captured the roar of military aircraft soaring above Lublin in eastern Poland.

And missile tracking maps showed several Shahed style attachments drones entered Ukrainian air space.

Some appeared to have turned round to strike Ukraine from the west.

It came ahead of major Zapad 2025 war games between Russia and authoritarian ally Belarus, which borders NATO states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

The military exercises – which will include rehearsing for nuclear strikes on the West – are scheduled to kick off on September 12.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15153936/nato-ukraine-warning-russian-drones/

CONSERVATIVE activist and Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk has died at 31 after he was shot during an event in Utah.

Graphic video showed a single bullet striking Kirk in the neck, causing him to collapse while hosting an outdoor student debate event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday afternoon.

A person of interest was taken into custody but later released, FBI director Kash Patel said.

The shooter is still at large and officials are asking for any information that could lead to their capture.

Officials described the shooting as a targeted political assassination and said only one shot was fired.

Kirk, an outspoken commentator who frequently appeared on Fox News, was best known for co-founding Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit organization aimed at organizing students.

Donald Trump posted a video message on Truth Social, saying he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk,” adding it was a “dark moment for America”.

Trump earlier announced Kirk’s death in a separate Truth Social post, writing: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,”

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Lane Frantzve, and their two young children.

ASSASSINATION SCENE

The pro-gun activist was speaking about shootings in the moments before he was murdered at the university with a single gunshot.

Just seconds after he paused during a student Q&A at the school, the shot was heard ringing out in horrifying footage of the shooting.

Blood was seen gushing from Kirk’s neck as he fell off his chair, as bystanders screamed, “Get down! Get down!”

He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead just hours later.

Just minutes before the reports rang out, Kirk’s social media accounts shared videos and pictures of the activist smiling as he met students.

He was speaking about mass killings committed by transgender Americans and was asked how many mass shootings had happened in the US in the past 10 years.

Kirk was beginning to answer by asking, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” when he was hit.

Former Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah who was attending the event, spoke about the immediacy of the violent attack on Fox News.

“I was watching Charlie,” Chaffetz said.

“I can’t say that I saw blood. I can’t say that I saw him get hit, but I did see him fall immediately backwards into his left.”

The politician continued, “As soon as the shot went out, everybody hit the deck and everybody started scattering and yelling and screaming, as you might imagine.

Chaffetz said he went from watching Kirk speak to looking over to check if his loved ones were safe.

‘LACK OF SECURITY’

One witness, Tyler McGettigan, said he was shocked about how little security there was at the outdoor event, especially after such a large crowd had amassed.

He said that no one even checked the ticket that he brought when he walked up to the amphitheatre where Kirk was speaking.

“I was expecting when I got here that I’d have to pass through some kind of security, but that just wasn’t a thing,” he told NBC News.

“No one checked the barcode or the QR code.

“There was no checkpoint to get in. It was literally, anyone could walk in if they wanted.”

UNIDENTIFIED SUSPECT

One person, described initially as a “suspect” and “person of interest,” was released on Wednesday night after questioning, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on X.

“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” Patel said.

“Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”

The shots were fired from the roof of the Losee Center, about 200 yards away from the stage where Kirk spoke, officials said.

Videos taken from the scene appeared to show a figure running across the roof of the Losee Center in the seconds after Kirk was shot.

Another video, apparently taken outside the event before the shooting, appeared to show a person dressed in dark clothing lying down on the roof of the building.

Cops initially arrested a man named George Zim at the scene, but it was later confirmed that he wasn’t the suspect.

He has been booked in the county jail for obstruction of justice, cops said.

The university’s campus was shut down and classes were canceled for the afternoon.

UVU students were told to leave the premises immediately.

“Those on campus, secure in place until police officers can escort you safely off campus,” wrote the university.

FIRST STOP ON TOUR

Kirk was on campus representing his organization, Turning Point USA, which hosts events advocating for conservative politics.

This was the first stop on the group’s American Comeback Tour, which had multiple more stops scheduled this fall.

Ahead of the tour, a petition was created on August 29 by students who didn’t want Kirk to visit USU.

“Utah State University has consistently worked towards fostering an inclusive space for all its students and faculty,” the Change.org petition said.

“Letting a figurehead, whose speeches often seem to undermine the essence of inclusivity, use our beloved institution as a platform contradicts this mission.”

The petition had over 6,000 signatures before it was closed on Wednesday.

KIRK’S LEGACY

Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 when he was just 18, dropping out of college to do so.

The organization inspired spin-off groups including Turning Point Endowment, Turning Point Action, and the website Professor Watchlist.

He quickly became a known presence on cable TV for his early support of Trump’s first presidential bid.

Kirk became close with Trump and went on a mission to make conservatism cool by targeting college campuses.

TRUMP’S MESSAGE

Donald Trump posted a video message on Truth Social, saying he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”

The US president said: “Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.

“Charlie is a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loves so much, the United States of America.

“He’s a model for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.”

Trump added that “Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith. And we take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in heaven,” while asking God to protect Kirk’s wife and children “in this terrible hour of heartache and pain.”

“This is a dark moment for America,” he continued.

Trump also vowed a crackdown on “political violence,” promising his administration would “find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence”.

He said “radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people”, pointing to the assassination attempt against him and the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.

The president has long drawn criticism for blaming the “radical left” for America’s divisions, with opponents arguing his rhetoric has itself fueled violence against his political rivals.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15160349/charlie-kirk-shooting-uvu/

FOOTAGE of an American missile bouncing off a mystery orb shows weapons are useless against UFOs, a Pentagon insider said.

The video, released in Congress on Tuesday, shows a U.S. Reaper drone launching a precision Hellfire strike at a mysterious glowing orb off the coast of Yemen – only for the weapon to appear to rebound and vanish into the waves.

Instead of being blown to pieces, the unidentified object kept on flying as if nothing had happened.

“This is some sort of technology that is making our premiere missile system completely and utterly useless,” warned former Pentagon insider Lue Elizondo.

“It is making it almost irrelevant. America has a problem right now.”

The jaw-dropping clip, captured in October 2024 but only just released, was played during a House Oversight hearing into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena – the government’s term for UFOs.

“This is a significant problem from a strategic perspective, from a tactical perspective, from a national security perspective,” Elizondo said.

He continued: “This video is extremely compelling and I wish more of these types of videos would be released.”

The footage shows an MQ-9 Reaper drone tracking the glowing orb before unleashing an AGM-114 Hellfire missile.

The Hellfire is considered one of the world’s deadliest precision weapons, capable of blowing up tanks, bunkers and terror compounds with pinpoint accuracy.

“It has such a degree of precision that we can literally fly it through a window and take out a bunch of terrorists,” Elizondo explained.

But against the bizarre orb, it didn’t even leave a scratch.

“That’s a Hellfire missile smacking into that UFO, and bouncing right off – and it kept going,” said journalist George Knapp, testifying at the hearing.

“What the hell is that?” he added.

Representative Eric Burlison, who played the video in the hearing, branded it “startling evidence.”

“A Reaper drone fired a Hellfire missile at this thing,” Burlison said. “And the missile didn’t seem to have any effect.”

He told the room: “I’m not going to explain it to you, you’ll see exactly what it does.”

The clip, zoomed in and replayed, shows a flash as the missile appears to make contact – but the object carries on, unchanged.

“This is when it’s zoomed out, you can still see it travelling,” Burlison said. “It kept going – and it looks like the debris was taken with it.”

Knapp insisted this was not a one-off.

“I have heard about events like this. I have heard about this event,” he told Congress.

“There are servers where there is a whole bank of these kinds of videos that Congress has not been allowed to see, that the public hasn’t been allowed to see.

“Occasionally, some of that stuff gets out in the wild and it comes our way, but it should be going to you. The public should be seeing this stuff, and why you’re not allowed to, I don’t know.”

“The public should be seeing this stuff,” he repeated.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15157998/missile-bouncing-off-orb-shows-weapons-are-useless/

HULK Hogan’s will has only confirmed the family feud that became a top story in the final years of the WWE icon’s life.

A new report has revealed the amount of money that the late Hogan left behind.

Hogan died at 71 in July after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Just days before his death, the 71-year-old and his daughter, Brooke Hogan, shared a short but emotional conversation after years of not talking.

Recently, Hogan’s son, Nick, revealed that the wrestling legend had left behind $5 million in assets, per court documents filed after his death.

The documents, filed by Nick and received by US Weekly, also uncovered that Hulk didn’t list Brooke as a beneficiary to his estate.

Instead, Nick is the sole beneficiary of his father’s estate, and Hulk’s widow and third wife, Melanie Sky Daily, is listed as his surviving spouse.

The docs reveal that the wrestler left behind $2000 in cryptocurrency, about $800,000 in person and intellectual property, publicity rights valued at $4 million, and a potential medical malpractice lawsuit with a value that has yet to be confirmed.

But Nick didn’t list his dad’s real estate portfolio in the documents.

Nick and Brooke filed new documents to be named the no-personal representatives of their father’s estate alongside Hogan’s financial advisor, Terry McCoy, on Tuesday.

Hulk was known to own two properties alongside each other in Clearwater, Florida, with an estimated combined value of $11 million.

The paperwork also revealed that Nick claimed his dad made a will in 2016 and amended it four times, with the last adjustment occurring in July 2023.

The 37-year-old Brooke reportedly asked to be taken off her father’s will in 2023 because she didn’t trust the people around him and didn’t want to get caught in a financial battle when he passed.

Brooke is married to former NHL player Steve Oleksy.

Five days after the news of Hogan’s passing was announced, she posted a long message on social media, opening up about their relationship.

“My father and I never “fought,” Brooke wrote on Instagram.

“It was a series of private phone calls no one will ever hear, know, or understand.”

Last month, Brooke revealed she felt Hogan was starting to cut her off, saying he no longer wanted help from her despite his health problems.

“We’d been through almost 25 surgeries together, and all of a sudden he didn’t want me at all surgeries,” she said.

In March, months before Hulk’s death, Brooke spoke about the relationship with her parents after she had become estranged from both.

She explained experiences in her childhood “robbed” her of “self esteem” and “confidence.”

“It took me many years to figure out the things that were seemingly done ‘for me’ really benefited someone else in a greater capacity.”

She claimed to have received texts from family members with “unbelievably hurtful words” that “cannot be forgiven.”

“My family is very skilled at war. I so badly wanted to see good in them, protect, help, and start anew—just to be disrespected again and again. I longed for a normal family, but it never came to fruition.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15158404/hulk-hogan-will-family-feud-brooke-daughter/

It’s not just the dazzling colours and slick moves of Australia’s dancing spiders that make them special.

There are more than 100 different species of the peacock spider, whereas most animals have only five or ten.

Researchers believe that’s partly down to the spider’s ‘dark DNA’ – a mysterious part of the animal’s genetic code, and they are studying it to find out more.

They think that this dark DNA might enable it to adapt rapidly to changing environmental circumstances by developing into new species.

What the scientists find out, they say, might help to explain why there is so much variation in the natural world.

“We are interested in how the spiders evolve to become that diverse,” Jonah Walker, of the Sanger Institute told BBC News.

“When you go outside you see so much variation in species of plants and animals,” he said.

“Peacock spiders are at the extreme end of that. And so, by studying them, we can use that extreme case to try to understand what processes produce variation in general.”

Peacock spiders are found across Australia and each one is the size of a pin head. It is so-named because of the brilliant colours males have on their abdomen, which they show off in a beguiling mating ritual.

They create a drumming sound with their feet, a spider song of sorts, and move rhythmically while displaying their dazzlingly patterned features. What is remarkable about these creatures is how varied they are in their appearance, songs and dance moves.

Mr Walker used to be scared of spiders, but he overcame his phobia because he was so drawn to the science behind the spiders and took the project on as part of his PhD research.

“When I told friends and family that I was going to study spiders in Australia I got some worried looks and I was obviously apprehensive myself. But just a few seconds of watching them dance was enough for any fears to be washed away.”

Mr Walker worked with his group leader, Dr Jonana Meier and an international team to collect each and every one of the species discovered so far.

They then painstakingly categorised precise details about each one’s behaviour, movement and songs. The final piece of the jigsaw was to cross-reference all this information with the DNA of each species.

By comparing the results of each species, they hope to find out which genes are responsible for each trait and ultimately why there are so many different types of peacock spider.

The research is a work in progress but the team already has a strong scientific lead to investigate further.

“It is early days, but one of the tantalising things we have discovered is that it may not only be the genes that are responsible for the diversity, but the bits in between, the so-called ‘dark DNA’, that may influence how spiders evolve,” says Mr Walker.

DNA consists of a long string of molecules. Some parts of them are involved in deciding specific traits. In the case of humans they can decide height or eye colour. These sections are called genes.

But the bulk of the sections of DNA are not genes, and no one really knows what they do. The Sanger researchers think that this so-called dark DNA may be responsible for peacock spiders’ diversity.

They have three times more dark DNA than humans.

Some butterflies and moths also have an exceptionally large number of species. Dr Meier has already decoded the DNA of a thousand species of butterflies and moths.

But spiders, butterflies and moths are just the start of one of the most ambitious genetic projects ever undertaken. The plan is to decipher the genetic code of every single plant, animal and fungus on the planet in the next 10 years.

“Just like all plants, animals and fungus we have very similar DNA,” Dr Meier told BBC News.

“By understanding the DNA of all the different organisms, we learn about the general principles of how genes work and what the function of dark DNA is, and so it also helps us find out a lot about ourselves”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzl2zj72jo

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and staunch Trump ally, was shot dead at a Utah campus event. He was known for fiery Christian nationalist rhetoric and mobilising young conservatives.

Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump who was instrumental in mobilising young Republican voters, was shot dead on Thursday during a college event in Utah.

The assassination occurred during an event that marked the launch of Kirk’s planned college tour, spanning from Colorado to Virginia and dubbed ‘The American Comeback Tour,’ aimed at rallying young voters behind Trump and the Republican Party.

A door-to-door manhunt has been launched for the shooter, but law enforcement authorities have yet to detain anyone in connection with the murder.

The attack comes amid rising political violence across the United States, spanning both the left- and right-wing movements.

US President Donald Trump led the tributes, calling Kirk “the great, and even legendary, Charlie Kirk.” He blamed the ‘radical left’ for the murder and vowed to find everyone responsible for the killing.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump praised Kirk’s unique bond with America’s younger generation. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” Trump said.

Offering condolences to Kirk’s family, Trump added: “Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

As tributes poured in, Trump issued a symbolic gesture of national mourning. In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M.”

NO SUSPECT IN CUSTODY AS PROBE INTO SHOOTING CONTINUES

FBI Director Kash Patel said that the person who was in custody in relation to the death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has been released after being interrogated by law enforcement.

“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” he said in a post on X.

FROM DEBATE TO VIOLENCE IN SECONDS

Videos posted to social media show Kirk seated under a white tent bearing the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong,” speaking into a handheld microphone. Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation. He was in the middle of a question-and-answer session on gun violence when the attack occurred.

An audience member asked him, “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”

Kirk replied, “Too many.”

The questioner pressed further: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

Kirk responded, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”

Moments later, a single shot rang out. Video shows Kirk reaching toward his neck as blood poured from the left side. Gasps and screams filled the tent as panicked spectators fled.

Authorities said a person was detained after the shooting but clarified that the individual was not the suspect. It remained unclear Wednesday night whether law enforcement was still searching for a gunman.

The shooting comes amid a string of political violence across the United States, including the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker, a firebombing in Colorado, and last year’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

KIRK’S RISE AS A CONSERVATIVE FORCE

Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at just 18, rose to national prominence with his unapologetic conservatism, frequent cable television appearances, and close alignment with Trump.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018 (AP Photo)

His appearance had drawn opposition on campus. An online petition urging university administrators to block him from speaking collected nearly 1,000 signatures. But last week, Utah Valley University said it would not cancel the event, citing First Amendment protections and its “commitment to free speech” and “constructive dialogue.”

Founded in suburban Chicago with tea party activist William Montgomery, Turning Point initially struggled before Kirk’s confrontational style attracted wealthy conservative donors. That support helped transform the group into a powerhouse of the American right.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/turning-point-usa-founder-charlie-kirk-shot-at-utah-valley-university-event-glbs-2785397-2025-09-11

Taylor Swift was reportedly a supportive bride-to-be at a soft launch event for fiancé Travis Kelce’s 1587 Prime Steakhouse.

The “Blank Space” singer celebrated the upscale eatery alongside the NFL star — who co-owns the Kansas City restaurant with Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes — Monday evening, according to a new report from TMZ.

Sources told the outlet that the newly engaged couple arrived “hand in hand” at around 6:15 p.m. local time, where they ascended a grand staircase to meet with other supportive friends and family at the event. Throughout the evening, they kept things “low-key but affectionate,” per TMZ.

The “Cruel Summer” hitmaker, 35, reportedly wore a blue denim dress with wedge heels, styling her blond locks into a side-swept look. Meanwhile, the Chiefs tight end, also 35, rocked a low-key vibe in a cap and a green striped top as they enjoyed quality time in a semi-private corner booth.

The insider added that the pair “acted like any normal couple” at the soft opening, sneaking in kisses from time to time. The athlete was reportedly also spotted joking around with teammates and stealing glances at his fiancée from across the room.

The couple’s BFFs, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, also reportedly attended the soirée with their children — but were seated “separately” from Kelce and Swift.

Per the outlet, they took some time to chat with the singer and her husband-to-be, with Swift even holding their infant daughter, Golden, 8 months, and playing with their other kids: Sterling, 4, and Bronze, 2.

The outlet’s insider noted that the restaurant’s staff and guests were thrilled by the power couple’s appearance, sharing that Swift was “funny, gracious and approachable” while getting to know people at the event. They also reportedly gushed over the singer making time to “greet everyone she passed.”

Reps for Swift and Kelce did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment. A spokesperson for 1587 Prime was unavailable for comment.

The restaurant is set to hard launch on Sept. 17.

The couple’s high-profile appearance at Kelce’s new venture comes days after he made a stylish appearance ahead of the Chiefs’ season opener in Brazil.

Swift did not appear at Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, which the Chiefs lost, due to the grueling 13-hour flight to São Paolo.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/09/celebrity-news/taylor-swift-and-travis-kelce-have-low-key-date-night-at-soft-launch-of-his-new-steakhouse/?_gl=1*gy82pl*_ga*MTgwMjY4OTEzMy4xNzQ0ODU3NDg5*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*czE3NTc0Njc1MDkkbzM3MyRnMSR0MTc1NzQ2OTkxMyRqMzYkbDAkaDA

National Australia Bank is cutting 410 jobs in its technology and enterprise operations in Australia and creating 127 roles in India and Vietnam, a spokesperson said, confirming cuts first revealed by the country’s financial services union.

The NAB changes come one day after rival ANZ Group said it would cut 3,500 jobs over the next year as new chief executive Nuno Matos aims to cut duplication and simplify the bank’s structure.

NAB shares were trading 1.2 per cent higher on Wednesday at A$43.29, while the broader S&P/ASX200 index was flat.

“The environment we operate in is constantly changing and we need to have the right structures alongside the right skills and capabilities in the right locations to help us deliver for our customers,” NAB said in a statement, adding some separate technology roles were being created in Australia.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/national-australia-bank-cuts-410-jobs-hire-in-india-and-vietnam-5341251

Many South Korean workers were sent to the U.S. on questionable documents despite their misgivings and warnings about stricter U.S. immigration enforcement before last week’s raid on a Hyundai site, according to workers, officials and lawyers.
For years, South Korean companies have said they struggle to obtain short-term work visas for specialists needed in their high-tech plants in the United States, and had come to rely on a grey zone of looser interpretation of visa rules under previous American administrations.

When that changed in the early days of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, some workers were denied entry to the United States under statuses that did not fully allow work, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen workers from various companies, government and company officials, and immigration lawyers.
More than 300 South Koreans were among the 475 people swept up and detained by U.S. federal authorities at Hyundai Motor’s (005380.KS), opens new tab car battery plant near Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, in the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigative operations.

Many of the people arrested were skilled workers who were sent to the U.S. to install equipment at the near-complete factory on a visa waver programme, or B-1 business traveller visas, which largely did not allow work, three people said.
“It’s extremely difficult to get an H-1B visa, which is needed for the battery engineers. That’s why some people got B-1 visas or ESTA,” said Park Tae-sung, vice chairman of Korea Battery Industry Association, referring to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.
One person who works at the Georgia site told Reuters that this had long been a routine practice. “There was a red flag … They bypass the law and come to work,” the person said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The arrests shocked South Korea although workers had previously expressed concern that they could be caught in between Trump’s immigration crackdown and corporate efforts to protect investments in the United States that are at the centre of ongoing trade and tariff talks.

‘I BEGGED THEM’

An equipment technician in South Korea, who previously worked with six of the people arrested, said: “I warned them they could screw up their lives if they are caught.”
“I begged them not to go to the United States again,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said he had once obtained a B-1 visa from the United States by claiming he was a supervisor, rather than an equipment specialist.
Another equipment technician working as a contractor with LG Energy Solution said his application for a B-1 visa to work at Hyundai’s Georgia factory was rejected earlier this year, without explanation. When he then tried to fly to Mexico and cross the border, he was blocked from boarding the flight in Seoul.
“We thought the U.S. was our ally … but they are treating me like an illegal immigrant,” he said.

LG Energy Solution (373220.KS), is working with Hyundai to build the factory.

Officials at LGES were aware of the long-standing issues and some of the companies’ employees and contractors were reluctant to travel to the United States for fear of being denied entry, two of the sources said.
“LG Energy Solution has been actively working to resolve visa issues” for its employees and subcontractors, including holding visa briefing sessions through law firms to “prevent legal issues,” LGES said in a statement when asked by Reuters about its employees’ visas.
In response to Reuters’ questions about the allegations of immigration violations by subcontractors at the site, Hyundai Motor referred to a statement that said it has “zero tolerance for those who don’t follow the law” and would investigate the employment practices of suppliers and their subcontractors.
LGES said 47 of its employees were arrested in the Georgia raid, and warned the rest of its workers in the United States to leave or shelter at home.
There was no sign that any Hyundai employee was detained. Most of the people detained were employees of subcontractors, rather than direct employees, LGES and Hyundai Motor have said.

‘CUT CORNERS’

The detainees in Georgia are now set to be released and sent home, but the raid casts a shadow over business ties between the U.S. and South Korea, a major source of foreign investment into the United States.
Foreign Ministry official Kim Dong-min told Reuters in July that a lack of proper work visas for contractors forced them to turn to the ESTA to travel to the U.S. quickly, leading some to be denied U.S. entry.
He was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a seminar on “visa refusals” held by Korea Battery Industry Association whose member companies include LGES and their suppliers.
South Korea has long called for creating a new U.S visa category for skilled workers similar to the ones for U.S. free trade partners like Australia and Singapore, but the move has made little progress.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/workers-say-korea-inc-was-warned-about-questionable-us-visas-before-hyundai-raid-2025-09-09/

JEFFREY Epstein’s so-called “birthday book” has finally been released – and the contents are as twisted as the late paedo financier’s life.

The 238-page scrapbook, handed to Epstein in 2003 for his 50th, has been published by a US congressional panel alongside his will and infamous address book.

It is a grotesque mash-up of alleged tributes, bizarre notes and deeply creepy photos – with topless Ghislaine Maxwell, weird animal pornography and gushing messages from world figures all stuffed between the pages.

One of the biggest bombshells appears on page 108 – a photo of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s long-time companion and co-conspirator, topless in a swimming pool.

In the snap, she is seen clinging onto Epstein and smiling, the pair looking carefree in the water.

The image has been described as chilling in hindsight, given Maxwell’s later conviction for grooming underage girls for Epstein.

What may have looked like a playful birthday keepsake now carries a far darker weight.

Things get even darker on page 115, where Epstein is shown allegedly acting out a murder plot.

Wearing tights pulled over his head like a makeshift mask, he strikes a pose alongside another man.

The bizarre photo has been interpreted as Epstein’s attempt at black humour – a macabre “joke” among his inner circle.

Scribbled across the page is the line: “Was Jack the Ripper Jeffrey Epstein?”

The bizarre question is paired with references to author Patricia Cornwell’s decades-long work on unmasking the Victorian killer.

It’s unclear who wrote the line or whether it was meant as a joke.

Britain’s Lord Peter Mandelson appears repeatedly throughout the book – with entries on pages 139, 144 and 145.

In one tribute, Mandelson calls Epstein “my best pal” and describes meeting his “interesting” friends.

Photographs alongside the messages show the Labour peer pictured with women whose faces are obscured, believed to be guests at Epstein’s parties.

Mandelson’s spokesperson has stressed he “very much regrets ever having been introduced” to Epstein and that this connection has long been a matter of public record.

Still, the warm words in the birthday book sit uneasily with his later attempts to distance himself.

Former US President Bill Clinton also features in the documents – with a letter signed with his name praising his “childlike curiosity”.

Clinton has always denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes during their frienship.

Perhaps the most unsettling section comes on page 155, where Epstein’s friends contributed cartoonish sketches.

One drawing shows him in 1983, handing balloons to a group of children.

On the facing side, Epstein is depicted in 2003, sprawled on a sunbed with bikini-clad women massaging his feet and shoulders.

The caption underneath reads: “What a great country!” – a message that now feels more grotesque than celebratory.

Other drawings in the book reportedly include safari scenes of lions and zebras in sexual poses – bizarre and crude attempts at humour that seem deeply inappropriate for any kind of birthday album.

On page 207, a handwritten message by an unknown woman makes a subtle reference about the ever-present cameras in Epstein’s life.

“Visiting you down in Palm Beach… can’t get a second of privacy with you and a camera around. Ha!” the note reads.

The breezy tone suggests the writer was a friend poking fun at Epstein’s obsession with recording everything – a habit which later fuelled theories about him compiling blackmail material.

Among the strangest pages are a set of wildlife shots.

A lion looms over a lioness whose face is frozen in what looks like an oddly ecstatic moment, while a baboon is pictured on a branch with its mouth wide open, caught in a pose that seems uncomfortably suggestive

Towards the end of the book, pages 216 and 217 display sprawling photo collages – dozens of snaps showing Epstein on beaches, on boats, and with various women.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/15146914/ghislaine-maxwell-topless-creepy-drawings-epstein/

More than 500 employees in Singapore were laid off as a result of Jetstar Asia’s closure.

Most pilots and cabin crew who lost their jobs after Singapore-based Jetstar Asia ceased operations about six weeks ago have secured jobs or interviews, labour chief Ng Chee Meng said.

The airline’s closure, which was announced in June, resulted in more than 500 employees in Singapore being laid off.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said after the announcement that it was committed to supporting those laid off.

This included organising a three-day job matching exercise in June at Jetstar Asia’s premises, which involved more than 450 job roles across 1,400 job vacancies.

In an update on the laid-off employees’ situation, Mr Ng, the NTUC secretary-general, said on Wednesday (Sep 10) that 90 per cent of the affected pilots and cabin crew had secured interviews or jobs with companies such as the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group and Marina Bay Sands.

In a Facebook post, Mr Ng also said he met recently with former Jetstar Asia employees – pilots, cabin crew, and corporate staff – who had just transitioned to SIA Group’s budget carrier Scoot.

“They told me their experiences were a blend of anxiety and joy, particularly for one new father welcoming his second child while facing the challenges of Jetstar’s closure,” he said.

“As mid-career workers, they also voiced concerns about adapting to new technologies and fitting into a new company culture.”

NTUC said in June that the SIA Group, including Scoot, was primarily supporting the recruitment efforts for Jetstar Asia’s pilots and cabin crew.

Other employers involved in the June job matching exercise included Airbus Singapore and Satair, Changi Airport Group, SATS, SIA Engineering Company, SMRT and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

CNA asked NTUC about the employment situation of Jetstar Asia’s corporate staff and how many of its pilots and cabin crew have secured jobs, but the labour movement declined to comment.

The condition of our lungs can reveal a great deal about our wider health. Luckily you can also get them into better shape.

How old do you think your lungs are? With every breath, they are exposed to a myriad of pollutants, microbes, dust and allergens. Unsurprisingly this can take a toll on these delicate organs, accelerating how they age. But they also can affect how the rest of your body ages too.

In early May 2025, an international team of respiratory experts published one of the first ever studies to assess how human lung function varies as we age. Based on data from some 30,000 men and women collected over the course of the 20th Century, it showed that our lung function peaks in our early to mid-20s. Women’s lung capacity typically tops out a few years earlier than men’s – before declining thereafter.

This, according to Judith Garcia-Aymerich, a professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health who led the study, appears to be a biologically programmed part of ageing, she says. Factors such as smoking, air pollution and flare-ups of conditions like asthma can all exacerbate this decline.

The better your lung capacity is at this peak age, however, the more resilience you will have against chronic respiratory diseases and other lung-related health conditions later in life, says Garcia-Aymerich. But lung health is also linked to a wide range of other more surprising aspects of your health, affecting your immune system, your weight and even your brain (read on to find out why later in this piece).

So just how healthy are your lungs? And can you do anything to improve the state they are in?

Studies like the one described above use expensive equipment to measure lung health, but there is a simple way to test your lungs at home. All you need is a large plastic bottle, a bucket or bathtub and a length of rubber tubing. And then do the following (you might want to do it in a sink or outside as it can get a bit messy):

1. First, measure out 200ml (7fl oz) of water into a measuring jug, transfer to the plastic bottle and use a pen to mark the water level.

2. Add another 200ml of water, mark the new water level and repeat the process until the bottle is full.

3. Fill the bucket or bathtub with water and dip the now full bottle into it, turning the bottle upside down under the water.

4. Keeping the bottle in this position, place the rubber tubing inside the bottle neck. It doesn’t have to fit tightly.

5. Take a deep breath and blow into the tube.

6. Count how many lines of water you can blow out of the bottle.

7. Multiply the number of lines by 200ml. (eg three lines is 600ml). This number is your vital lung capacity, also referred to as forced vital capacity or FVC.

“The test looks at the volume of air you can breathe out, which has been termed vital [lung] capacity,” says John Dickinson, who heads the exercise respiratory clinic at the University of Kent. “This term was first used by English surgeon John Hutchinson in the 1840s. He started to notice that those who could only breath small volumes of air had less time to live.”

According to the American Lung Association, FVC can decrease by about 0.2 litres per decade, even in healthy people who have never smoked, due to the effects of ageing. Research suggests that a normal healthy FVC is between three and five litres.

Dickinson says that you should not be overly concerned if you get a lower reading from this home health test. “A lot of people will struggle to completely empty their lungs so may get false low readings,” he says.

But there are also ways of improving your lung health and combating any decline in their performance. And if you want to age gracefully, this may be a vital step.

How your lungs affect your wider health

Research shows that as we age, we experience a loss of elasticity in our lung tissue, a weakening of respiratory muscles like the diaphragm and changes in the rib cage that limit its ability to expand and contract. “If the loss of lung function is excessive, people can feel symptoms like shortness of breath,” says Garcia-Aymerich. “It can lead to a condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) characterised by low lung function levels.”

But worsening lung health does not only make you more susceptible to lung disease. It is also linked to a surprising range of other illnesses, from elevated blood pressure to autoimmunity, metabolic diseases, frailty and even cognitive decline.

Dawn Bowdish, a professor at McMaster University in Canada, who specialises in ageing and immunity, says one reason for this is that the lungs are inextricably linked to the heart and the circulation, as well as having a major connection with the health of our wider immune system via what she calls the “lung-immune axis”.

“The lung has millions and millions of immune cells that have important functions like clearing particulate air pollution, fighting infections, and repairing the damage that comes from the constant stretching of breathing in and out,” she says.

According to Bowdish, if the lung’s immune cells are unable to clear all the particles that gather in the lungs, they trigger increasing levels of inflammation, which can lead to lung scarring, known as pulmonary fibrosis. This makes the lungs stiffer and less able to function. Inflammation in our lungs can also lead to changes in the way our body reacts to respiratory infections as the immune response can cause further harm.

Lower lung function has also been found to precede other age-related health issues, including heart disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes and reductions in memory – although the exact nature of this relationship is still to be understood. Bowdish believes inflammation from our lungs may spread throughout the body.

The benefits of healthy lungs

The relationship between our lungs and wider health is also two-way. Bowdish says that if we keep our lungs relatively healthy, we are more likely to remain disease free for longer in later life.

“Even though lung capacity declines with age, this is not a cause for concern for those who look after their lung health,” adds Dickinson. “Healthy lungs have more than enough capacity to supply the body with oxygen and remove carbon dioxide throughout the lifespan. However, if the rate of decline increases, our health and quality of life may be impacted.”

If you are concerned about your lungs, Dickinson recommends going to your doctor for a proper lung function test, which involves breathing into a device called a spirometer which measures the volume and speed of your breath.

A spirometer will calculate your FVC to medical-grade accuracy along with your forced expiratory volume (FEV1) – the amount of air you can exhale in one second after taking a deep breath. It will also give you the ratio of the FEV1 to FVC, which can indicate if you have anything obstructing your airflow. Combined, these metrics provide an overall picture of your lung health.

“Ideally, I would recommend people have their lung function [clinically] assessed every 10 years if they are not experiencing any symptoms, but they should have it tested immediately if they are experiencing abnormal breathlessness symptoms,” says Dickinson.

Improving your lung function

Once you know the state of your lungs, evidence shows there are some preventative steps which you can take to improve your lung capacity and help mitigate age-related decline.

Regular exercising, for example, can reduce airway inflammation and improve the strength and endurance of breathing muscles. Lowering salt in the diet could also be beneficial as research suggests that excess dietary salt can worsen lung inflammation and fibrosis. A diet richer in fish oils, antioxidants and vitamins C and E, meanwhile, is also thought to help protect the walls of the lungs from damage.

Bowdish recommends quitting both smoking and vaping to avoid ingesting any potentially inflammatory chemicals. According to Daniel Craighead, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, another way of maintaining good lung function is to keep to a healthy weight and avoid acquiring excess body fat. “Abdominal fat can impede the ability of the lungs to fully fill with air,” says Craighead.

But there’s another means by which we may be able to actually improve lung function. Since the mid 1990s, inspiratory muscle training (IMT) or breathing in through a device which provides a resistance, has become known as a way of boosting respiratory muscle strength in groups ranging from athletes and singers to people with existing breathing difficulties such as asthma and COPD. Research has shown that IMT can improve exercise capacity and lower blood pressure.

The gold standard method for IMT is a medical device known as Powerbreathe which is recognised as an approved medical product by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and other health services. It has been highlighted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a tool to support Covid recovery and is also utilised by hospitals around the world for prehabilitation – improving people’s lung function ahead of surgery to increase their chances of making a good recovery – as well as a treatment for pulmonary fibrosis, and to support those who have been on ventilators in intensive care.

According to Craighead, studies have typically shown that two 30-breath IMT sessions a day is sufficient to improve respiratory muscle strength.

Sabrina Brar, medical officer at Powerbreathe International, compares carrying out IMT through the device to weightlifting for your arm and leg muscles. “Strengthening the muscles responsible for breathing in, much like strengthening any other muscle in the body, will increase respiratory muscle endurance and strength and reduce age-related lung function decline,” says Brar. “The idea is to engage the diaphragm and intercostal muscles and then periodically increase the resistance over time as lung strength improves.”

Another option is to simply take up singing or playing a wind instrument. Researchers at the Louis Armstrong Centre in New York City have pioneered this approach through attempting to improve the lung function of people with asthma by teaching them to play various wind instruments. Other scientists have even designed an electronic version of a type of flute called the ocarina to assist in improving lung function.

As an assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark and a trained classical singer herself, Mette Kaasgaard has been involved in a number of trials looking at how singing can potentially help people with COPD.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250908-the-simple-test-to-check-how-old-your-lungs-are

He polished silver for kings, poured tea for queens, and stood quietly in the shadows as royal dramas played out — but now, one witness to the Windsors’ most private moments is pulling back the curtain.

Former Buckingham Palace butler Grant Harrold reveals Prince Philip’s searing four-word verdict on Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, why King Charles will never again trust him and William’s plan to modernize the monarchy in his bombshell new book, “The Royal Butler.”

“The king doesn’t trust Harry, because of what Harry has said. He worried that he would use it to his advantage. And he has,” Harrold told Page Six.

“He’s done what household members typically do and spilled the beans. It’s a big thing for the family to have one of their own do this.

“They were all so close, and to see that relationship completely destroyed, I do not see them coming back from it.”

Harry, 40, is in the UK this week, where he is rumored to have an audience with the king, but Harrold warns he and Meghan’s podcast, book and TV deals rule them out of any significant re-entry to the royal circle.

“If they reconcile, then fall out again, what’s to say there won’t be another book, Netflix series or interview about it?” he asked.

Harrold, who was butler to King Charles between 2004 and 2011 (when his title was Prince of Wales) said Wiliam and Harry were still incredibly close during his service.

“The two of them were not just the best of friends, they were inseparable,” he tells us. “At Highgrove [Charles’ private residence], they were always together. They were walking together, in the pub together, on motorbikes together. Very rarely did they do stuff separately.”

The former palace staffer, 47, notes in the book, to be released Sept. 23, how everything changed once Harry met Markle in July 2016.

“As soon as Meghan came into his life, everything changed,” Harrold tells Page Six. “It could be that Harry had his own awakening and suddenly decided he didn’t like the organization, but the problem is that Meghan was with him when it happened.

“The biggest change in Harry’s life is Meghan.”

Still, the ex-staffer also believes “something bigger happened” between Harry and William.

“I was genuinely shocked when they fell out,” he said. “There must be something deeper going on that we’re not being told.”

Among various digs at his brother in his memoir “Spare,” Harry accused William of physically attacking him and knocking him to the floor, breaking a dog bowl, in 2019. He also calls him his “beloved brother and arch-nemesis” in the book.

Still, the brothers were still on good terms when Harry and former “Suits” star turned lifestyle influencer Markle married in 2018.

They wed in a lavish ceremony at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, with both the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, in attendance. Harrold said Philip couldn’t resist uttering one of his trademark one-liners to mark the occasion.

“Once all the formalities were over, we watched as the happy couple, and then the other members of the Royal Family, filed out of the chapel.

“When Prince Philip came out, he turned to the Queen and said, ‘Thank f–k that’s over.’

“It was very funny. I think he was speaking for the majority of people, but he was the man who actually said it.”

“I was standing opposite him and it was so funny,” Harrold recalled to Page Six, sharing an exclusive photo of the moment with us.

Harrold added the comment made the Queen, who passed away in 2022, turn to her husband and grin.

Once installed as an official royal, Meghan was seen to be a disruptor. During the less than two years she was a working member of the royal family, she quicky became known for attempting to do things her way and putting many noses out of joint.

Harrold recalled one instance where the “Suits” alum, now 44, wanted to host some of her friends for lunch on a day she was slated to carry out a royal engagement.

“She would rather have lunch with her friends, thinking that was fine and it wasn’t,” Harrold divulged, noting the royal diary is set six months in advance.

“That’s not how it works. You can’t change it. She obviously thought she could come in and do her thing, and you can’t,” he added.

“I think the problem with Meghan is that she went into the organization and she assumed that after watching all the Disney princesses that she thought it was going to be like that. When you join the royal family, you are given rules and protocols to follow.”

Meanwhile, in the book Harrold says despite the royal family’s admiration for tradition, he expects William, 43, to scrap a lot of the long-standing formalities once he becomes monarch, using his reign to press a “reset button” and slim down the central figures in the family.

“The reality is, when [William and Princess Catherine’s children] George, Charlotte and Louis become of age and start getting involved, the monarchy will be the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children only,” Harrold says.

“The monarchy will get more fragile as the years go on, and it’s changing. It’s become more of a celebrity thing than a historical firm. Harry was the first celebrity royal,” he added.

The Wales family, Harrold notes, will also continue to live without a butler — something William and Princess Catherine, 43, have done for many years.

“I wanted to butler, to look after [William and Catherine], and they didn’t want any of it,” Harrold said. “They wanted to do stuff themselves. They were carrying their own stuff, doing their own washing up, their own cooking.”

“They are very much still like that. [William] is very hands-on. To this day, I’m the only one that has ever done any butlering for him.”

Harrold also notes in his book how working for the royal household can go to the head of some members, and certain people like to throw their weight around.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/09/royal-family/king-charles-ex-butler-grant-harrold-spills-beans-on-harry-william-and-meghan/

The White House on Tuesday said it would support a forensic analysis of the signature on a letter purportedly given by Donald Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that Trump’s aides say is not the president’s.
Trump, who was friends with Epstein before becoming president but had a falling out with the former financier years before his death, has denied giving him a letter that appears in a birthday book for Epstein with the sketch of a woman’s body and a note about secrets.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday released the letter, written more than 20 years ago, to the public. The White House quickly denied its authenticity.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday it was not his signature or his speaking style in the note. “That’s not my language. It’s nonsense,” he said.
The release of the document and others involving Epstein have brought renewed attention to an issue that has become a political thorn in the president’s side. Though he has urged his supporters to move on from the topic, appetite for details about Epstein’s crimes and who else may have known about them or been involved with him has remained high.

Karoline Leavitt, the president’s spokeswoman, told reporters the White House would back an analysis of the signature to prove Trump right.
“The president did not write this letter. He did not sign this letter,” she said.
Leavitt said Trump also had not signed a check to Epstein that allegedly had his signature on it.
“The president has one of the most famous signatures in the world, and he has for many, many years,” she said.
House Oversight Committee chair James Comer, who is leading the congressional Epstein investigation and subpoenaed the Epstein estate for documents including the so-called birthday book, said he believed Trump.

“The president says he did not sign it, so I take the president at his word,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters.

PUBLIC SUSPICIONS

Lawmakers met with Epstein victims last week at the U.S. Capitol. Asked if he would meet with victims, Trump said he had not considered that.

“Certainly I don’t like that whole situation with respect to anybody being abused or hurt, but I haven’t, I haven’t even thought about that,” he said.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday found the U.S. public continues to harbor suspicions about the Epstein case, with 65% of respondents saying the government is hiding information about his 2019 death in prison, which was ruled a suicide, and 72% saying the government is hiding information about the accused sex trafficker’s client list. Both figures were up slightly from a similar survey in July.
However, the survey of 1,084 adults found a bright spot for Trump: 44% of Republican respondents said they approved of the way he was handling the Epstein matter, up from 35% in July. Overall, only 17% of the public approved of his handling of the issue.
Four Republicans in the House of Representatives have signed on to a bipartisan petition seeking to force the Trump administration to release all documents on Epstein.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie said he hoped Comer’s committee would investigate what he said looked like Trump’s signature on the birthday note.
“I’m not a forensic expert, but it looks like his signature,” Massie told reporters. “Hopefully they can do some kind of forensics on it and figure that out, so we don’t have to debate the knowable.”
Comer said his committee was unlikely to invest in examining a signature from so many years ago.
Leavitt accused Democrats of trying to hurt the president by focusing on the Epstein case.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/white-house-says-it-would-support-forensic-analysis-alleged-trump-signature-2025-09-09/

Protests in Nepal continued despite the government lifting the social media ban, leaving 22 dead and more than 300 injured. Gen Z protesters torched PM Oli’s residence, set fire to parliament buildings, and attacked homes of senior leaders.

Protests in Nepal escalated on Tuesday despite the government lifting the social media ban, leading to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s resignation. Gen Z protesters torched all three branches of government – the parliament, Singha Durbar (the executive seat), and the Supreme Court. At least 22 people were killed and over 300 were injured in the unrest, which broke out on September 8. Protesters also stormed prisons across the country, reportedly freeing around 900 inmates.

Here are the latest developments

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned as violent protests over the government’s social media ban intensified. In his resignation letter, Oli said he was stepping down “to facilitate a solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically.”

Chief of Army Staff General Ashok Raj Sigdel urged calm, calling on protesters to suspend their agitation and enter talks. “Easing the uncomfortable situation, protecting national heritage, public and private property, common citizens, diplomatic missions, and ensuring a sense of security is our common duty,” Sigdel said in a statement.

The Nepal Army had warned protesters against vandalism, looting, or arson, saying some groups were exploiting the unrest. It stressed that if such activities continued, all security forces, including the army, would take “decisive measures” to restore order.

KP Sharma Oli’s residence was torched, and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was chased through Kathmandu’s streets. Protesters also set fire to parliament building, clashed with police, and attacked the homes of senior leaders, including former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The death toll in Nepal’s protests rose to 22 on Tuesday, with more than 300 people injured as demonstrations entered their second day despite the government lifting the social media ban.

The Nepal Army on Tuesday took control of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport after agitators attempted to enter its premises in the evening.

Former Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s wife, Rabi Laxmi Chitrakar, died after sustaining critical burn injuries when their home in Dallu was set on fire. According to Nepali outlet Khabar Hub, Chitrakar was rushed to the Kirtipur Burn Hospital but did not survive.

Gen Z protesters broke into Nakkhu Jail and freed Nepal’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chief Rabi Lamichhane. Following his release, nearly 900 other inmates also walked out of the facility shortly afterward.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/nepal-burns-in-explosive-gen-z-protest-as-social-media-ban-row-topples-oli-regime-glbs-2784742-2025-09-10

The brother of accused Charlotte light rail butcher Decarlos Brown Jr. blamed the system that allowed the mentally ill ex-con to go free on cashless bail for the horrific murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska — and said his kin should suffer the consequences.

“I think they could have pretty much prevented it then,” Jeremiah, who shares a father with Brown, told The Post — referring to the lax terms that a magistrate judge set for Decarlos Brown Jr. when he was released from jail for a prior arrest in January.

Brown, 34, a schizophrenic homeless man with a prison record and numerous arrests for violence, now stands accused of murdering the 23-year-old, who fled war-torn Ukraine with her mother, brother and sister in 2022 to start a new life in America.

“I didn’t even know he had mental problems…You can’t just let him walk free especially because of mental issues,” Jerimiah said.

“He could do it again. They should still treat him for his mental issues but there are consequences for his actions.

“I think he should suffer the consequences.”

Jeremiah, 19, said he was shocked to see Brown — who he only met “once or twice” — on the news last month, but revealed that his family has a troubled history of violence.

“He was on my father’s side. They have a record of being in jail and stuff,” he said.

The father, Decarlos Sr. and older brother, Stacey, both did time for violent crimes.

The Supreme Court granted an unusually quick hearing on President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Tuesday, putting a policy at the center of his economic agenda squarely before the nation’s highest court.

The justices will hear the case in November, a lightning-fast timetable by the Supreme Court’s typical standards, and rule at some point after that. The tariffs will stay in place in the meantime.

The court agreed to take up an appeal from the Trump administration after lower courts found most of his tariffs illegal.

The small businesses and states that challenged them also agreed to the accelerated timetable. They say Trump’s import taxes on goods from almost every country in the world have nearly driven their businesses to bankruptcy. “Congress, not the President alone, has the power to impose tariffs,” attorney Jeffrey Schwab with the Liberty Justice Center said.

Two lower courts have agreed that Trump didn’t have the power to impose all the tariffs under an emergency powers law, though a divided appeals court left them in place.

The Trump administration asked the justices to intervene quickly, arguing the law gives him the power to regulate imports and striking down the tariffs would put the country on “the brink of economic catastrophe.”

The case will come before a court that has been reluctant to check Trump’s extraordinary flex of executive power. One big question is whether the justices’ own expansive view of presidential authority allows for Trump’s tariffs without the explicit approval of Congress, which the Constitution endows with the power to levy tariffs. Three of the justices on the conservative-majority court were nominated by Trump in his first term.

While the tariffs and their erratic rollout have raised fears of higher prices and slower economic growth, Trump has also used them to pressure other countries into accepting new trade deals. Revenue from tariffs totaled $159 billion by late August, more than double what it was at the same point a year earlier.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer has argued that the lower court rulings are already affecting those trade negotiations. If the tariffs are struck down, the U.S. Treasury might take a hit by having to refund some of the import taxes it’s collected, Trump administration officials have said. A ruling against them could even threaten the nation’s ability to reduce the flow of fentanyl and efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, Sauer argued.

The administration did win over four appeals court judges who found the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, lets the president regulate importation during emergencies without explicit limitations. In recent decades, Congress has ceded some tariff authority to the president, and Trump has made the most of the power vacuum.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-d1d0dd6ddd83e2c1df1598e468b839f5

Palestinians living in the ruins of Gaza City were bombarded with Israeli leaflets on Tuesday ordering them out, after Israel said it was about to obliterate the area in an assault to wipe out Hamas, causing panic and confusion.
Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a shooting that killed six people on the outskirts of Jerusalem the previous day. Israel said it would demolish homes of residents of the attackers’ villages in the occupied West Bank.

Residents of Gaza City, home to a million Palestinians before the war, have been expecting an onslaught for weeks, since the Israeli government devised a plan to deal Hamas a fatal blow in what it says are the group’s last strongholds.
“I say to the residents of Gaza, take this opportunity and listen to me carefully: you have been warned — get out of there!” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The Israeli military airdropped leaflets with evacuation orders on residents standing amid the rubble, who say there is no safe place to go. Some said they would have no choice but to leave for the south, but many said they would stay and there were no immediate signs of a mass exodus.

Anxiety was spreading through a tent area in Gaza City housing displaced cancer patients.
“There’s no place left, not in the south, nor the north, nothing. We’ve become completely trapped,” said Bajess al-Khaldi, one of a group of displaced cancer patients housed in a tented area, as people looked on at the rubble of several buildings destroyed in an Israeli attack.
Displacement is a profound issue for Palestinians who fear that Netanyahu and his far-right allies in government want a repeat of the “Nakba”, or “catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands of people fled or were driven out during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel’s creation.
Israel has been accused of genocide, including this month by the world’s biggest group of genocide scholars, over its nearly two-year campaign in the Palestinian enclave that has killed more than 64,000 people according to local authorities.

Israel rejects the accusation, citing its right to self-defence following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The health authorities in Gaza announced they would not evacuate Gaza City’s two main operational hospitals, Al Shifa and Al Ahli, adding that doctors would not leave patients unattended.

Most Gazans have already been displaced several times since the war started, much of the territory lies in ruins and a hunger crisis has grown far worse in recent months.
The Israeli military has instructed residents in Gaza City to move to a designated “humanitarian zone” in the already overcrowded Al-Mawasi area along the coast in the south, where thousands of Palestinians have already been sheltering in tents. Israel has also regularly bombed the south.
Um Samed, a 59-year-old mother of five, said the choice now was whether “to stay and die at home in Gaza City, or follow Israel’s orders and leave Gaza and die in the south”.

‘HURRICANE’

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday the military would unleash a “mighty hurricane” that would destroy Gaza if Hamas did not free the last hostages it holds and surrender.
Israel has called up tens of thousands of reservists for a ground operation. Netanyahu said Israeli forces were organising and assembling into Gaza City.
The full-scale operation is not yet expected to start in the coming week, and no new advance by tanks to deepen the ground offensive was reported so far on Tuesday. Israeli forces have been operating on Gaza City’s outskirts since last month, and the military said it was in control of 40% of the city already.

Launching the new Israeli assault could complicate ceasefire efforts to end the nearly two-year war. Hopes had been pinned on mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire that would avert Israel’s plan.
International critics say Israel’s Gaza plan, which includes demilitarising the whole strip as Israel takes security control, could worsen the humanitarian plight of the 2.2 million Palestinians who live there.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-evacuation-order-triggers-panic-gaza-city-2025-09-09/

Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Qatar on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East with what the U.S. described as a unilateral attack that does not advance American and Israeli interests.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy about every aspect” of the Israeli strike and would be giving a full statement on the issue on Wednesday.

“I’m not thrilled about it,” Trump said as he arrived at a Washington restaurant. “It’s not a good situation but I will say this: We want the hostages back, but we’re not thrilled about the way it went down today.”
While Israel defended the attacks as being justified, Qatar said Israel was treacherous and engaged in “state terrorism.” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the airstrikes threatened to derail the peace talks Qatar has been mediating between Hamas and Israel.
Trump said he considered hitting Hamas was a worthy goal, but he felt badly that the attack took place in the Gulf Arab state, which is a major non-NATO ally of Washington and where the Palestinian Islamist group has long had its political base.

The attack drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the European Union, and risks derailing Gaza ceasefire talks and Trump’s push to achieve a negotiated end to the nearly two-year-old conflict.
Qatar is a security partner of the United States and host to al-Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East. It has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza, which appears to be increasingly elusive.
Hamas said five of its members had been killed in the attack, including the son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. It said Israel had failed in what Hamas called an attempt to assassinate the group’s ceasefire negotiation team.
The Trump administration received warning of the attack from the U.S. military just before it took place, Trump said in a statement on social media earlier. He did not say if it was Israel that notified the U.S. military.

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump wrote. “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Hamas political bureau member Suhail al-Hindi told Al Jazeera TV the group’s top leadership had survived the Israeli attack. The airstrike followed Israel warning Palestinians to leave Gaza City, an area once home to about a million people, as it tries to destroy what is left of Hamas, which has been decimated by Israel’s military since October 2023.
Trump said he directed his envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar the attack was coming but Qatar contradicted those comments, saying that reports that it got a heads-up before the attack were false and the phone call from a U.S. official came when blasts were already being heard in the Qatari capital, Doha.
“Qatar reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack and will take all necessary measures to respond,” al-Thani told reporters. Israel killed one member of Qatar’s internal security forces in its attack and injured others, Qatar said.
Trump assured the emir of Qatar in a phone call after the attack that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”
The U.S. president also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli officials told Reuters the strike was aimed at top Hamas leaders including Hayya. Israel is still gathering information on the strike and is yet to determine whether any Hamas officials or leaders were killed, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Two U.S. officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. military had been notified by Israel shortly before the strike but there was no coordination with or approval from Washington.

Trump made a high-profile visit to Qatar in May and stayed at a hotel about 2 km (1.24 miles) from Tuesday’s attack site.

ATTACK FOLLOWED JERUSALEM KILLINGS

The airstrike took place shortly after Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a shooting on Monday that killed six people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu said the attack was “entirely justified” and was ordered after the Jerusalem attack and the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
“The days are over when terror leaders can enjoy immunity of any kind,” Netanyahu said in a televised address. “I won’t allow that kind of immunity to exist.”
The Israeli operation drew strong negative reactions around the world.
The European Union called it a breach of international law and the United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020, called it “blatant and cowardly”.
Pope Leo expressed unusually forceful concern about the consequences of Israel’s strike in Qatar.
“The entire situation is very serious,” he said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and said Qatar had been playing a very positive role in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Israel has killed several top Hamas leaders since the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has also bombed Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen in the course of the Gaza conflict.

GAZA CITY BRACES FOR NEW ONSLAUGHT

On Tuesday, Palestinians living in the ruins of Gaza City were showered with Israeli leaflets telling them to flee ahead of Israel’s effort to obliterate the area and wipe out Hamas, causing panic and confusion.
Israel wants to demilitarise the entire Gaza Strip, home to 2.2 million Palestinians before the war. Many countries around the world have warned Israel’s plan would spell catastrophe for Palestinians.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-attacks-hamas-leaders-qatar-trump-says-hes-very-unhappy-about-strike-2025-09-09/

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the strike on older people picking up their pensions should prompt a global response.

A Russian bomb exploded on Tuesday in a crowd of older people as they picked up pension payments in a village near the front line in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 23 people and injuring 18, the authorities said.

Bodies of victims could be seen in a video shared online by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and independently confirmed by The New York Times as showing Yarova, the village that was struck. The blast occurred in the town’s center, hitting near a church, cemetery and school.

When the bomb detonated, people were lined up near a state postal vehicle to receive their monthly cash retirement payments. The state postal service, Ukrposhta, delivers the money to those in villages who cannot travel to banks.

Mr. Zelensky wrote on X that the strike, the latest in Russia’s unrelenting attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities, should prompt a global reply.

“A response is needed from the United States,” Mr. Zelensky wrote. “A response is needed from Europe. A response is needed from the G-20. Strong actions are needed to make Russia stop bringing death.”

On Sunday, after Russia launched a huge barrage of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other cities, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the Trump administration was prepared to “increase pressure” economically on Russia to get it to negotiate. Europe is planning a new round of sanctions against Russia.

The bombing in the village came after the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that sanctions would not “be able to force the Russian Federation to change its consistent position,” indicating that Moscow did not plan to stop fighting anytime soon.

According to the head of the Ukrainian postal service, Ihor Smiliansky, the state-owned company regularly changes the distribution point for pensions in villages near the front for security reasons.

This time, the vehicle was parked under trees to be less visible to Russia’s drones, he said. It is possible that a collaborator gave away the coordinates to Russia, he said, though he offered no direct evidence to support that claim.

In addition to the large numbers of older people who were killed or injured when the bomb hit the crowd, the postal worker making the delivery was badly injured in her leg, Mr. Smiliansky said. “Luckily our workers go through first aid trainings and the driver could stop the bleeding and she is now safe in a hospital,” he said.

Mr. Smiliansky said he believed that Russia had deliberately targeted the postal vehicle and the crowd around it, adding that it was the first time a Russian bomb had hit a pension distribution site.

The head of the local military administration told Ukrainian media that it would consider moving future payment distributions to safer locations.

Source : https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/world/europe/ukraine-bombing-donetsk-pensioners.html?unlocked_article_code=1.kk8.f21H.ej3KpwbBefG4&smid=url-share

Nobel prize winning British professor Geoffrey Hinton, 77, has few regrets after helping introduce AI to the world – even though what he created ‘will put millions out of work’

One of the leading figures behind the creation of AI admits it is likely to cause widespread job losses across the world.

Brit professor Geoffrey Hinton, the architect of ‘neural networks’ used in programmes like ChatGPT, believes the impact the technology will leave millions struggling financially. But he says it is not AI’s fault – and that everyone should blame “the capitalist system”.

The computer scientist, who resigned from Google in 2023, has previously warned about the dangers of machines that can outsmart humans. Now he says many are at risk in the years ahead after being asked if he regrets playing a part in what lies ahead for the world.

In a gloomy interview with the Financial Times, he said: “What’s actually going to happen is rich people are going to use AI to replace workers. It’s going to create massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits. It will make a few people much richer – and most people poorer.”

He went on to question how humans could retain their power when the technology becomes “much smarter” than they are. He said: “There is only one example we know of a much more intelligent being controlled by a much less intelligent being, and that is a mother and baby. If babies couldn’t control their mothers, they would die.”

Prof Hinton’s pioneering research on neural networks – machine learning that mimics the way the human brain works – has paved the way for current AI systems. The Nobel prize winner, who was born in London in 1947 and is now based at University of Toronto in Canada, designed neural networks which are AI systems that are similar to the human brain in the way they learn and process information.

When asked about whether he had any regrets about his work on AI, Prof Hinton said: “There are two kinds of regret – there is regret where you feel guilty because you did something you knew you should not have done, and then then there is regret where you did something that you would do again in the same circumstances.”

He said that he “would do the same again” but was “worried that the overall consequence of this might be systems more intelligent than us that eventually take control”. However, the so-called Godfather of AI says it is going to bring huge benefits, too.

Source : https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/godfather-ai-issues-chilling-warning-35877477

President Emmanuel Macron has named close ally Sébastien Lecornu as the new French prime minister, 24 hours after a vote of confidence ousted François Bayrou as head of government.

Lecornu, 39, was among the favourites to take over, and he has spent the past three years as armed forces minister focusing on France’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In a statement the Elysée Palace said Lecornu – the seventh PM in the Macron presidency – had been given the task of consulting political parties with the aim of adopting France’s next budget.

Pushing through a budget as head of a minority government was what brought down Bayrou, with left and far-right opponents condemning Lecornu’s appointment.

Bayrou had visited the president hours earlier to hand in his resignation, paving the way for Sébastien Lecornu to become the fifth prime minister of Macron’s second term as president.

Lecornu wrote on social media that he had been entrusted by the president with “building a government with clear direction: defending our independence and our strength, serving the French people, and [ensuring] political and institutional stability for the unity of our country”.

His immediate task is tackling France’s spiralling public debt, which hit €3.3tn (£2.8tn) earlier this year and represents 114% of the country’s economic output or GDP.

Bayrou had proposed €44bn in budget cuts, and his decision to put his plans to a vote of confidence was always going to fail. In the end France’s National Assembly decided to oust his government by 364 votes to 194.

Lecornu’s appointment was welcomed by centrist allies such as Marc Fesneau from Bayrou’s MoDem party. He called on every political force to reach a compromise – “for the stability of the country and its recovery, especially its budget”.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the radical left France Unbowed was unimpressed, complaining that nothing had changed and it was time for Macron’s departure from the presidency.

There had been suggestions that Macron might try to approach the centre left to broaden his minority government, and Olivier Faure of the Socialists had offered his services the night before.

It soon became clear that Faure would not be getting the call: “I slept pretty soundly so I didn’t hear the phone ring.”

On the far right, Marine Le Pen said the president was ”giving Macronism its last shot from his bunker, along with his little circle of loyalists”.

France has had a hung parliament since Macron surprised his country by calling snap national elections last year, after a poor performance in the June 2024 European vote. There are broadly three main political blocs: the left, far right and the centre.

Édouard Philippe, who was Macron’s first prime minister from 2017-20, thought Lecornu was a good choice as he had learned a lot as defence minister.

“I’ve known him for a long time because he was elected like me in Normandy,” the Horizons party leader told TF1 TV. “He knows how to debate and he’ll need this talent for debate and listening to find a deal in circumstances he knows are pretty complicated.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmenp1k0mjo

Peter Navarro listed the “great” trade deals that the US has inked with the European Union, Japan and South Korea, saying “all these countries are working very closely with us” because they realised they had been taking advantage of Washington.

In a fresh outburst, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro on Monday said India “must come around” at some point on trade negotiations with the US or else it “won’t end well” for Delhi. Navarro, in an interview with the ‘Real America’s Voice’ show, said the Indian government takes offence to him and described India as the ‘Maharajah’ of tariffs.

“But it’s absolutely true. They have the highest tariffs in any major country in the world against the United States. We got to deal with that,” Navarro said. He added that India never bought oil from Moscow before Russia invaded Ukraine, “except for like little tiny drops of it. “And then they go into this mode of profiteering with Russian refiners coming on to Indian soil and profiteering,” and American taxpayers end up having to send more money for the conflict, he said.

He listed the “great” trade deals that the US has inked with the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia, saying “all these countries are working very closely with us” because they realise that they’ve been taking too much advantage of the US and also because they need American markets.

“I think India must come around at some point. And if it doesn’t, it’s laying down with Russia and China, and that won’t end well for India,” he warned.

On additional sanctions on China, which is the largest purchaser of Russian oil, Navarro said, “We’re walking a fine line here with all of this. I think that what’s got to happen is India’s got to stop buying Russian oil. That’s going to be good for the whole peace; the road to peace partly runs through New Delhi.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/wont-end-well-india-trumps-trade-advisor-navarros-latest-rant-against-delhi-glbs-2784095-2025-09-09

The US President, who imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, has softened the tone recently. “I get along very well with Modi, as you know,” he said in an apparent effort to reassure New Delhi.

Top US-China relations expert Gordon Chang says President Donald Trump has “walked back” his recent tough rhetoric on India, signalling a thaw in ties after months of tension over trade and oil imports.

The US President has softened the tone recently. “I get along very well with Modi, as you know,” he said in an apparent effort to reassure New Delhi.

According to Chang, Trump’s comments were a partial climbdown. This comes weeks after the US President imposed a 50% tariff on India, escalating tensions between the two countries.

“I think President Trump walked that back a little bit. And he should, because we haven’t lost India to China,” Chang told Fox News.

PM MODI SKIPS CHINA’S VICTORY PARADE

Chang pointed at PM Modi’s diplomatic messaging during recent multilateral engagements. “He did not want to be part of this anti-Western group that China and Russia, North Korea, and Iran are forming,” Chang, emphasising that Modi’s selective participation signalled India’s careful balancing act in diplomacy.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi actively participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit held in Tianjin, China, from August 31 to September 1, engaging in high-level talks with counterparts including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, India opted not to join the grand military parade in Beijing on September 3, commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end, as PM Modi returned home post-summit — unlike leaders from Russia, North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran — who stayed on for the event showcasing China’s military prowess.

TARIFF TENSION WITH INDIA

Chang also addressed India’s concerns over US tariffs. “Modi has a point. I mean, he says, look, you know, we’re really unhappy with the 25 per cent tariff that the United States imposed on India for buying Russian oil. He said it was unjustified. No, it was not unjustified. That tariff was a good thing for President Trump to do. But Modi has a point when he said it was unfair,” Chang added.

Hours after the US President harped on their strong personal bond despite a strain in India-US ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he “appreciates and fully reciprocates” Donald Trump’s sentiments.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/pm-modi-signals-india-wont-beijings-anti-west-alliance-china-expert-glbs-2784066-2025-09-08

The deranged homeless man charged with butchering a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte train was free on cashless bail after a magistrate released him with just a “written promise” to show up for court — despite a nearly two-decade history of violence and mental illness.

Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested at least 14 times in North Carolina for crimes ranging from assault and firearms possession to felony robbery and larceny dating back to 2007.

His own mother told local TV station WSOC that her son was schizophrenic and should never have been allowed to roam the streets.

But, Brown was a free man right up until the moment cops said he viciously stabbed Iryna Zarutska in an unprovoked and cowardly sneak attack as she rode the train home from her job at a local pizzeria.

Horrifying video of the Aug. 22 incident — which sparked nationwide outrage when it emerged last weekend — shows Brown seated on the train before Zarutska boards and takes a seat in front of him — her blonde locks tucked underneath a nondescript black baseball cap.

She busies herself with her phone as Brown, wearing a red sweatshirt, unfolds a pocket knife a few seconds before looming over her and plunging several fatal stabs into the diminutive woman’s neck.

The system failed Zarutska at every turn after the young woman escaped the horrors of war-torn Ukraine to start a new life in 2022 — only to be savagely murdered while she was minding her own business.

The killing has also exposed major safety flaws on Charlotte’s mass transit system. Brown was allegedly a fare-beater, taking both a bus and the Lynch Blue Line train without paying a cent.

Additionally, it has emerged that local cops do not even police the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). Security has been outsourced to Professional Security Services (PSS) since last December. The contract allows for 218 security personnel system-wide, but 32 roles — 15% of those positions — are currently vacant, Q City Metro reported.

PSS did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Following the attack, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles issued a tone-deaf statement, demanding compassion for people with mental illness — while avoiding mentioning the victim’s name or the suspect’s lengthy rap sheet.

Lyles didn’t respond to a message from The Post, but hours later issued a stunning reversal on social media, calling out the courts and magistrates for letting suspects like Brown free to stalk the streets.

“As I reflect on the tragic murder of Iryna Zarutska, my heart continues to go out to her family and our community as we try to make sense of this horrific and senseless loss,” begins the statement, the first time Lyles said the young victim’s name publicly.

“This was a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates. Our police officers arrest people only to have them quickly released, which undermines our ability to protect our community and ensure safety,” she wrote.

“We need a bipartisan solution to address repeat offenders who do not face consequences for their actions and those who cannot get treatment for their mental illness and are allowed to be on the streets.”

Charlotte City Council members addressed crime on CATS during a business meeting days after the attack, where multiple members warned that their constituents felt unsafe using buses and trains in the city.

“That is concerning. Clearly, our current safety policies are not enough,” council member Dimple Ajmera told the meeting.

The court system — which time and again let Brown go free — was another layer of the failure Zarutska’s shocking caught-on-camera slaughter.

In his most recent brush with the law in January, Brown was arrested for making a false report to 911 after telling cops conducting a welfare check that he had been given a “man-made material” that controlled his eating, walking and talking, according to court records.

When officers said there was nothing they could do, he became irate and called the emergency response line, which led to his arrest.

But Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes released him with a “written promise” to appear for his next court date.

Before that, Brown served five years in prison beginning in 2014 for robbery with a dangerous firearm, and was busted again for assaulting his sister at home soon after his release.

A neighbor of Zarutska’s family home in Charlotte told The Post that her parents and sister are taking her death “really hard.”

“She was sweet, the whole neighborhood loved her. She did a lot of pet sitting for neighbors, she was a good, sweet person,” said the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, adding that her father couldn’t attend the funeral because he’s eligible to be drafted into the war against Russia.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/09/08/us-news/iryna-zarutska-murder-suspect-was-free-on-cashless-bail-despite-rap-sheet/

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday as anti-corruption demonstrators defied an indefinite curfew and clashed with police, a day after 19 people died in violent protests triggered by a social media ban.
Oli’s government lifted the ban after protests intensified on Monday, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters trying to storm parliament. Nineteen people were killed and more than 100 injured in the unrest.

But there was no let up in the protests on Tuesday, forcing Oli to quit and plunging Nepal into fresh political uncertainty.
The unrest is the worst in decades in the poor Himalayan country that is wedged between India and China and has struggled with political instability and economic uncertainty since protests led to the abolition of its monarchy in 2008.
“In view of the adverse situation in the country, I have resigned effective today to facilitate the solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution,” Oli said in his resignation letter to President Ramchandra Paudel.

An aide to Paudel told Reuters the resignation had been accepted and the President had begun the “process and discussions for a new leader”.
The army posted an appeal on X asking people to “exercise restraint” since Oli’s resignation had been accepted.
Oli, 73, was sworn in for his fourth term in July last year as the country’s 14th prime minister since 2008. Two of his cabinet colleagues resigned late on Monday, saying they did not want to continue on moral grounds.
Earlier on Tuesday, Oli had called a meeting of all political parties, saying violence was not in the interest of the nation and “we have to resort to peaceful dialogue to find solutions to any problem”.
Oli had also said he was saddened by the incidents of violence due to the “infiltration from different selfish centres”. He did not respond directly to the protesters’ complaints about corruption.

But anger against the government showed no signs of abating, as protesters gathered in front of parliament and other places in the capital Kathmandu, in defiance of an indefinite curfew imposed by authorities.
The protesters set fire to tyres on some roads, threw stones at police personnel in riot gear and chased them through narrow streets, while some looked on and shot videos of the clashes on their mobile phones as thick black smoke rose to the sky.

Witnesses also said that protesters were setting fire to the homes of some politicians in Kathmandu, and local media reported that some ministers were plucked to safety by military helicopters.
Reuters could not immediately verify the information.

MAIN AIRPORT SHUT

Kathmandu airport, Nepal’s main international gateway, was closed with immediate effect as smoke from fires nearby set by protesters could endanger the safety of aircraft, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.
“We are still standing here for our future … We want this country corruption-free so that everyone can easily access education, hospitals, medical (facilities) … and for a bright future,” protester Robin Sreshtha told Reuters TV.
Organisers of the protests, which spread to other cities in the Himalayan country, have called them “demonstrations by Gen Z”, driven by young people’s widespread frustration with the government’s perceived lack of action to tackle corruption and boost economic opportunities.
“The protest was intended, first and foremost, against the rampant corruption in government,” a protester said in an email to Reuters, signing off as ‘A concerned Nepali citizen’.
Young Nepalis had been putting out social media posts about the “luxurious lives of the families and children of corrupt politicians and civil servants” and the government responded by clamping down on social media platforms, the email said.
Neighbour India, which is home to hundreds of thousands of Nepali migrant workers, said it hoped that all concerned will exercise restraint and resolve issues through talks.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nepal-pm-oli-quits-anti-corruption-protests-spiral-2025-09-09/

Israel struck and destroyed another high-rise building in Gaza City on Monday after warning residents to evacuate, part of an offensive aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city. The military said it was targeting Hamas observation posts and bombs placed around the 12-story office building.

Over several days, Israel has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City, accusing Hamas of putting surveillance infrastructure in them. It has ordered people to flee ahead of its ground offensive into the city of some 1 million residents, which experts say is experiencing famine.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was giving his “last warning” to Hamas regarding a possible ceasefire, as Arab officials described a new U.S. proposal for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages in exchange for 3,000 Palestinian prisoners and a temporary ceasefire. A senior Hamas official called it a “humiliating surrender document,” but the militant group said it would keep negotiating.

Israel targets high-rise buildings

In Jerusalem, two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus station, killing six people and wounding 12 in the worst such attack on Israelis in nearly a year. Tensions have soared across Israel and the occupied West Bank in the two years since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza ignited the war.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said hospitals received the bodies of 65 people killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, with another 320 people wounded.

Four soldiers killed in Gaza City attack

The confidence vote later Monday, likely in the early evening, is widely expected to go against him, requiring Bayrou to submit the resignation of his minority government to President Emmanuel Macron.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou is making a last-ditch effort to save his job, urging lawmakers expected to topple him in a confidence vote later Monday to back his plans to curb France’s debts that he said are “submerging us.” In an impassioned speech to the National Assembly, the 74-year-old stuck to his position that France’s spiralling public deficit and mounting debts are threatening the future of the European Union’s second-largest economy. He said state debts will weigh on future generations, leave France vulnerable to foreign creditors, and undermine its cherished social safety nets if not brought under control.

“Our country works, thinks it’s getting richer but keeps getting poorer,” Bayrou said, defiantly pausing for sips of water when hecklers on the legislative benches tried drowning him out.

The confidence vote later Monday, likely in the early evening, is widely expected to go against him, requiring Bayrou to submit the resignation of his minority government to President Emmanuel Macron.

The expected demise of Bayrou’s short-lived premiership – he was appointed in December – would herald renewed uncertainty and a risk of prolonged legislative deadlock for France as it wrestles with pressing challenges, including budget difficulties and, internationally, wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the shifting US priorities of President Donald Trump.

As president, Macron will continue to hold substantial powers over foreign policy and European affairs and remain the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. But domestically, his ambitions are increasingly facing ruin, with his inability to find government stability in the legislature stacked with opponents.

Bayrou lamented that lawmakers from opposite ends of the political spectrum were preparing to vote him out rather than rallying behind his position that France’s debts are becoming untenable – a crisis he warned would remain even if he falls.

“You have the power to bring down the government but you don’t have the power to erase reality,” Bayrou said. He will be France’s third prime minister in 12 months to fall if ousted.

The 577-seat National Assembly is interrupting its summer recess for the confidence vote that Bayrou requested. After his 40-minute speech, lawmakers were having their say before they vote either for or against his government – likely in the early evening. Lawmakers can also abstain.

Bayrou needs a majority of “for” votes to survive. If a majority votes against, France’s constitution decrees that he would have to submit his government’s resignation to Macron, plunging France into renewed crisis.

Musical chairs

The 47-year-old president is paying a steep price for his stunning decision to dissolve the National Assembly in June 2024, triggering legislative elections that the French leader hoped would strengthen the hand of his pro-European centrist alliance in parliament’s lower house. But the gamble backfired, producing a splintered legislature with no dominant political bloc in power for the first time in France’s modern republic.

The political uncertainty has largely hobbled Macron’s domestic ambitions in his second and last presidential term that ends in 2027. Shorn of a workable majority in parliament for his centrist alliance, Macron has since rotated through three prime ministers, attempting to build consensus and stave off government collapse.

Macron’s protégé Gabriel Attal departed in September 2024, after the Paris Olympics and just eight months in the job. Attal was briefly followed by former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, a conservative who became the shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern republic when he was toppled by a no-confidence vote in December.

Macron then tapped his centrist ally Bayrou, a wily political veteran who, despite his experience, is now up against the same wall of unfavorable parliamentary mathematics in the National Assembly – where no single political grouping has sufficient seats to govern alone but can still pull the rug from under the government if they team up, targeting Bayrou together despite their sharp political differences.

Pressing problems for France

If Bayrou loses, Macron will again be forced to find a successor who’ll operate in the same precarious environment and face the same pressing budget problems that have dogged Bayrou and his predecessors. Macron himself has vowed to stay in office until the end of his term but risks becoming a lame duck domestically if political paralysis continues.

Under the French political system, the prime minister is appointed by the president, accountable to the parliament and is in charge of implementing domestic policy, notably economic measures.

Arguing that sharp cuts are needed to repair public finances, Bayrou has proposed to cut 44 billion euros (USD 51 billion) in spending in 2026, after France’s deficit hit 5.8 per cent of gross domestic product last year, way above the official EU target of 3 per cent.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/french-govt-collapses-after-prime-minister-franois-bayrou-loses-confidence-vote

CATHERINE Zeta-Jones has come under fire after making a ‘really inappropriate’ and ‘wild’ comment about meeting an underage fan.

The Oscar-winning actress, 55, shocked fans during a confession on Late Night with Seth Meyers when she recalled a fan encounter and made a remark many branded unacceptable.

Clips of the moment quickly spread online, with critics slamming her choice of words while others defended it as a harmless joke.

The Wednesday actress was promoting the second season of the hit Netflix series when she spoke about how she’s gained a “new generation of fans.”

She told Seth Meyers, “I was hitting golf balls with Michael [Douglas] the other day at the driving range.

“I was practicing, and this really cute 12-year-old boy came up and asking for my autograph, and it was like really cute, and then I went ‘Haha. When I’m 70 this cute little boy will be like 33.'”

Seth asked, “Now can Michael tell when you’re doing math in your head like that?”

Catherine replied, “Yeah, he usually thinks I’m wondering what club to pick, and I’m not. I’m going, ‘at that time I’m sure it’ll be fine.'”

Seth joked, “That’s good. As long as you know not to give them your number when they’re 12.”

But some fans failed to see the funny side as they found her comment very “inappropriate.”

Taking to the comment section on TikTok, one user wrote, “Ew. Why would she say that?!”

Another added, “That was highly inappropriate damn.”

A third penned, “I just know she regretted saying that the second it left her mouth.”

A fourth fan called the comments “wild.”

MARRIAGE

The star celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary with Michael Douglas last month, laughing at the cynics who said their marriage was doomed.

The acting couple seemed an unlikely match at the start.

The welsh beauty was 28 and about to secure A-list status starring in 1998 movie The Mask Of Zorro with Antonio Banderas, after finding fame in the UK with wholesome ITV show The Darling Buds Of May.

Meanwhile, Basic Instinct star and ladies’ man Michael, then 53, had separated from first wife Diandra Luker, who he eventually divorced in 2000, and had done a stint in rehab for booze and drug issues in 1992.

Catherine said, “We’ve been married 25 years, it’s something to celebrate. And they said it would never last!

“It’s a journey of learning and ­loving and fun, and the prospect of reaching a 25-year anniversary is really quite thrilling. I remember my mum and dad celebrating theirs.”

The anniversary of their lavish wedding ceremony at the five-star Plaza Hotel in New York is in November, but Catherine will be too busy to celebrate on the actual date.

Michael, now 80, doesn’t mind ­waiting a few weeks for a party.

Catherine said, “I’ve been working a lot this year and he’s been so supportive. I think we’re going to be doing a party around the holidays because I’ll be shooting season three. It’s such a short period of time I have off.

“September 25 is both our birthdays. So from September 25 through to Christmas is a pretty busy time.”

During the past quarter-century, cynics have at times believed their predictions that the couple wouldn’t last.

STRUGGLES

The stars themselves have been candid about the struggles they faced.

In 2010, Michael announced he was undergoing intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy to treat stage 4 throat cancer, which he said was caused by the HPV virus.

The year after, Catherine revealed she had been diagnosed with bipolar II, struggling with the stress of her ­husband’s illness.

Then, in 2013, they announced that they had separated, but reconciled months later, with Michael saying, “I think every couple has their difficult times.

“We’re back, stronger than ever.”

FAMILY LIFE

Surviving the tough spells has made them even more determined to celebrate with their children Dylan, 25, and Carys, 22, together with Michael’s son Cameron, 46, from his first marriage.

The Hollywood pair have amazing careers behind them, with Michael having been in Romancing The Stone and Wall Street, and Catherine in Chicago and Entrapment.

But she says their greatest achievement is simply being parents.

They raised Dylan and Carys out of the spotlight in Bermuda, where Michael’s mother, Diana, was born. In 2009, they returned to New York.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/15141662/catherine-zeta-jones-criticized-inappropriate-comment-underage-fan/

It’s a fashion feud to rival Naomi vs. Tyra!

As the mayoral race becomes increasingly bitter, Eric Adams is even bickering about Fashion Week.

Andrew Cuomo is walking in a New York Fashion Week show. And mayoral rival Eric Adams isn’t about to take it lying down, insisting that he absolutely definitely could have stunned on the runway like the former governor — he’s simply more focused on important government matters to stand around all day smizing.

Cuomo will be walking in the “Style Across the Aisle” on Wednesday, we hear, at the historic Surrogate’s Court, along with more than 30 other pols.

Meanwhile, Adams’ rep Todd Shapiro tells Page Six, “There is no one who more defines the word fashion in government — from his walk to his talk — than the Mayor. There are some elected officials who still wear suits from the 1970s. As Cuomo walks the catwalk at this event, Mayor Adams will be hosting town hall meetings in the five boroughs.”

A source told us organizers had high hopes that Mayor Adams would show off his self-described swagger on the runway too. (We’re told he was invited as far back as July, but another source says he only got a heads up about the event 48 hours before it was set to begin).

“It’s way too fast for a man who has the run the city,” said an insider.

Shaprio added, “Adams would have loved to attend, but he has a city to run, not a runway.”

Skye Ostreicher, founder of Style Across the Aisle, tells us she is “still keeping my fingers crossed” that Adams will make a cameo.

Last year’s event was held at Gracie Mansion and Adams had been scheduled to walk before coming down with COVID.

Cuomo meanwhile has been prepping his strut in between campaign events.

“I’ve been practicing the runway walk in my apartment,” Cuomo quipped at a private fundraiser, a guest told us. “It’s not as easy as it looks. The turn at the end of the runway coming back the other way — it’s like a half pirouette — doing that gracefully while opening the jacket to show the lining. It’s difficult, but I have another week to practice.”

Cuomo will be dressed by designer Gina Newman of Bond & Bari Bespoke.

We hear the veteran politician will be stepping out of his sartorial comfort zone by wearing a bright blue suit with a vintage lining with pictures of old skyscrapers and figures like Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/08/society/andrew-cuomo-set-to-walk-the-runway-at-fashion-week-event/

Olivia Jade Giannulli reunited with her on-again, off-again beau Jacob Elordi on Monday — just days after she was spotted dining with Glen Powell.

The social media influencer supported Elordi at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of the actor’s new horror film, “Frankenstein,” where she attempted to go incognito, per a video captured by People.

Elordi, 28, posed solo for photographers on the red carpet before meeting Giannulli, 25, and ushering her up the stairs to the Princess of Wales Theatre.

At one point, Eldori even adorably stepped in to help carry the train of the “Dancing With the Stars” alum’s white dress like a true gentleman.

Many local fans caught wind of the duo arriving at the festival and shared several snaps via X.

Giannulli smiled at onlookers while walking shortly ahead of the “Euphoria” star as they made their way into the venue.

The outing came just days after Giannulli sparked romance rumors with Powell, 36, after a reported “date night” in New York City.

The two were spotted dining together at Il Cantinori on Sept. 5 in photos obtained by celebrity gossip blog DeuxMoi.

The “Anybody But You” star joined Giannulli’s mom, Lori Loughlin, and other friends for the low-key bash.

Per the outlet, Powell and Giannulli went out to the Treasure Club after dinner. An insider later told Us Weekly, however, that the two are just “close friends” and “not dating.”

Page Six has reached out to reps for Eldori, Giannulli and Powell for comment.

Giannulli and Eldori reportedly ended their on-again, off-again relationship in early August.

A few weeks later, the YouTuber claimed she was undergoing “uncomfortable changes” and seeking therapy.

“I think summer gets painted as this, like, carefree, perfect, kind of month or two, and I’m here to remind you that it’s totally normal if you’re feeling a little off or a little nervous during big transitions or seasonal transitions or whatever it may be,” she said in a video at the time.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/08/celebrity-news/olivia-jade-giannulli-reunites-with-jacob-elordi-in-toronto-days-after-date-night-with-glen-powell/

The bacteria living in your guts and mouths could be controlling how you sleep at night. Now scientists want to use them to help you rest better.

As you lie in bed tonight, your body will be a teeming mass of activity. Across almost every inch of your body – and inside it too – billions of tiny organisms are writhing and jostling for space. But if that horrifying thought is likely to keep you up at night, consider this: they might also help you get a better night’s sleep.

Emerging research suggests that the communities of bacteria, viruses and fungi that make up our body’s microbiota can influence our sleep. Depending on the composition of our personal microbial ecosystem, the amount of shut eye we get can either improve or deteriorate.

And tantalisingly, it could offer new ways of tackling sleep-related conditions caused by a disrupted body clock, described by sleep scientists as circadian rhythms. While many people currently rely on sleeping pills to quell persistent insomnia, the future might see friendly bacteria deployed to help us nod off, and even address obstructive sleep apnoea, a condition in which people struggle to breathe normally while asleep. It would bring new meaning to the term “sleep hygiene”.

“The predominant theory for a long time has been that having sleep disorders is disruptive to our microbiomes,” says Jennifer Martin, a University of California Los Angeles professor and board member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “But some of the evidence we’re seeing now indicates that it’s probably a relationship that goes in both directions.”

In May, new research presented at an academic conference for sleep scientists summed up what a growing number of other studies are revealing. It found that teenagers and young adults with a greater diversity of microbes in their mouths tended to have a longer sleep duration.

Research has also shown that people with medically diagnosed insomnia have lower bacterial diversity in their guts compared to normal sleepers, something typically linked to a less healthy immune system and impairments in dealing with fats and sugars, which can lead to an increased risk of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Another study, in which 40 people volunteered to wear sleep trackers for a month and have their gut microbiome analysed, also found that poor sleep quality correlated with a less diverse population of gut microbes.

Plus, people with social jetlag – where their sleep patterns during the working week and weekend vary enormously – had significantly different gut microbiomes to those whose sleep patterns did not vary much, according to data analysed by UK health-tech company Zoe.

“Circadian rhythm disruption occurs in people who stay up later and sleep in on the weekends, those who work long hours, like first responders, police and security, paramedics and the military, and in people who eat too close to bedtime,” says Kenneth Wright, a professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US. “This can cause gastrointestinal disturbances and metabolic diseases, which are common for example in shift workers, and a disturbed microbiome may play a role.”

It’s possible that individuals with disrupted sleep tend to follow less healthy diets, which then impacts their microbiome, suggests Sarah Berry, a nutritional sciences professor at King’s College London and chief scientist at Zoe. She cites other research not conducted by Zoe that found that short sleepers tend to subconsciously increase their sugar intake.

“Part of the theory behind this is that when you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, the reward centres in your brain are heightened the next day, and so you seek out that quick fix,” she says. “Your brain is kind of tricking you into feeling, ‘Ok, I need refined carbohydrates’, to get that quick burst of energy.”

“Certain bacteria may actively alter the quality of the sleep we get by shifting our circadian rhythms

But changing dietary patterns in response to sleep deprivation is not the whole story. Berry and her colleagues found nine species that were greater in abundance and eight that were less abundant in people with social jet lag compared to those without this variation in sleep patterns. But they found that diet appeared to only account for changes in abundance for four of these microbe species.

Jaime Tartar, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Nova Southeastern University in Florida who was not involved in the Zoe study, says she has become increasingly convinced that certain microbes play a direct role in sleep. She cites Firmicutes, one of the most dominant taxonomic groups of bacteria found in the gut. In tests where Tartar and her colleagues monitored the sleep and tested the gut microbes of 40 men, they found 15 different groups of Firmicutes bacteria that correlated with a number of sleep metrics in varying ways. “We don’t have all the answers right now, but it certainly seems that some can improve sleep and others can impair sleep,” she says.

In some cases, sleep disruptions might actively drive shifts in these microbial populations through impairing the immune system and its ability to regulate microbes, which could in turn increase the likelihood of longer-term sleep problems.

But researchers including Tartar and Martin suggest that some sleep problems could also be initiated by microbial imbalances in the gut or mouth. They believe that certain bacteria may actively alter the quality of the sleep we get by shifting our circadian rhythms – the internal body clock that governs our sleep – and altering our food intake, which also impacts the kip we get.

Some evidence for this comes from a series of studies involving so-called faecal transplants. In one 2024 study, scientists transplanted faeces – along with the gut microbes it contained – from humans and implanted it into the intestines of mice. Rodents who received faeces from people suffering from jetlag and insomnia developed insomnia-like behaviours, becoming more awake during their typical sleeping hours. In another study where mice received a series of gut microbes from humans before, during, and after recovery from jetlag, the transplantation of microbes during the jetlag phase saw them gain weight and struggle to control their blood sugar.

A number of small-scale studies in humans by researchers in China have shown that faecal transplants could help to improve the sleep of patients suffering from chronic insomnia and sleep disorders. Of course, it’s worth remembering that many aspects of sleep involve psychological factors, so it is possible that receiving a transplant led patients to change their mindset in a way that allowed them to sleep more soundly. A randomised, double-blind clinical trial will be needed to test the efficacy properly, the researchers say.

But there are other reasons to think it might work. Diet, for example, is well known to affect sleep. When a group of 15 healthy young men followed a high fat, high sugar diet for a week, this altered their brains’ electrical patterns during deep sleep, although it’s hard to draw firm conclusions from such a small sample size. Similarly, in an experiment where volunteers had their sleep assessed after receiving antibiotics, evidence suggested that this reduced the amount of non-rapid eye movement sleep, an essential part of the sleep cycle where our bodies undergo repairs and new memories and skills are reinforced, although the findings did not apply for all antibiotics, and once again, the study was small.

Changes in the balance of our gut microbes may also alter the amounts of useful chemicals they produce as they help to break down our food. This in turn can influence sleep quality, says Tartar.

We know, for example that some gut microbes produce neurotransmitters such as gamma-aminobutyric, dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, or short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, all of which play a role in sleep. “While they’re produced in the gut, they can influence [the] brain,” says Tartar.

If those microbes decrease in abundance, then their chemical influence on the brain will likely also lessen while other microbes that use foods such as saturated fat and sugar to synthesise inflammatory molecules can proliferate. Some of these inflammatory chemicals, including certain bile acids, are thought to be capable of disrupting the brain’s circadian rhythms.

Martin says the same is likely to be true of the oral microbiome. Heightened inflammation, caused by microbes flourishing in people who have poor diets or poor dental health, could raise those individuals’ risk of issues including obstructive sleep apnoea, in which the walls of the throat relax during sleep, interrupting normal breathing.

“If the microbiome is unbalanced, that could lead to local and systemic inflammation that can cause narrowing of the airway, the release of stress hormones and a lot of things that are then disruptive to sleep down the line,” says Martin. Narrowed or blocked airways can lead to obstructive sleep apnoea and snoring.

“Gut microbes produce neurotransmitters which play a role in sleep

With all of this in mind, it’s possible that probiotics (pills that administer a targeted bacterial strain) or prebiotics (non-digestible food ingredients that selectively feed beneficial gut bacteria) could help to treat certain sleep disturbances. Tartar points to one study that showed how a particular probiotic, the Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota, improved sleep compared to a placebo in a group of 94 medical students while they were going through a stressful period in the academic year.

Berry says that Zoe recently completed a six week trial involving 399 healthy UK adults in a project called the BIOME study. The research, which is still undergoing peer review, saw participants receive one of three foods. One group were given a “super fuel for the microbiome” – a prebiotic blend containing more than 30 different whole food ingredients from baobab fruit to lions mane. Another group received a daily probiotic in the form of the bacteria L. rhamnosus. The final group were given bread croutons with the equivalent calories to the prebiotic blend as a control. Compared to the crouton group, a greater proportion of those receiving the prebiotic blend experienced improved sleep, although this was based on self-reports rather than objective measurements.

Martin, while intrigued by such results, emphasises the need for larger, more robust trials that compare prebiotic or probiotic interventions to existing treatments, which are already known to be effective for tackling sleep problems. That includes cognitive behavioural therapy (a type of talk therapy often reffered to as CBT) and various medications.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250905-how-your-microbiome-affects-your-sleep

The U.S. Supreme Court again backed President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration approach on Monday, letting agents proceed with Southern California raids targeting people for deportation based on their race or language in a ruling its liberal justices said makes Latinos “fair game to be seized at any time.”

The court granted a Justice Department request to put on hold a judge’s order that had barred agents from stopping or detaining people without “reasonable suspicion” that they are in the country illegally, by relying on race or ethnicity, or if they speak Spanish or English with an accent, among other factors.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, denounced the court’s decision in harsh terms.

“Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court majority just became the grand marshal for a parade of racial terror in Los Angeles,” Newsom said in a statement, alluding to the fact that Trump appointed three of the six conservative justices serving on the nine-member court.

The court’s brief and unsigned order, issued without any explanation, lifts the judge’s restrictions while a legal challenge brought by a group of Latino people caught up in the raids plays out.

Trump’s administration quickly vowed to continue “roving patrols.” The Republican president returned to office in January promising to escalate deportations, and immigration raids by masked and armed federal agents triggered street protests in Los Angeles that led him to send military troops in June into the largest city in the most-populous U.S. state.

The administration “has all but declared that all Latinos, U.S. citizens or not, who work low-wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time, taken away from work, and held until they provide proof of their legal status to the agents’ satisfaction,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who in 2009 became the court’s first Hispanic member, wrote in a dissent joined by the court’s other two liberals.

“Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent,” Sotomayor added.

Los Angeles-based U.S. District Judge Maame Frimpong found on July 11 that the Trump administration’s actions likely violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. The judge’s order applied in an area covering much of Southern California.

“This isn’t about enforcing immigration laws – it’s about targeting Latinos and anyone who doesn’t look or sound like Stephen Miller’s idea of an American, including U.S. citizens and children, to deliberately harm California’s families and small businesses,” Newsom said, referring to Trump’s senior aide.

“Trump’s private police force now has a green light to come after your family – and every person is now a target – but we will continue fighting these abhorrent attacks on Californians,” Newsom added.

Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigration crackdown, in May demanded that the leaders of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ramp up deportations, setting a goal of 3,000 daily arrests.

‘JUDICIAL MICROMANAGEMENT’

Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called Monday’s decision a “massive victory,” writing on social media that immigration enforcement officers now can “continue carrying out roving patrols in California without judicial micromanagement.”

The plaintiffs, including some who are U.S. citizens, filed the proposed class action lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court in July.

“Individuals with brown skin are approached or pulled aside by unidentified federal agents, suddenly and with a show of force, and made to answer questions about who they are and where they are from,” the lawsuit stated.

Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California who helps represent the plaintiffs, vowed to continue to fight the administration’s “racist deportation scheme.”

“This decision is a devastating setback for our plaintiffs and communities who, for months, have been subjected to immigration stops because of the color of their skin, occupation, or the language they speak,” Tajsar said.

Concurring with Monday’s decision, conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that “apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion” but it can be a “‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors.”

Kavanaugh added: “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go.”

Trump’s administration has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court this year to allow it to proceed with policies that lower courts have impeded after casting doubt on their legality.

The court has backed Trump in most of these cases. For instance, it has allowed Trump to deport migrants to countries other than their own without offering a chance to show harms they may face and to revoke temporary legal status previously granted by the government on humanitarian grounds to hundreds of thousands of migrants.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-backs-trump-aggressive-immigration-raids-2025-09-08/

The Blood Moon was visible in Asia, the eastern edge of Africa and western Australia.

Skywatchers enjoyed a crimson Blood Moon from Sunday (Sep 7) during a total lunar eclipse visible across Asia and swathes of Europe and Africa.

People in Asia, including India and China, were best placed to see the total eclipse, which was also visible on the eastern edge of Africa as well as in western Australia.

Stargazers in Europe got a brief chance to see a partial eclipse just as the Moon rose during the early evening, but the Americas missed out.

The eclipse began at 11.28pm on Sunday in Singapore before reaching its maximum at 2.11am, according to Time and Date. It ended at 4.55am.

In Singapore, cloudy weather proved a challenge for those hoping to get a glimpse of the phenomenon.

The Astronomical Society of Singapore, which deployed a team to PassionWave @ Marina Bay to capture the Blood Moon, lamented the poor weather in a Facebook post early on Monday.

“Unfortunately, the Moon was never out of the clouds and while we all got shots of the Moon during the partial umbra phase, it was not great through cloud cover,” it said at about 3am, adding that the Moon was also completely hidden from the moment totality started.

Despite the gloom, some in Singapore were still able to snap shots of the Blood Moon.

Pictures of it hanging over Marina Bay Sands and homes in Queenstown were among the images shared on Facebook.

The Moon appears red during lunar eclipses because the only sunlight reaching it is “reflected and scattered through the Earth’s atmosphere”, Ryan Milligan, an astrophysicist at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, told AFP.

Blue wavelengths of light are shorter than red ones, so they are more easily dispersed as they travel through Earth’s atmosphere, he said.

“That’s what gives the Moon its red, bloody colour.”

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/blood-moon-total-lunar-eclipse-pictures-asia-europe-australia-5337456

There is a “narrow window” to prevent famine from spreading further in Gaza, a top U.N. official said on Sunday, calling on Israel to allow unimpeded aid delivery in the territory, where it is fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas.

According to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are already experiencing or at risk of famine in areas including Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, where Israel has launched a new offensive against Hamas.

Israel, which stopped all aid for 11 weeks from March until mid-May, says it is doing more to let aid enter and be distributed in the enclave to prevent food shortages, though international agencies say far more is needed.

“There is a narrow window – until the end of September – to prevent famine from spreading to Deir al Balah (in central Gaza) and Khan Younis (southern Gaza). That window is now closing fast,” said United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher.

COGAT, the Israeli defence agency that deals with humanitarian issues, said on Sunday that over the past week aid from more than 1,900 trucks, most supplying food, was distributed in Gaza.

“We will continue facilitating humanitarian aid into Gaza for the civilian population – not Hamas,” COGAT said in a statement.

Israel last month launched an assault on the outskirts of Gaza City and its forces are now just a few kilometres from the city centre, where it issued warnings over the weekend to civilians to evacuate high rise buildings it says are being used by Hamas, before bombing them.

Israel did not provide evidence to show Hamas was using the buildings, an accusation the militant group denied.

Overnight, strikes killed 14 people across the city, local health officials said, including a strike on a school in southern Gaza City sheltering displaced Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it had struck a Hamas militant and that civilians had been warned before the strike was carried out.

The military on Saturday also warned Gaza City’s civilians to leave for the south, including Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are already sheltering in cramped tent encampments along the coast.

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’

With hundreds of thousands of people remaining in Gaza City, pressure is growing to end the war.

“We say to Hamas, we want a ceasefire, end this war before Gaza City is turned into ruins like Rafah,” said Gaza City resident Emad, referring to a southern Gaza City that Israel destroyed earlier in the war.

“We want an end to this war. How long is this going to go on? How many lives are going to be wasted? Enough is enough,” he said by phone, asking for his surname not to be published.

The war has grown increasingly unpopular among Israelis too. On Saturday night, tens of thousands of protesters joined families of hostages at rallies, calling for an end to the war and demanding the release of the hostages.

Twenty of the 48 hostages still in Gaza are believed to still be alive.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that the war could end immediately if Hamas released the hostages and laid down its weapons.

“We will be more than happy to reach this objective with political means,” he told a press conference in Jerusalem.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-says-time-is-short-stop-famine-spreading-israel-bombards-gaza-city-2025-09-07/

Ruling party lawmakers in Japan prepared their bids to replace outgoing premier Shigeru Ishiba on Monday, as financial markets recoiled on the political uncertainty and the possibility of his successors ramping up government spending.

Ishiba called time on his brief tenure on Sunday, saying he was taking responsibility for bruising elections that saw his ruling coalition lose its majority in both houses of parliament amid voter anger over rising living costs.

He instructed his Liberal Democratic Party – which has governed Japan for most of its post-war history – to hold an emergency leadership election. The party plans to hold the vote on October 4, an LDP official close to the matter told Reuters.

Japan’s yen sank and super long-term bond yields scaled record highs after Ishiba’s resignation stoked speculation that policies favoured by potential successors – such as fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi – may strain the world’s most indebted advanced economy.

“The LDP is facing its worst crisis since its founding,” former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi, 69, told reporters on Monday as he announced his plan to stand for the leadership.

“We must unite quickly to tackle our serious challenges at home and abroad and move the country forward.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also intends to run in the election, a source close to the government’s top spokesperson told Reuters.

The frontrunners, however, are LDP veteran Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi, son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who gained prominence as Ishiba’s farm minister tasked with trying to rein in soaring rice prices.

A victory for either would mark milestones for Japan: Takaichi, 64, becoming its first female leader and Koizumi, 44, its youngest in the modern era.

Neither has formally announced their candidacy but they finished second and third respectively in the last leadership contest in September 2024.

“All indications are that it will come down to them facing off against each other,” said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer in Japanese studies at Kanda University of International Studies.

CONSERVATIVE CONTENDER

Of most consequence for investors and Japan’s diplomatic relations would be Takaichi, who has held a number of posts including as economic security and internal affairs ministers.

She stands out for her opposition to the Bank of Japan’s interest rate hikes and her calls to ramp up spending to boost the fragile economy.

Investors are betting the political hiatus alone will delay the BOJ’s monetary policy tightening plans.

Money markets are now pricing in a roughly 20% chance of the BOJ hiking rates by the end of October, down from 46% a week ago.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/japan-pm-hopefuls-prepare-leadership-bids-markets-recoil-2025-09-08/

Internet connectivity in multiple countries including India and Pakistan has been affected due to subsea cable outages in the Red Sea, internet monitoring group Netblocks said.

Similar internet disruptions were also observed on Etilasat and Du networks in the United Arab Emirates, Netblocks said.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the damage but Netblocks identified failures affecting cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Microsoft (MSFT.O), on Saturday said that its Microsoft Azure users may experience increased latency due to multiple undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/red-sea-cable-cuts-disrupt-internet-across-asia-middle-east-2025-09-07

South Korea is moving to pick up Korean workers following a raid in the U.S. state of Georgia last week, a Korean presidential official said on Sunday as the Trump administration promised more raids on businesses.

The negotiations to release about 300 South Koreans who were detained have concluded and processing for their release from custody is ongoing, South Korea’s presidential office said late on Sunday.

A chartered plane will be flown to bring them back as soon as the processing by the two countries is complete, the office said in a statement. It did not provide details of what administrative steps are being taken.

The Yonhap news agency quoted South Korean Consul General in Washington Cho Ki-joong as saying the workers will likely board a plane on Wednesday.

Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment, while White House border czar Tom Homan separately vowed to expand immigration raids on workplaces.

Later on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump sounded more conciliatory while still driving home a vow to enforce tough immigration policy, calling on foreign companies investing in the U.S. to “respect our Nation’s immigration laws.”

“Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so,” he said on his social media platform.Trump made the post shortly after telling reporters he would look at what happened but that the incident had not harmed his relationship with South Korea.

U.S. federal agents arrested about 475 workers at Hyundai’s car battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, on Thursday in the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigative operations.

Trump campaigned on making immigration a pillar of his administration and has moved to ramp up deportations nationwide since taking office in January. He has also buttressed his economic plan in large part on wooing other countries and foreign businesses to invest in the United States.

The roundup of 475 workers including about 300 South Korean workers at the major Hyundai Motor car battery plant under construction caused shock and dismay in Seoul, as it came just 10 days after a summit between the U.S. and South Korean presidents where they pledged closer business ties.

South Korea’s government expressed regret about the arrests and the public release of the footage showing a major operation by U.S. immigration authorities involving armoured vehicles detaining the workers who were shackled and taken in.

The DHS earlier said the operation was executed under a judicial search warrant over alleged unlawful employment practices. A customs official has said many of those arrested did not have proper immigration authorization to work at the site.

AUTOS BIG PART OF SOUTH KOREAN INVESTMENT IN U.S.

South Korea’s presidential chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, said on Sunday the government will seek ways to improve the visa system of Korean workers traveling to the U.S. to “prevent a similar incident.”

DHS has said the arrested workers were barred from working in the U.S. after crossing the border illegally or overstaying visas.

Relations remain fraught between Washington and Seoul, a key U.S. ally and investor, as both sides seek to hammer out final details of their trade deal announced in July.

The trade deal includes a $350 billion fund to help Korean companies enter the U.S. market, while Hyundai said it was boosting its U.S. investments to $26 billion, including a U.S.-based robotics facility.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-fly-detained-workers-back-us-vows-more-raids-employers-2025-09-07/

Erin Patterson used a beef Wellington meal laced with death cap mushrooms to poison her in-laws over lunch.

An Australian woman convicted of murdering three elderly relatives of her estranged husband with a meal containing poisonous mushrooms was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison on Monday (Sep 8).

The presiding judge said Erin Patterson’s use of individual portions of beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms to poison her in-laws over lunch had a “devastating” impact on the relatives of the deceased.

Patterson was found guilty in July of killing her mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, father-in-law, Donald Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson in a case that has been globally followed and dubbed the Leongatha mushroom murders.

A jury also found the 50-year-old guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband, who survived the 2023 meal at Patterson’s home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people, some 135km southeast of Melbourne.

On Monday, Justice Christopher Beale said the substantial planning of the murders and Patterson’s lack of remorse meant her sentence should be lengthy, at the sentencing hearing at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne.

“The devastating impact of your crimes is not limited to your direct victims. Your crimes have harmed a great many people,” he said.

“Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson’s health, thereby devastating the extended Patterson and Wilkinson families, you inflicted untold suffering on your own children, whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents.”

At a pre-sentencing hearing last month, Patterson’s barrister Colin Mandy urged Beale to impose a non-parole period on the sentence, meaning she would have the possibility of eventual release, as her “notorious” reputation would make prison more onerous for her than the average offender.

The prosecution had argued that Patterson should never be released.

Patterson, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial and said the poisonings were accidental, has 28 days to appeal her sentence. She has not yet indicated whether she will do so.

MEDIA FRENZY

The deaths devastated the close-knit rural community of Korumburra, where all the victims lived.

The court received a total of 28 victim impact statements, of which seven were read publicly at last month’s hearings.

Ian Wilkinson, a pastor at a local church and the sole surviving guest of the lunch, told last month’s hearing that the death of his wife had left him bereft.

“It’s a truly horrible thought to live with that somebody could decide to take her life. I only feel half alive without her,” he said, breaking down in tears as he delivered his victim impact statement.

The extraordinary media interest in the case, which gripped Australia for much of the 10-week trial, had been traumatic for the family, Erin Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson – who was invited to the lunch but declined – said at the same hearing.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/australia-mushroom-murderer-erin-patterson-jailed-minimum-33-years-5337246

Tennis tumult!

President Trump’s appearance at the Men’s Singles final of the US Open on Sunday afternoon caused havoc for tennis fans, including a slew of celeb attendees.

“It is an absolute s–t show,” one source told Page Six exclusively. “Cars can’t get into parking lots and people are walking miles. Even celebs are having to wait like normies.”

The source added that security “has stopped entry in so many ways.”

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas and Ben Stiller were spotted “waiting in line, like everyone else,” while Debra Messing “sat in a car for an hour and they wouldn’t let her out.”

Lindsay Lohan was also spotted traipsing in parking lots.

Stiller eventually got to his seat along with other celebs, including Mindy Kaling, Bruce Springsteen, B.J. Novak and Sting, to watch Jannik Sinner take on Carlos Alcaraz.

Earlier this week, Page Six exclusively reported that the President would be attending the tennis final for the first time since the Queens-born pol was booed at Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2015.

At the time, he attended the US Open with his wife, Melania Trump, to see Serena Williams play her older sister, Venus Williams, and was booed by fans as he entered.

This time, the President was joined by several members of his administration, including US Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

His son-in-law Jared Kushner and granddaughter Arabella were also present.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/07/entertainment/trumps-us-open-visit-creates-chaos-for-celebrities-vips-at-flushing-meadows/

Mariah Carey is still bringing the glitter.

While she skipped the VMAs 2025 red carpet, the music icon took the stage to perform a medley of her greatest hits and accept the musical awards show’s biggest honor of the evening, the Video Vanguard Award.

While she initially took the stage in a champagne-colored silk bathrobe, she soon whipped it off to reveal a corseted gold crystal-covered bodysuit paired with matching sparkling boots.

But the real star of the show was Carey’s jewelry.

The five-time Grammy winner wore a 204.38-carat “Rosée Éternelle” diamond necklace and matching chandelier earrings from Levuma valued at a whopping $10 million, as the brand shared with Page Six Style in a press release.

And that’s not all; Carey also wore several diamond bracelets during her performance, including a 72.15-carat cuff from Etho Maria.

“I just have one question, what in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” she quipped, while accepting the coveted award, presented by Ariana Grande.

Though she famously does not believe in birthdays and, in fact, refers to her aging as an “anniversary” — (or admittedly lives in denial) Carey is the oldest recipient of the Video Vanguard Award to date at age 56.

She follows in the footsteps of last year’s Video Vanguard Award recipient, Katy Perry, as well as past lifetime achievement winners including Shakira, Beyoncé, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and others.

Coincidentally, she presented the very same Vanguard Award to LL Cool J in 1997 — and the rapper is hosting this year’s show, which airs on CBS and Paramount+.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/09/07/style/mariah-carey-glitters-on-the-vmas-2025-stage/