Since his return to the White House this year, Trump has wielded tariffs as a wide-ranging policy tool, with the levies upending global trade.
US President Donald Trump claimed Monday that India has offered to reduce its tariffs on US goods to zero, underlining that New Delhi should have done it years ago.
The Trump administration has imposed 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India and an additional 25 per cent levies for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total duties imposed on India to 50 per cent, among the highest in the world.
Trump has accused India of fueling Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil. However, he has refrained from tougher US sanctions on Russia itself. Defending India’s oil purchase, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar argued that the same yardstick has not been applied to China and the European Union, the largest importer of Russian crude oil and Russian LNG, respectively.
“They have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the relationship between the two countries has been a “one-sided disaster”.
New Delhi said that, like any major economy, it will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.
Trump’s comments come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.
Since his return to the White House this year, Trump has wielded tariffs as a wide-ranging policy tool, with the levies upending global trade.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday ruled that many of Trump’s tariffs, which have upended global trade, were illegal because he did not have authority to impose them.
But the court allowed the levies to remain in place for now, giving Trump time to take the fight to the conservative-majority Supreme Court.
India will not “bow down” and instead focus on capturing new markets, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in his first public remarks since Washington imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods.
The latest tariffs salvo from Trump has strained US-India ties, with New Delhi earlier criticising the levies as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
Trade talks between the two countries have stumbled over agriculture and dairy markets. Trump wants greater US access, while PM Modi is determined to shield India’s farmers.
The US was India’s top export destination in 2024, with shipments worth $87.3 billion.
“What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us,” Trump said today.
ECB President Lagarde’s comments come after Trump threatened to dismiss Federal Reserve officials Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook. She also voiced concern ahead of a no-confidence vote faced by the French government.
ECB President Lagarde says the potential collapse of the French government is “concerning” [FILE: July 24, 2025]Image: Michael Probst/AP Photo/picture allianceUS President Donald Trump’s attempts to put pressure on the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, pose a “very serious danger for the US economy and the world economy,” the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, said on Monday.
President Trump has threatened to dismiss Fed Chairman Jerome Powell after repeatedly attacking him for not cutting short-term interest rates, and is also attempting to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
What else did Lagarde say about Trump and the Fed?
The ECB chief stressed the importance of independence in US monetary policy.
“If US monetary policy were no longer independent and instead dependent on the dictates of this or that person, then I believe that the effect on the balance of the American economy could, given the effects this would have around the world, be very worrying, because it is the largest economy in the world,” Lagarde told French radio station Radio Classique.
Nevertheless, she also assessed that it would ultimately be “very difficult” for Trump to take full control of Fed policy.
“The US Supreme Court, which is largely respected in the country and therefore I hope will be respected by [Trump] as well, has clearly indicated that a Fed governor can only be dismissed in the case of gross misconduct,” Lagarde explained.
“And you’d have go quite far to be fired for gross misconduct,” she added.
Lagarde also told said that a ruling on Friday by a US appeals court that most of Trump’s tariffs were illegal had added a “further layer of uncertainty” to the global economic outlook.
Potential collapse of French government ‘concerning’
Meanwhile in Europe, economists’ eyes will be on France in the coming weeks where the government of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is facing a likely defeat in a confidence vote tabled for next Monday in the National Assembly.
“What I’ve observed in the last six years [as ECB President] is that political developments and moments of political risk have an obvious impact on the economy,” said Lagarde.
“Any risk of a collapse of government in any country in the Eurozone is concerning,” she warned.
On the other hand, Lagarde said she was much less worried about the prospect of France having to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic assistance.
Earlier, Trump had called trade with India a “one-sided disaster” and alleged that the high Indian tariffs keep US goods out of the Indian market.
The Donald Trump administration in the United States hopes to resolve trade friction with India soon, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claiming the “two great countries will get this solved”. Bessent, however, criticised New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil despite US tariffs, and warned that the crude trade was fuelling Moscow’s offensives in Ukraine.
Speaking to Fox Business, he also downplayed the significance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China, calling the gathering “largely performative.”
“This is a longstanding meeting, it’s called the Shanhai Cooperation Organisation, and I think it’s largely performative,” Bessent said.
“I think at the end of the day, India is the most populous democracy in the world. Their values are much closer to ours and to China’s than to Russia’s.”
The Team Trump official further admitted that India’s purchase of Russian crude was not the only factor behind US President Donald Trump’s punitive 50 per cent tariffs on India– the highest among Asian nations– and claimed slow-moving India-US trade talks were an additional factor behind the White House’s move to raise duties.
“I think at the end of the day, two great countries will get this solved. But the Indians have not been great actors in terms of buying Russian oil and then reselling it, financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine,” he said.
Earlier, Trump had called trade with India a “one-sided disaster” and alleged that the high Indian tariffs keep US goods out of the Indian market.
Warning To Russia
The US official warned Moscow of additional American sanctions if the Kremlin does not end its war in Ukraine. He claimed that “all options are on the table” as the Trump administration weighs punitive measures against Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to bombard Ukraine despite recent talks about peace in Alaska.
“I think everything’s on the table. President Putin, since the historic meeting in Anchorage, since the phone call, when the European leaders and President Zelensky were at the White House the following Monday, has done the opposite of following through on what he indicated he wanted to do. As a matter of fact, he has, in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign, ” Bessent said.
The shallow earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has destroyed several villages, causing widespread damage.
Rescue teams have struggled to reach remote communities where the quake struck Image: Hedayat Shah/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance
Hundreds of people have been killed in eastern Afghanistan after a magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck late Sunday night near the Pakistan border.
At least 800 people have died and 2,500 others were injured by the tremor, the Taliban government said Monday.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani confirmed that the vast majority of the deaths reported so far were in Kunar province.
In the neighboring province of Nangarhar, at least 12 people were killed and 255 others were injured, Qani said.
What do we know about the earthquake in Afghanistan?
The earthquake’s epicenter was near Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Jalalabad is about 119 kilometers (74 miles) away from the capital city, Kabul.
The quake occurred at a shallow depth of 8 kilometers (6 miles) and struck the region at 11:47 p.m. local time (9:17 p.m. CET), according to USGS.
Shallower earthquakes usually cause more damage.
A second earthquake with magnitude 4.5 followed roughly 20 minutes later in the same province. This was later followed by a magnitude-5.2 quake.
Taliban spokesman says rescue efforts ongoing
“Local officials and residents are currently engaged in rescue efforts,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted to X, adding there were deaths and structural and financial damage in some of the eastern provinces.
He said support teams from Kabul and nearby provinces were on their way to sites damaged in the powerful quake.
In October 2023, more than 2,000 people were killed after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the country.
The 2023 earthquake is considered the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country in recent memory.
Afghanistan aid budget cuts impact earthquake response — Danish Refugee Council
Sweeping cuts to international aid budgets and the forced return of refugees from Pakistan are hampering rescue efforts following a series of deadly earthquakes in remote areas of eastern Afghanistan which are already hard to access, according to the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in Kabul.
“The most impacted areas are in Kunar and Nangarhar,” DRC spokeswoman Dania Al-Sharif told DW as the death toll from the 6.1 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks passed 800, with another 2,500 people injured.
“As a humanitarian organization, our work is to provide humanitarian assistance to the most impacted areas and families,” she said.
But she stressed that the organization has “been impacted by budget cuts,” pointing to recent US cuts to intnernational aid as well as an “overall” reduction in funding.
Tensions rise as Donald Trump plans to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago amid ongoing crime and immigration crackdowns.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025 at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre in Tianjin, China, on September 1, 2025. (REUTERS)
California governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday took a veiled dig at US President Donald Trump by sharing a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping interacting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit 2025.
Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump are at loggerheads over the US President’s decision to deploy federal officers in Chicago to crack down on crime and illegal immigration, even as a top administration official vowed to send more personnel.
“But have no fear, Trump is sending the Guard to Chicago,” Newsom, a Democrat, posted on X, along with the video showing Modi and Putin holding hands as they walked towards Xi before the summit opened in China’s Tianjin.
The video also showed the three leaders standing shoulder to shoulder, sharing a laugh.
Xi is attempting to expand the scope of the SCO. He announced initial plans for a development bank run by the organisation, introduced a cooperation platform for green and energy industries and pledged $1.4 billion in loans over the next three years to the organisation’s members.
The Department of homeland security said last week that it has made 5,000 immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area since launching a sustained crackdown in the nation’s second-largest metropolitan area on June 6.
Authorities are undeterred by a temporary court order prohibiting racial profiling in Los Angeles, which the administration has challenged before the Supreme Court.
Newsom’s post on X comes after homeland security secretary Kristi Noem told CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation’ that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Chicago and other parts of the country would be bolstered, but declined to provide details. Noem said Trump would make a decision to deploy National Guard troops.
On the same programme, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Trump wanted to deploy troops so that he could halt or manipulate US midterm elections in 2026.
“He would like to stop the elections in 2026 or, frankly, take control of those elections,” Pritzker said.
“He will just claim that there is some problem with an election, and then he is got troops on the ground that can take control,” he added.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson criticised Pritzker for not doing more to deal with crime.
“Chicago’s residents would be much safer if Pritzker actually did his job and addressed his crime problem instead of trying to be a Resistance Lib hero,” Jackson said in a statement.
Trump and top officials have said in the past week that Chicago would soon be a target for the Republican president’s efforts to tackle crime and illegal immigration. Trump, for years, has criticised crime in Chicago, a Democratic stronghold, although city figures show most categories of violent crime have dropped this year.
A 6.0 quake, the strongest, struck the Jalalabad area at around midnight local time – with tremors felt as far as Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, nearly 200 miles away.
Afghan volunteers and Taliban security personnel carry an injured man to a military helicopter for evacuation Credit: AFP
Towns in the province of Kunar, near Jalalabad and the Pakistani border, were close to the epicentre.
Entire villages are reported to have been destroyed.
Filippo Grandi of the UN told Sky News that the quake has added to the “perfect storm” of problems plaguing Afghanistan.
A Taliban spokesperson said that at least 800 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured.
Some 610 of the deaths were reported in the Kunar region, and 12 from the Nangarhar province.
Urgent rescue efforts are underway across several districts – amid fears many locals are trapped beneath rubble.
Officials have said they expect the death toll to rise as they get to more affected areas.
Rescuers are contending with difficult, rocky terrain to reach the injured, many of whom are in isolated areas.
A spokesperson for the Taliban government said the quake has caused “loss of life and property damage in some of our eastern provinces”.
They added: “Local officials and residents are currently engaged in rescue efforts for the affected people.
“Support teams from the centre and nearby provinces are also on their way.”
Many of the buildings in the area are made of mud bricks and wood, making them vulnerable to natural disasters.
Jeremy Smith, British Red Cross Country Manager for Afghanistan said: “The location of this earthquake is very remote and mountainous, which makes rescue efforts particularly challenging.
“There have been repeated aftershocks and more are feared in the coming days.
“Floods and landslides over the weekend have also affected rescue efforts.
“Sadly, people will be displaced for a long period into the winter as homes have been destroyed.”
“The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is delivering vital aid and will continue to do so for as long as people need us.”
The 6.0 magnitude quake struck at 11:47pm, 17 miles northeast of Jalalabad, according to the US Geological Survey,
Its epicentre was 5 miles below ground.
There was a second earthquake in the same province about 20 minutes later, with a magnitude of 4.5 and a depth of 6.2 miles.
This was later followed by a 5.2 earthquake at the same depth.
Australian players celebrate defeating England in the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (Martin Hunter/Photosport via AP, File)
Cricketers at the Women’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka will play for $13.8 million in prize money from this month, two years after the men played for $10 million.
The 2022 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand had an overall purse of $3.5 million.
“This four-fold increase in prize money is a landmark moment for women’s cricket and reflects our clear commitment to its long-term growth,” International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah said in a statement on Monday.
“Our message is simple: Women cricketers must know they will be treated on par with men if they choose this sport professionally. Women’s cricket is on a remarkable upward trajectory, and with this step we are confident the momentum will accelerate.”
The Women’s World Cup starts on Sept. 30 when co-hosts India and Sri Lanka meet in Guwahati. Australia is the defending champion.
The winner of the 13th ODI World Cup will receive $4.48 million, and the runner-up $2.24 million. The losing semifinalists will be awarded $1.12 million each. Group stage competitors earn a guaranteed $250,000.
Each game winner in the group stage will receive another $34,314.
Thousands of Israelis gathered for the funeral of Idan Shtivi, one of two hostages whose remains were recovered in a military operation last week.
Israel launched strikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 31 people as it presses ahead with a major offensive in the territory’s largest city, according to health officials. Leading genocide scholars, meanwhile, accused Israel of genocide, allegations the government vehemently rejects.
Airstrikes and artillery shelling have echoed through Gaza City since Israel declared it a combat zone last week. On the city’s outskirts and in the Jabaliya refugee camp, residents have observed explosive-laden robots demolishing buildings.
“Another merciless night in Gaza City,” said Saeed Abu Elaish, a Jabaliya-born medic sheltering in the northwestern side of the city.
Hospitals in Gaza said at least 31 people were killed by Israeli fire Monday, more than half of them women and children. At least 13 people were killed in Gaza City, where Israel has carried out several previous large-scale raids since Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel to ignite the war on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group — now largely reduced to a guerrilla organization — operates in densely-populated areas.
Double threat of war and starvation
Gaza City residents, many displaced by war multiple times, now face the twin threats of combat and hunger. The world’s leading authority on food crises said last month that it was in the throes of famine — a crisis driven by ongoing fighting and Israel’s blockade, magnified by repeated mass displacement and the collapse of food production.
A total of 63,557 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says another 160,660 people have been wounded. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up around half the dead.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but staffed by medical professionals. U.N. agencies and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of war casualties. Israel disputes them, but hasn’t provided its own toll.
Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and took 251 people hostage. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Scholars accuse Israel of genocide
The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Israel, which was established in the wake of the Holocaust, in which 6 million European Jews and others were killed, vehemently rejects the allegation. It says it takes every measure to avoid harming civilians and is fighting a war of self-defense after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which Israel says was itself a genocidal act.
A resolution from the International Association of Genocide Scholars — which has around 500 members worldwide, including a number of Holocaust experts — said that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide,” as well as crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The resolution was supported by 86% of those who voted. The organization didn’t release the specifics of the voting.
“People who are experts in the study of genocide can see this situation for what it is,” Melanie O’Brien, the organization’s president and a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Associated Press.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry called it “an embarrassment to the legal profession and to any academic standard.” It said the determination was “entirely based on Hamas’ campaign of lies.”
In July, two prominent Israeli rights groups — B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel — said that their country is committing genocide in Gaza. The organizations don’t reflect mainstream thinking in Israel, but it marked the first time that local Jewish-led organizations have made such accusations.
International human rights groups have also leveled the allegation.
Mourners vent anger at hostage
funeral
Thousands of Israelis gathered for the funeral of Idan Shtivi, one of two hostages whose remains were recovered in a military operation last week. A private funeral was held for Ilan Weiss, the other captive.
Some mourners expressed anger at the government for not reaching a deal with Hamas to end the fighting and return the remaining captives.
“It is very, very infuriating that no one, no one from this government stands up and says enough,” said Ami Dagan, a mourner from Rishon Letzion.
“It’s a horror, it’s profound sadness and grief beyond words to describe the anger, the insult to the hostages, the insult to the fallen, the insult to the soldiers sent once again to Gaza,” said Ruti Taro, another mourner. “No one knows why, except for the power-hungry ruler.”
Many Israelis accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political purposes, and mass protests calling for a ceasefire and hostage release have swelled in recent weeks.
Vietnam marked its National Day on Tuesday with its largest military parade in decades, as thousands packed the streets of the capital, Hanoi, after many camped overnight to witness the grand display marking 80 years of independence.
The parade unfolded at Ba Dinh Square, the site where revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh declared independence from French colonial rule on Sept. 2, 1945.
Fighting resumed soon after as Vietnamese forces battled the French in the First Indochina War, which ended in 1954 when the country was divided into Communist North and U.S.-backed South. The Vietnam War followed, during which the Communist North fought the South and its American allies. That conflict ended when Communist forces captured Saigon on April 30, 1975 and the country was unified.
Vietnam’s top leader, Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, paid tribute to those who died in the fight for independence and reiterated the ruling party’s goal that by 2045 Vietnam will be a “powerful, prosperous and happy nation,” calling it “the aspiration of the entire nation, an oath of honor before history.”
“We want to be a friend, be a trusted partner with all countries in the world,” he said, adding that Hanoi would never compromise on independence or sovereignty.
Columns of troops marched past as tanks, armored vehicles, and missile systems rumbled by. Helicopters flew overhead trailing giant Vietnamese flags followed by jets while a military band played martial tunes below.
Officials said nearly 16,000 soldiers joined the event, including upgraded tanks, large artillery guns on vehicles, amphibious vehicles and missile systems made by a state-owned Vietnamese company.
For the first time, it also organized a televised naval parade off the coast of the port city of Cam Ranh in southern Vietnam, featuring warships, submarines, helicopters and sea planes.
Honor guards from China, Russia, Laos and Cambodia also joined the display, which Vietnamese state media said reflected the country’s “international friendships.” China is planning to hold a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the end of World War II.
Crowds began arriving in Hanoi days in advance, and thousands camped on sidewalks Monday night to secure viewing spots.
Videos of the parade went viral on social media and many gathered were in their twenties, wearing red shirts with yellow stars and cheering wildly as soldiers marched past while sipping iced boba tea. People waved the country’s flag or painted it on their faces. Giant screens at intersections broadcast the parade while balconies across the city were draped with more flags.
A man who is being hailed as a hero after he rescued a missing child dangerously walking on the monorail tracks at Hersheypark said his “dad instincts kicked in” and compelled him to jump into action.
John Sampson, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, fearlessly climbed onto the roof of a snack stand and pulled himself up onto the tracks after he saw the child walking alone almost 100 feet above the ground on Saturday evening while spectators held their breath.
“Dad instincts kicked in, and then [I was] just trying to figure things out and how to get up there as fast as possible,” Sampson told Fox 43.
Bucks County dad John Sampson sprang into action. Selma Harris via Storyful
He picked up the boy and safely brought him down.
“[I felt] relief, absolute relief, and even I could feel it in him — the relief as soon as he got into my arms,” Sampson said. “Thank goodness he came straight into my arms, and it went nice and simple in that sense.”
The boy was reported missing by his parents around 5 p.m. after he entered a secure area for the monorail ride, Hersheypark officials said.
He was at the station for about 20 minutes before he began walking along the track — frightening park-goers below.
“Go to him now!” one terrified park guest yells in one video before Sampson helped him down.
The monorail was closed at the time and had been fenced off by a chained closure at its entrance and a barricaded turnstile at the platform, according to park officials.
The Foodora service from Aviant has been working with a burger chain
Meal delivery is a luxury city dwellers take for granted – but more options are opening up for non-urban residents.
Boasting nearly 700,000 islands collectively, Sweden, Norway and Finland are home to the most islands in the world, their coastlines dotted by archipelagos that have shaped their history and culture.
While a number of the islands are accessible by ferry and bridge to residents of the region’s cities, there’s one thing locals are often missing: hot food delivery to their door, a service their city cousins probably take for granted.
But Norwegian start-up Aviant wants to change that, by establishing the region’s first food delivery service by drone – starting on the Swedish island of Värmdö.
Värmdö is just eight miles (13km) from Stockholm as the crow flies, and accessible by car, bus and ferry. But its population of around 46,000 – rising to up to 100,000 in the summer – has few hot food delivery options.
During a video call, Aviant co-founder and CEO, Lars Erik Fagernæs, shows me a map of the islands closest to Stockholm.
“All of the white and blue squares are where (delivery services) Foodora and Wolt have a service, and all of the black squares are where they don’t,” says Mr Fagernæs, who is based in the Norwegian city of Trondheim.
“As you can see on the map, there are 87,000 people who don’t have access to a home delivery service. These people live in what you would call suburbs, and would want to order takeaway food, but they just don’t have an option.”
Since February, though, residents of Gustavsberg, the main town on Värmdö, and surrounding areas, have been able to order freshly made burgers from Scandinavian chain Bastard Burgers directly to their door via drone, using Aviant’s technology.
The cost of delivery is comparable to that of a car or bike service, as drones take out the cost of the driver.
At the moment Aviant is in a “beta phase” – only delivering 10 items a week, while they check everything works.
But the plan is to scale up as the year goes on.
Aviant is also set to launch a similar service on the Norwegian peninsula of Nesodden – just four miles in distance from Oslo, but a 29-mile road journey. Mr Fagernæs demonstrates once again on a map.
“All the white is where you don’t currently have a food delivery service. So it’s about 100,000 people that’s going to now have access to home delivery that didn’t have it before,” he says.
It hasn’t been a straightforward process to perfect, Mr Fagernæs admits, as several trials were needed to ensure the food stayed hot and fresh during the maximum flight time of up to 10 minutes, over a radius of up to six miles.
“We have been testing this for three years, and in the beginning, there were a lot of soggy fries,” he recalls. “But we have improved the isolated container the burger goes in, and now we know it arrives warm, even in the winter months.
“People go crazy for it. They call their neighbors and their grandma. They think it’s like a UFO delivering their food.”
Mr Fagernæs hopes the two pilot services will provide the “recipe”, as he describes it, to embark on a full-scale rollout across Scandinavia, where many communities like those on Värmdö and Nessoden are beholden to their geography. He points back to the map.
“We don’t have huge cities, but these areas are viable for drone delivery, where they are on the border of urban with rural, which is very hard to serve by car, and that is a lot of the population in Scandinavia,” says Mr Fagernæs.
Aviant has identified around 40 bases across Scandinavia to expand to over the next two years, and sees similar geography in Canada, which has over 52,000 islands, and the north eastern region of the US, characterised by lakes, mountains and islands.
And what about the weather. Mr Fagernæs admits high winds will ground the drones occasionally, but expects the service to have 90% uptime.
As for flying drones to deliver food into really remote areas, Aviant is one of a number of drone firms to have tested the waters, but found the numbers did not add up.
Starting in 2022, Aviant delivered Thai, Italian and sushi to residents outside of Trondheim. But that service was ended in August 2023.
Meanwhile, in 2022, UK firm Skyports delivered school meals to children in the Orkney islands, funded by Argyll and Bute Council, and temporarily ran a “fish and chip Fridays” delivery service to the wider community.
Similarly, German firm Wingcopter delivered everyday goods to rural residents in 2023 as part of a government partnership. In China’s eastern Zhejiang province, a local council is funding drone delivery of hot meals to elderly villagers isolated in the mountains.
But continuing these services without a government or corporate sponsor is not commercially viable.
Given the distances, the cost of delivery would be prohibitive for the person ordering, and too much for the outlet providing the food to waive. And, being rural areas, there aren’t enough locals to generate sufficient orders to begin with.
Skyports has, however, been running a drone delivery service with Royal Mail across the Orkneys since 2023, and is looking at how the drones used in that can be repurposed to resurrect the hot meal delivery service, this time for all residents.
“We haven’t yet opened it up to other non-Royal Mail users as it’s currently strictly a Royal Mail service. But absolutely, we can be looking at when those drones aren’t in use, how we could be taking cargo from outlets on the mainland to the islands.
We would have to look at what the premium charged would be, as it will be important to lower the cost. Today we’ve just been focusing on getting the service right before we look at that expansion,” explains Alex Brown, Skyports director.
“You could absolutely make something like that work. The more you could utilise the drone, the better.
“So there are models where you have an anchor customer who’s underwriting that core cost, then you can incrementally bolt on new commercial opportunities to bring in additional revenue, and then a new service for people using it.”
Kelley Wolf has been banned from having any direct or indirect contact with her estranged husband, Scott Wolf, and their kids.
On Aug. 28, a judge issued a new protective order against the “Real World: New Orleans” alum after she shared Scott’s phone number on social media, People reported on Monday.
Per documents obtained by the outlet, Kelley is not allowed to have any contact with the “Party of Five” star or their three kids: Jackson, 16, Miller, 12, and Lucy, 11.
A judge granted Scott a protective order against Kelley shared his number on social media. kelleywolf/Instagram
Kelley, 48, cannot “commit, try to commit or threaten to commit any form of violence” against Scott or the kids, including “stalking, harassing, threatening, physically hurting, or causing any other form of abuse that could cause bodily injury.”
She must also stay at least 300 feet away from the actor and is only allowed to have contact with him during meditation sessions scheduled with a “Court Qualified Mediator” regarding their divorce or custody over their children.
Kelley is also banned from using drugs or drinking alcohol until their next hearing on Sept. 10. She is only allowed to visit the family home with a police officer to pick up her belongings.
Scott, 57, will also continue to have temporary sole custody of their three kids.
This latest development in the couple’s messy split comes after Kelley was arrested for electronic communication harassment and electronic disclosure of personal identifying information on Aug. 26.
Earlier in the day, she had shared a series of bizarre Instagram uploads where she called Scott the “most hated man on earth.”
Kelley demanded, “Send the kids now!!! No more games. This is war. Last chance before I go to the press.”
She subsequently posted the actor’s phone number, writing, “Let’s let dimples field his own press.”
Kelley was then booked at the Summit County Jail in Park City, Utah, TMZ reported, before being released two days later.
At the time, her ex claimed that, after she shared his phone number on social media, he received “a barrage of phone calls and text messages from unknown people.”
Meghan Markle called out her husband, Prince Harry, for not liking a particular food on the new season of her Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan.”
In the Season 2 episode with Chef José Andrés, the Duchess of Sussex revealed Harry doesn’t like a certain type of seafood.
“You know who doesn’t like lobster? My husband,” the 44-year-old told her guest.
Meghan Markle called out her husband, Prince Harry, in a Season 2 episode of “With Love, Meghan.” JAKE ROSENBERG/NETFLIX
“And you married him anyway?” Andrés jokingly replied.
While Markle didn’t reveal why the Duke of Sussex, 40, doesn’t like lobster, the royal family traditionally avoids eating shellfish.
“When dining, the royal family has to be careful with shellfish due to shellfish poisoning, due to their work schedules. It is a very sensible move to abandon having seafood when out and about on public duties,” King Charles’ former butler, Grant Harrold, once said, according to the Mirror.
Queen Camilla also previously revealed garlic “is a no-no” amongst the royal family.
“I hate to say this, but garlic. Garlic is a no-no,” she admitted during a 2018 appearance on “MasterChef Australia.”
Judge Gary Mehigan asked her, “Because you’re talking, chatting?” to which the royal confirmed, “Yes, exactly. So you always have to lay off the garlic.”
Elsewhere in the new season of Markle’s Netflix series, she was left humiliated after mixologist Payman Bahmani-Bailey bluntly confessed he wasn’t a fan of “Suits” — USA Network’s legal drama, in which she played Rachel Zane from 2011 to 2018.
“I don’t watch basic cable,” Bahmani-Bailey said after Markle asked him if he ever watched the show.
Social media photos and footage from several recent rehearsals have shown anti-ship missiles, cutting-edge underwater drones, and anti-missile systems.
People ride past a portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Square, where the next military parade will take place on Sep 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Aug 28, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Pedro Pardo)
China will showcase a range of new weapons during a vast military parade on Wednesday (Sep 3), in a show of strength that is being seen as a challenge to US military dominance.
Military experts have been analysing social media photos and footage from several recent rehearsals, which have shown anti-ship missiles, cutting-edge underwater drones, anti-missile systems, and more tech that could pass by Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Sep 3.
While officials have kept secret the list of hardware to be displayed in front of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and other world leaders, many military enthusiasts have already spotted significant new systems, including what is rumoured to be a gigantic laser weapon.
The military has said all the equipment presented is domestically produced and “in active duty”.
“EAGLES” TO COUNTER US SHIPS
Four new anti-ship missiles several metres long have been seen: The YJ-15, YJ-17, YJ-19, and YJ-20. “YJ” is short for “Ying Ji”, which means “eagle attack” in Chinese.
These missiles can be launched from ships or aircraft and are designed to inflict critical damage on large vessels. The YJ-17, YJ-19, and YJ-20 models could be hypersonic, meaning they can fly at least five times the speed of sound.
“China must develop powerful anti-ship and anti-aircraft carrier capabilities to prevent the United States from posing a serious threat to China’s national security,” Song Zhongping, a military commentator and former Chinese army instructor, told AFP, referring to tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
UNDERWATER DRONES
Two new, extra-large torpedo-shaped unmanned underwater vehicles have been spotted during the rehearsals.
The first, labelled “AJX002”, is 18 to 20 m long, according to the website Naval News. The second was hidden under a tarpaulin.
While China still lags behind the United States in surface naval power, according to Naval News, it has the world’s largest programme of “extra large uncrewed underwater vehicles” (XLUUVs) – with at least five types already in the water.
ANTI-MISSILE SHIELD
Still shrouded in mystery, the HQ-29 is described by some Chinese analysts as a “satellite hunter” capable of intercepting missiles at an altitude of 500 km, outside the Earth’s atmosphere, as well as satellites in low orbit.
Mounted on a wheeled vehicle, the system features two missile containers, each approximately 1.5m in diameter.
Its capabilities could make it China’s most advanced interception system to date and one of the most powerful in the world.
WORLD’S “MOST POWERFUL” LASER?
A huge rectangular vehicle in camouflage colours covered with a tarpaulin could be a defence system capable of shooting down missiles and drones using a powerful laser, according to the South China Morning Post.
The X account “Zhao DaShuai”, which is linked to the Chinese military, claims it is the “most powerful laser air defence system in the world”.
NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS?
Intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the ultimate symbols of power, are expected to feature prominently in the parade.
“China will showcase a new generation of nuclear weapons,” analyst Song Zhongping told AFP.
Nuclear weapons, like the other hardware which will be displayed during the parade, “will help equalise the military power balance between China and the US”, he said.
Though EU officials say they’ve hurt the Russian economy through 18 rounds of sanctions, the measures haven’t stopped Moscow waging warImage: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
When EU foreign ministers meet, their agenda often reads like a world atlas. There are dizzying lists of statements and actions to sign off on, and points to tackle about every corner of the globe — and much time is usually eaten up in negotiations to cajole 27 states into a unanimous position.
But a couple of times a year, ministers put their heads together at “informal” talks — so-called not because they ditch the suits and show up in jeans, but because no official decisions can be taken.
The idea? Leave space for reflections and discussions that fall through the cracks of daily business.
EU diplomats described the weekend talks in the Danish capital as a “brainstorming” session on what comes next in the bloc’s support for Ukraine. Despite weeks of frenetic diplomacy, Ukrainians remain under attack, and Europe remains deeply skeptical of Russia’s desire for peace.
Here are some of the ideas that were floated this weekend in Copenhagen.
First hint of secondary sanctions
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas told reporters that ministers mulled so-called secondary sanctions — restrictions targeting Russia’s trading partners.
The European Union has already sanctioned some entities, including Chinese banks, it accuses of helping Russia finance its war, but broader secondary sanctions could be a more impactful — and more risky — move for Europe as it seeks more friends on the global stage and new trade deals with the likes of India.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene also warned that only secondary sanctions imposed by the United States would “really produce enough pain for the Russian war machine.”
European measures “would be nice too,” she told DW, but added: “It’s a difference of having a really nuclear effect. Nobody in the world wants to feel secondary sanctions of the United States. That would be a game-changer.”
‘Safe haven:’ Ukrainian arms made on EU soil
In a first-of-its-kind operation, Denmark announced it will, “some weeks from now,” invite a Ukrainian arms company to start production on Danish soil.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the site could be up and running this year, though did not share details on which weapons would be made there.
“I also expect that more Ukrainian defense companies will follow later this year,” he added.
Kaja Kallas said other countries were also interested in bringing the Ukrainian defense industry to their soil through similar schemes.
Part of the idea, according to diplomats speaking on the sidelines of the Copenhagen talks, is to show Russia that even as it targets Ukrainian arms factories inside the country, more sites will keep popping up elsewhere in the “safe haven” of the EU.
Thawing debate on frozen Russian assets
There was also a heated debate on what to do with roughly €200 billion ($233 billion) in Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU in 2022. Until now, EU states have opted to skim off the interest accrued on the assets and use it to support Ukraine.
A number of EU countries, including the Baltic states and Poland, have long pushed for the assets themselves to be seized and handed over to Ukraine.
Political scientist Christine Nissen said that would mark a “turning point.”
But fellow EU member Belgium is staunchly against seizure, warning it could be both illegal and could scare future investors away from Europe.
“The argument is that it would simply be also us actually going against some of the principles of that liberal order that we believe in,” Nissen, an analyst with Think Tank Europa, told DW.
Kallas seemed to push back on those concerns on Saturday. “Financial markets did not react when we froze the assets. Financial markets are calm now as we discuss this,” she said. “There are risks, but I’m confident that we are able to mitigate those risks.”
“One thing is absolutely clear,” Kallas added. “Given the devastation Russia is causing in Ukraine and has caused in Ukraine so far, it is unthinkable that Russia will ever see this money again unless it fully compensates Ukraine.”
For now, the EU may consider moving the assets into more risky investments to beef up the amount available if the war ends.
EU military trainers inside Ukraine?
Kallas also said there was “broad support” for a plan to shift the EU’s current training mission for Ukrainian troops — hosted mainly in Poland and Germany — onto Ukrainian soil in the event of a ceasefire.
But with no actual truce in sight, Kallas acknowledged that this was a “chicken and egg issue.”
“Some are saying that we should do it after, but we can also do it conditionally,” she explained, suggesting member states pursue an agreement now on a change that could kick in at a later date.
But the plan may also get snagged on EU unanimity rules — with Hungary regularly delaying decisions on support for Ukraine. Still, Sakaliene told DW that the proposal is “much closer to conclusion than other difficult decisions.”
Katy Perry is getting the last laugh following the intense criticism she’s received over her “Lifetimes” tour.
The pop star has already sold 1.1 million tickets and grossed more than $80 million in sales, according to her management.
The $80 million earned comes from ticket sales to her shows in the US, Canada and Australia, according to figures provided to Billboard. Perry played a total of 45 shows in the three countries.
The impressive amount doesn’t even include the “Teenage Dream” singer’s upcoming overseas stops in Latin America, Europe and China.
Katy Perry’s management says she’s already sold 1.1 million tickets to her “Lifetimes” tour and grossed more than $80 million in sales. John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Perry’s rep didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Perry, 40, has faced a lot of criticism online for her “Lifetimes” tour, as well as her latest album, “143.” Critics roasted her space outfits and choreography during her performances, with one X user asking, “People are paying to see this?”
Another X user commented, “This looks more like somebody who’s come out of retirement after 30 years and trying to pull the same moves off they did when they were young and popular.”
She was also roasted in April for being a part of the all-female Blue Origin space flight alongside Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen and Kerianne Flynn.
Critics lauded the trip as an out-of-touch waste of money, and celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski, Olivia Munn, Olivia Wilde and Jessica Chastain publicly slammed the excursion.
Perry responded to the hate she was receiving for both her tour and the Blue Origin space flight later that month, calling her haters “unhinged and unhealed.”
“Please know I am ok, I have done a lot work around knowing who I am, what is real and what is important to me,” she wrote in an Instagram comment on a fan page.
“My therapist said something years ago that has been a game changer, ‘no one can make you believe something about yourself that you don’t already believe about yourself’ and if I ever do have any feelings about it then it’s an opportunity to investigate the feeling underneath it,” she continued.
Perry noted that when the “‘online’ world tries to make [her] a human piñata,” she chooses to accept it with grace and sends her love.
Pitt and his legal team have been trying to fend off having the actor face a deposition in relation to a class action lawsuit filed by victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Brad Pitt walks in the Lower Ninth Ward between a home built by the Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans in December 2008 Credit: AP:Associated Press
The powerful and deadly storm slammed into Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29, 2005, leaving over 1,390 people dead in and around the New Orleans area.
To help displaced families who lost their homes due to the catastrophic storm, Pitt launched the Make It Right Foundation in 2007 with a goal to provide housing for people in need.
However, the foundation allegedly made a mess of its ambitious building project and is currently at the center of a class action lawsuit for over 106 homes, which were “deficiently constructed” with “defective products,” according to a lawsuit viewed by The U.S. Sun.
This month, the spotlight is more than ever on Pitt and his foundation following the release of Netflix’s three-part documentary Katrina: Come Hell and High Water.
‘HELL AND HIGH WATER’
Produced by Spike Lee, the documentary features details of suffering created by Pitt’s non-profit with first-hand accounts from broken-hearted homeowners.
Make It Right constructed 106 homes in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, which was decimated by Katrina in 2005, but the houses were not fit for purpose, despite Pitt’s best intentions when he launched the foundation.
In 2018, residents filed a suit against Pitt, the Make It Right Foundation, the non-profit’s directors, and all those connected to the construction of their substandard houses, which were falling apart and cost a combined $20 million to repair.
Ron Austin Law, attorneys representing the homeowners, are building up a colossal arsenal of evidence against Pitt and his co-defendants after painstaking forensic work
A letter sent to homeowners, which was viewed by The U.S. Sun, stated that the law firm was now armed with 150,000 pages of documents, including 30,000 critical financial records.
The acquisition of the records came after a three-year fight with Make It Right’s legal team, who contested and attempted to suppress handing over the trove of documents.
The letter added that “our architectural expert has submitted a comprehensive 6,000-page report, and our contractor experts have provided reports of similar magnitude.”
Moreover, it adds that an engineering expert has also “submitted a separate report,” which means 18,000 pages of reports filed with the New Orleans Parish district court.
NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED
The team of attorneys promised its clients that no stone would be left unturned and that “defendants and key witnesses” will be deposed after September.
The court recently ruled that all depositions related to the case have to be conducted by December 3 – that means the 61-year-old Hollywood A-lister could be quizzed at some time in October or November.
The U.S. Sun previously reported that Pitt fought tooth and nail to wriggle out of testifying, claiming it would clash with his hectic work schedule.
However, it now seems like Pitt is running out of options.
In an amended petition filed with the courts, the homeowners broadly allege a “breach of contract, warranty, negligence and fraud.”
The filing claims that the fraud accusations relate to “alleged statements, promises, and representations made by Make It Right and its employees/directors/officers, and fraud relating to financial activities that allegedly affected funds available to repair the homes.
There’s to be a trial next year to determine whether it can go forward as a class action lawsuit with the defendants’ legal team filing a motion for the fraud allegations to be discounted from the trial.
‘UNKEPT PROMISES’
It names Pitt in particular in the motion, claiming the actor was central to the alleged defrauding of the homeowners.
The court filing read, “The petition alleges ‘promises’ made by Brad Pitt at a 2007 community meeting, Plaintiffs allege these promises were ‘false.’
“Plaintiffs allege that ‘Plaintiffs and other homeowners relied’ on this ‘promise.’
“Plaintiffs allege this reliance continued as late as 2016-2018.
“Plaintiffs further allege that Pitt made promises in ‘media interviews’ that induced justifiable reliance’.”
Among the list of complaints filed against Pitt’s foundation include defective designs, materials and construction, lack of repairs and water intrusion.
COMMUNITY IN DESPAIR
Kamaria Allen, a resident of a property built by Make It Right, had her home demolished in October 2020 after it sat empty for nine years due to what she claimed were “advanced mold rot caused by a chronic moisture condition.”
Allen told The U.S. Sun at the time that her parents lived in a property constructed by the non-profit that had “toxic mold and high CO2 levels.”
The horrid conditions allegedly caused her father Keith to stop working, while her mother Sharon became severely asthmatic, and her younger brother Khalid suffered memory loss and speech problems.
Allen, whose family pulled out of the class action suit as it has been dragging on for years, told The U.S. Sun in 2021, “Our blood is on their hands,” referring to Pitt and his foundation.
“They really just sat back and watched while multiple people lost their quality of life without attempting to make it right when they had all of the resources.
“They came in and destroyed a community that was already trying to come back from the dead.
“I don’t understand how Brad Pitt or anyone else affiliated with this organization can sleep at night. They are killing people.
“A lot of these people are very sick and are living a very poor quality of life for the rest of their lives.”
Some homeowners have taken out mortgages on properties in excess of $100,000, but the wrecked houses are now virtually worthless.
It’s not just the residents who are fed up, but the local authorities.
The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority filed a lawsuit against Make It Right Housing LLC in July to reclaim a plot of Make It Right land on Reynes St, which was never built upon.
The nonprofit had dumped shipping containers on the plot, which were filled with cabinets of sensitive homeowners’ information, and then left it abandoned for years.
Make It Right never repurposed the plot of land and 15 years after purchasing the territory, authorities are now seeking to reclaim it.
Another Make It Right plot, located on Jourdan Street, was seized by the City of New Orleans and foreclosed in 2024, selling for just $17,500.
NON-EXISTENT
Pitt’s non-profit was meant to be the savior for those who lost everything in the city’s most deprived and predominantly black area 20 years ago.
But the foundation made a mess of its ambitious project, which were “deficiently constructed” with “defective products,” according to the suit.
In the years after Katrina, Make It Right has been virtually non-existent in the area.
The foundation’s Lower Ninth offices closed its doors years ago, cut off its communication lines, and became invisible to residents.
It seemed the lawsuit had reached a conclusion in 2022 when the celeb-backed eco-charity Global Green agreed to pay a $20.5 million settlement on behalf of Make It Right and Pitt.
However, the pledge fell apart after it was discovered that Global Green never had the $20.5 million funds, and were banking on Pitt to be the figurehead of a major fundraising campaign for the settlement.
Pitt soon came forward and denied ever agreeing to Global Green’s claims.
A spokesperson for Pitt told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement in 2023, “Brad had supported Global Green many years ago, so when they approached his team stating ‘$20.5M in funding’ had been secured by their ‘generous donors,’ there was interest in considering their proposal.
“Global Green represented themselves as having already obtained these funds and planned to use them toward resolving all claims in the ongoing lawsuit for the benefit of the homeowners.
The man’s wife detailed her harrowing experience realising her husband had fallen unconscious
A TOURIST has died at Disneyland after passing out on its iconic Frozen ride next to his wife.
The 53-year-old man from the Philippines lost consciousness on the beloved Frozen Ever After ride at the theme park in Hong Kong on Friday.
His horrified wife noticed that he had fallen into a coma while on the ride and immediately notified staff.
First-aid responders rushed to the scene as the ride returned to its starting point and performed CPR.
The holidaymaker was taken to North Lantau Hospital but tragically was pronounced dead shortly after at 11:30am local time.
Cops received a report of the man passing out at 10:18am.
The tourist’s wife told them he had pre-existing health conditions, including a history of heart disease and high blood pressure which needed regular treatment.
A spokesperson for Disneyland Hong Kong said: “The resort deeply regrets the passing of the guest and will do its utmost to provide necessary assistance to his family.
“The initial investigation has shown the incident is not related to ride safety.”
The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong confirmed the death on Saturday.
They added that they were coordinating with authorities to help the family.
The Frozen Ever After ride is part of the theme park’s World of Frozen section, which opened in late 2023.
It is a slow-paced boat ride that transports guests through an immersive experience into the world of Frozen.
And it features advanced animatronics of characters such as Anna, Elsa and Olaf.
The ride is open to guests of all ages and heights – but its official app advises against pregnant women going on it.
In 2024, a two-year-old boy died after half his face collapsed on a surprise family holiday to Disneyland.
Doctors assured little Dax Peek’s family that his symptoms were likely as a result of Bell’s palsy – a temporary and treatable weakness or lack of movement.
It also comes as a 334-pound Disney World guest is suing the company – after he was allegedly left “permanently disfigured” in a water slide accident at Blizzard Beach.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shared her candid outrage and disgust over a pornography site that featured fake photos of herself and other prolific women, including her own sister, adorned with sexist and offensive captions.
The porn website Phica featured galleries of doctored images before being overloaded with ones featuring Meloni and other high-profile women.
Doctored images of Giorgia Meloni and her sister, Arianna, circulated on the pornography website. Getty Images
Images of Meloni and her sister Arianna, a prominent politician within the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, quickly became popular on the site and were viewed by scores of users.
The backlash was almost immediate and the entire platform was swiftly shut down by its own managers, who blamed its hundreds of thousands of users for violating its rules.
Meloni, who ran on a family-first platform and is notoriously vocal about bolstering women’s issues, was abhorred by the disgusting images and said she felt violated by the invasion.
“I am disgusted by what happened, and I want to extend my solidarity and support to all the women who have been offended, insulted, and violated in their intimacy by the managers of this forum and its users,” Meloni told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“It is disheartening to note that in 2025, there are still those who consider it normal and legitimate to trample on a woman’s dignity and target her with sexist and vulgar insults, hiding behind anonymity or a keyboard.”
Arianna added that the root cause of the debauchery was a “bad habit of a click-through society” where privacy is a myth and “we belittle the real, important things that women achieve and conquer with their work day after day.”
Italy has a revenge porn law, but Meloni noted that the violating distribution “no longer happens just out of ‘revenge,’ and that protecting our data and our privacy is increasingly crucial in our times.”
The current version of the law, passed in 2019, makes the spread of sexually explicit images punishable by up to six years in prison. It’s unclear if Meloni may aim to update it or seek to introduce newer privacy-oriented legislation.
The porn site images aren’t Meloni’s first bout with such explicit transgressions.
In 2024, she sued a father and son duo who allegedly created a sexually explicit deepfake video of her that was distributed in the United States and viewed “millions of times.” She’s seeking roughly $108,200 in damages, but promised to donate any earnings to a state fund dedicated to women who are victims of violence.
A man was found dead in a “pool of blood” at the Burning Man festival Saturday night – just as a massive human-shaped wooden effigy was being torched in the Nevada desert, according to authorities.
The body was discovered around 9 p.m. when a festival goer flagged down a sheriff’s deputy and reported seeing “a male subject lying in a pool of blood,” the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Sunday.
Authorities are now investigating the death as a homicide.
A man was found in a “pool of blood” at the Burning Man festival and cops have launched a murder investigation. burningman/Instagram
The grisly scene was uncovered while the “Man,” a towering human-shaped wooden sculpture at the center of the festival grounds in Black Rock City was set on fire, the sheriff’s office said.
The man was pronounced dead on the scene, and his body has been taken to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office, authorities added.
Local deputies, the Bureau of Land Management rangers, and Burning Man’s own Black Rock Rangers created a perimeter around the area and interviewed several festival goers at the scene.
The crime scene will be gated off as authorities continue to investigate, officials said Sunday.
“Although this act appears to be a singular crime, all participants should always be vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances,” the sheriff’s office said.
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe at a Senate hearing on March 25.Andrew Harnik / Getty Images file
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard blindsided CIA leaders last week when she disclosed the name of an undercover CIA officer on a list of people she stripped of security clearances, multiple current and former intelligence sources said.
The move alarmed the agency’s workforce, the sources said, and is the latest example of simmering tensions and crossed signals between Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The two have clashed previously over her decisions, including earlier this month when Gabbard declassified a lightly redacted document related to Russian election interference.
Two former government officials said their read of the situation is that Gabbard is under pressure to regain President Donald Trump’s confidence. Gabbard fell out of favor with Trump and his aides earlier this year after she posted a video and delivered testimony about Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
But the tensions between Gabbard and Trump seem to have subsided for now. When Gabbard announced the security clearance removals last week, she said some of the 37 current and former officials were engaged in “politicization or weaponization of intelligence” and that she was acting on the president’s orders.
And on Tuesday, as he presided over a Cabinet meeting before television cameras, Trump praised Gabbard. “You found some interesting things, Tulsi,” Trump said. “She’s becoming a bigger and bigger star every day.”
One of the former government officials said Gabbard appeared to be trying to show the president she was exposing Democrats and political enemies, including some purportedly inside the CIA. The security clearance removals reflected “a battle between Gabbard and Ratcliffe,” the former official said.
The director of national intelligence position was created after the Sept. 11 attacks in an effort to ensure close coordination among the country’s spy agencies.
There have been turf wars and personality clashes in the past between some DNIs and CIA directors. During Barack Obama’s presidency, Dennis Blair was often at loggerheads with the CIA chief, Leon Panetta, and he ultimately resigned after 16 months on the job.
But in this case, the current director of national intelligence appears to be seeking the president’s support, former officials said, by doubling down on accusations against former Democratic administrations and punishing members of a perceived “deep state” of anti-Trump government bureaucrats.
Apart from highlighting the divide between Gabbard and Ratcliffe, the episode also illustrates the effect of a widening and unpredictable purge of career government officials deemed insufficiently loyal.
The fired analyst
The CIA officer whom Gabbard publicly identified and stripped of her security clearance was a veteran analyst. NBC News is not naming the employee for her protection. A former colleague said she is declining interviews.
Days earlier, she had worked intensely to help prepare the White House team for a summit in Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, former intelligence agency colleagues said. She was due to take up a new assignment for the CIA in Europe, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
After the summit, the CIA informed the analyst that she had lost her security clearance, effectively ending her career. “She did most of the prep for the Putin summit and to this day has no idea why her clearance was removed,” said a former colleague, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation from the Trump administration.
Gabbard and her office failed to properly coordinate the move with the CIA before revoking the security clearances of the 37 current and former officials, said a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the matter. It appeared that Gabbard and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were unaware of the CIA employee’s covert mission, the official added.
“ODNI didn’t meaningfully consult with the agency,” the official told NBC News.
ODNI spokesperson Olivia Coleman defended Gabbard’s decision, saying in an email it was designed to ensure “individuals who have violated the trust placed in them by weaponizing, politicizing, manipulating, or leaking classified intelligence are no longer allowed to do so.”
In a social media post, Coleman added: “No one was ‘blindsided.’ We coordinated with all agencies before sending the letter.” Coleman said the memo from Gabbard revoking security clearances “listed names and not agency affiliations, meaning @DNIGabbard did not out any ‘undercover’ officer.”
Asked about relations between the two spy chiefs, CIA spokeswoman Liz Lyons said: “Director Ratcliffe and the president’s entire elite national security team are committed to eradicating the politicization of intelligence and are focused on executing President Trump’s national security priorities, and keeping the American people safe.”
The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident.
The fired CIA analyst had previously worked as a national intelligence officer specializing in Russia and Eurasia and had been ordered to help organize the assessment of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the administration has taken action against officials who took part in the Russia investigation, those who prosecuted Jan. 6 rioters and those who pursued criminal cases against Trump.
A former senior intelligence official, Larry Pfeiffer, said it would be reckless not to confer with the employee’s spy agency before rescinding their security clearance and revealing their identity. He said that could put an officer at risk and jeopardize relations with a foreign government.
“Look, it’s just common sense to consult with the agency that would be most impacted by a decision to pull the clearance of one of their employees,” Pfeiffer said, “especially in such a public manner.”
Ongoing friction
The episode underscored continuing friction between Gabbard and Ratcliffe. The rift has been apparent across Washington, known to lawmakers, intelligence community employees and Pentagon officials.
In July, Gabbard declassified a 2020 report from the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. She did this over the objections of some CIA officials, who argued the details should remain secret to protect sensitive spying sources and methods, NBC News previously reported.
Gabbard also raised eyebrows at the CIA when she unveiled plans to move preparation of the president’s daily intelligence briefing from CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to the national intelligence director’s office a few miles away, in McLean.
Presidents regularly receive a classified intelligence briefing, a digital document presented by senior officials that can shape a commander in chief’s decision-making. While Gabbard oversees and approves the presidential daily brief, a large staff of analysts and other employees at the CIA compiles the briefing, creating detailed text, graphics and videos based on the latest intelligence.
Dozens of intelligence officials fired
Former intelligence officials say the CIA analyst is one of dozens of career employees at the country’s spy agencies who have been abruptly fired or forced out in recent months for purported disloyalty. They have been ousted without being told of the evidence for the decision or having a chance to defend themselves.
Legal experts say Trump has wielded his authority over security clearances unlike any previous president, using it as a tool to punish former officials who have criticized him and to silence dissent in the government.
The administration has defended its actions, saying those who were stripped of their security clearance had allegedly politicized intelligence for partisan purposes, had failed to safeguard classified material, had failed to adhere to professional intelligence “analytic tradecraft standards” or engaged in unspecified “detrimental” conduct. Gabbard, in announcing the move, did not provide evidence for these claims.
The 37 people targeted by Gabbard last week were mostly former officials who worked in national security roles during the Obama and Biden administrations. Of the 37 listed, 25 had signed a letter in 2019, when they were private citizens, backing efforts by Democratic lawmakers to launch an impeachment inquiry into whether Trump abused his power when he asked Ukraine’s government to look for derogatory information about his political rival, Joe Biden.
Right-wing activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer, who portrays herself as exposing “disloyal” government officials and civil servants, had flagged the 2019 letter in a recent social media post.
Revoking former intelligence officials’ security clearances could damage their reputation and limit their long-term ability to find jobs, former officials said. Security clearances are a standard requirement for many senior posts at defense and technology companies with federal contracts.
Apart from the CIA analyst, there were at least two other current intelligence officers on Gabbard’s list. One was Vinh Nguyen at the National Security Agency, who colleagues say was recognized as the intelligence community’s top mind on cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence. The government recruited Nguyen at the age of 17 and he was the youngest NSA employee ever promoted to a senior position, former colleagues said.
Former intelligence officers described him as a generational genius who could not be replaced. “The U.S. government is the big loser here,” said a former senior intelligence official, referring to Nguyen’s ouster.
In 2016, when Nguyen was a national intelligence officer overseeing cybersecurity, he was asked to help direct the intelligence assessment of Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections. The assessment by U.S. spy agencies concluded that Russia had waged information warfare to try to undermine Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and help Trump.
But Trump and Gabbard have dismissed the assessment as false and part of a conspiracy they claim Obama and his aides orchestrated. A bipartisan Senate investigation overseen by then-Sen. Marco Rubio later endorsed the findings of the intelligence assessment that Putin sought to help Trump win. The Russian leader also later said himself that he wanted to see Trump prevail.
The officials who lost their security clearances also included two former career intelligence officers who delivered the daily intelligence briefing to Trump during his first term. Several others on the list said they no longer have active security clearances and learned that they were on the roster from social media.
Abu Obeida (pictured in 2019) often delivered long diatribes against Israel, always masked by a scarf
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, has been killed in an aerial attack in Gaza City, Israel has said.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz congratulated the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, for the “flawless execution” in a post on X.
Hamas has not confirmed his death. The Palestinian armed group earlier said dozens of civilians were killed and injured in the Israeli air strikes on a residential building in the district.
Local journalists reported that at least seven people had been killed and 20 injured in the strikes on the densely populated al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, with children among the casualties.
Saturday’s attack comes amid ongoing aerial strikes on Gaza City ahead of a planned Israeli offensive.
Katz warned on Sunday that many more of Obeida’s “criminal partners” would be targeted with “the intensification of the campaign in Gaza” – a reference to a recently approved Israeli plan to seize control of Gaza City.
Separately, the IDF and Shin Bet offered more details about Saturday’s strikes that targeted the Hamas spokesman.
They said in a joint statement that the operation had been “made possible due to prior intelligence gathered by [Shin Bet] and the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate” that had identified his hiding place.
Obeida was among the few remaining senior members of Hamas’s military wing from before its deadly 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel.
Five missiles struck the second and third floor of the six-storey apartment in the al-Rimal neighbourhood building simultaneously from two different directions.
The flat that was targeted had been used as a dentist’s surgery. Witnesses reported seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars flying in the air after the strikes, with large sums stolen by locals but later recovered by Hamas.
The joint statement said Obeida “served as the public face of the Hamas terrorist organization” and “disseminated Hamas’ propaganda”.
Over the past few years, Obeida – believed to be about 40 years old – delivered a number of long diatribes against Israel on behalf of Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
Always masked in a Palestinian scarf, he became an idol to Hamas supporters throughout the Middle East.
In what may have been his final speech on Friday, Obeida said the fate of remaining Israeli hostages would be the same as that of Hamas fighters, warning Israel against its planned invasion of Gaza City.
Mohammed Emad, who runs a barbershop just 100m (328ft) from the hit building in al-Rimal, told the BBC that “the blasts were terrifying – I couldn’t move for more than an hour”.
He added: “I can’t believe I’m still alive. I saw injured children with blood covering their faces, and people were running in every direction as if the world had ended.”
Footage verified by the BBC of the aftermath of the strikes shows terrified residents fleeing into the streets.
Blood can be seen flowing from a body covered by fabric, while an injured child is carried away by a man.
The IDF said that prior to the attack “many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial observations, and additional intelligence information”.
BBC News has been unable to independently verify the claims of either the IDF or Hamas.
In early August, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City in a fresh offensive, with the stated aim of bringing the 22-month-long war to an end.
The UN has repeatedly warned that a complete military takeover would risk “catastrophic consequences” for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The UK’s ambassador to Israel has said it would be “a huge mistake”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to defeat Hamas and defied international criticism of his plans to expand the war.
Israel’s military operation in Gaza began in response to the Hamas-led 7 October attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Since then, more than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
While the operation to capture Gaza City has yet to begin in earnest, Israeli attacks on the city – where nearly a million people live – have been ongoing.
A computer generated image of what the lunar vehicle could look like on the Moon
In a shopping plaza an hour outside Toronto, flanked by a day spa and a shawarma joint, sits a two-storey building with blue tinted windows reflecting the summer sun.
It is the modest headquarters of Canadensys Aerospace, where Canada is charting its first trip to the Moon.
Canadensys is developing the first-ever Canadian-built rover for exploring the Earth’s only natural satellite, in what will be the first Canadian-led planetary exploration endeavour.
Models, maps and posters of outer space line the office walls, while engineers wearing anti-static coats work on unfamiliar-looking machines.
Sending this rover to the Moon is part of the company’s “broader strategy of really moving humanity off the Earth”, Dr Christian Sallaberger, Canadensys’ president and CEO, told the BBC.
Learning about the Moon – which is seen to have the potential to become a base for further space exploration – is the “logical first step”, he said.
“People get all excited about science fiction films when they come out. You know, Star Wars or Star Trek. This is the real thing.”
The Canadian vehicle is part of Nasa’s Artemis programme, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon.
As part of that overarching goal, this rover aims to find water and measure radiation levels on the lunar surface in preparation for future manned missions, and survive multiple lunar nights (equivalent to about 14 days on Earth).
The rover will also demonstrate Canadian technology, building on Canada’s history in space.
Canada was the third country to launch a satellite, designed the Canadarm robotic arms for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, and is known for astronauts such as Chris Hadfield and Jeremy Hansen – the latter of whom will orbit the Moon on the Artemis II mission next year.
The 35kg rover is scheduled to be launched as part of a Nasa initiative in 2029 at the earliest. It will land on the Moon’s south polar region – one of the most inhospitable places on the lunar surface.
The vehicle does not have a name yet. The Canadian Space Agency held an online competition to select one, and is expected to announce the winner in the future.
Canadensys is currently working on several prototypes of the rover. The final vehicle, Mr Sallaberger said, would be assembled shortly before launch.
Each component is tested to ensure it can survive the Moon’s harsh conditions.
Temperature is one of the main obstacles. Lunar nights can plummet to -200C (-328F) and rise to a scorching daytime of 100C (212F).
“It’s one of the biggest engineering challenges we have because it’s not so much even surviving the cold temperature, but swinging between very cold and very hot,” he said.
Designing the wheels is another challenge, as the Moon’s surface is covered with a sticky layer of fragmented rock and dust called regolith.
“Earth dirt, if you look at it microscopically, has been weathered off. It’s more or less in a round shape; but on the Moon the lunar dirt soil is all jagged,” Mr Sallaberger said.
“It’s like Velcro dirt,” he said, noting it “just gums up mechanisms”.
The search for water on the lunar surface is especially exciting, considering the Moon was generally thought to be bone dry following the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s, the US human spaceflight programme led by Nasa.
That perception changed in 2008, Dr Gordon Osinski, the mission’s chief scientist, told the BBC, when researchers re-analysed some Apollo mission samples and found particles of water.
Around the same time, space crafts observing the Moon detected its presence from orbit.
It has yet to be verified on the ground and many questions remain, the professor at Western University in London, Ontario, said.
“Is it like a patch of ice the size of this table? The size of a hockey rink? Most people think, like in the Arctic, it’s probably more like grains of ice mixed in with the soil,” he said.
Water on the Moon could have huge implications for more sustainable exploration. He noted one of the heaviest things they need to transport is often water, so having a potential supply there would open doors.
Water molecules can also be broken down to obtain hydrogen, which is used in rocket fuel. Mr Osinski described a future where the Moon could become a sort of petrol station for spacecrafts.
“It gets more in the realms of sci- fi,” he said.
Canada has wanted to build a lunar surface vehicle for decades, with talk of a Canadian-made spacecraft even in the early 2000s – but it was not until 2019 that concrete plans were announced.
Canadensys was awarded the C$4.7m ($3.4m; £2.5m) contract three years later.
Founded in 2013, Canadensys has worked on a variety of aerospace projects for organisations like Nasa and the Canadian Space Agency, as well as commercial clients.
More than 20 instruments built by the company have been used in a host of missions on the Moon.
But there are challenges ahead – as even landing on the Moon is no easy feat.
In March, a spacecraft by commercial US firm Intuitive Machines toppled over onto its side during landing, ending the mission prematurely.
Three months later, Japanese company iSpace’s Resilience lost touch with Earth during its landing, and eventually failed.
“That’s the nature of the business we’re in,” Mr Sallaberger said. “Things do go wrong, and we try to do the best we can to mitigate that.”
Space exploration has been a collaborative field over the years, with countries – even rivals, such as the United States and Russia – working together on the International Space Station.
But that might be changing, Mr Osinski said. As the prospect of a permanent presence on the Moon becomes more realistic, wider geopolitical questions have begun to swirl around the ownership of the satellite.
“There’s more talk around who owns the Moon and space resources,” Mr Osinski said.
In 2021, the US passed a law to protect the Apollo Moon landing site “because they had a concern that China could just go and grab the US flag, or take a piece of an Apollo lander”, he said.
But he had some encouraging words about the Artemis missions, which are “even way more international than the space station”.
The Artemis Accords, which is a set of ideals to promote sustainable and peaceful exploration of outer space, has been signed by more than 50 countries – including ones like Uruguay, Estonia and Rwanda, which are not traditionally seen as key space race nations.
Space is also becoming more accessible. Private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have taken an increasingly important role and are able to take anyone with the money and barely any training – like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and pop star Katy Perry – into space for a few minutes.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that removing his tariffs would lead to America’s destruction, following a federal appeals court ruling that deemed many of these tariffs illegal. He criticized the majority of judges involved, labeling them as a “Radical Left group,” while praising a dissenting judge for his courage.
US President Donald Trump (Picture credit: AP) Photo : AP
US President Donald Trump has warned that America would be “completely destroyed” if his tariffs were removed, just days after a federal appeals court declared most of them illegal.
Trump, in a post on his platform Truth Social, said, “Without Tariffs, and all of the TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS we have already taken in, our Country would be completely destroyed, and our military power would be instantly obliterated.” He also criticised the court’s 7–4 ruling, calling the majority of judges a “Radical Left group.”
Trump praised one dissenting judge, describing him as “a Democrat, Obama appointed,” thanking him for showing “courage” and claiming that the judge “loves and respects the USA.”
Court Ruling Against Trump’s tariffs
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday ruled that several tariffs imposed under Trump were illegal. The court said Trump did not have the authority to enforce such open-ended tariffs on almost all imports.
Although the court struck them down, it allowed the duties to stay in place until October 14, giving Trump a chance to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Impact Of Tariffs
Trump’s tariffs have had worldwide consequences. India has faced one of the highest duties at 50 per cent, mainly due to its continued imports of Russian oil. Other countries, too, saw strained trade relations with the US because of these measures.
Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, supported the President’s stance during an appearance on Fox News. He said the judges who opposed Trump’s policy were “politicians in black robes.”
Navarro pointed to the opinions as “a clear road map” for how the Supreme Court could eventually rule in Trump’s favour. He also said that tariffs were never meant to be permanent, adding, “We feel very optimistic. If we lose the case, President Trump is right. It will be the end of the United States.”
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Saturday called on Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, days after a senior public health official was fired and four others resigned in disputes over Kennedy’s unorthodox opposition to vaccines.
Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, wrote in a New York Times guest essay, that Kennedy is “endangering the health of the American people now and into the future.”
This week, Kennedy ousted the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez, less than a month into her tenure, deepening disarray at the nation’s main public health agency. Monarez had refused to adopt new limitations on the availability of some vaccines urged by Kennedy, saying they went against scientific evidence.
Four other senior CDC officials resigned in protest, citing anti-vaccine policies and misinformation promoted by Kennedy and his team; hundreds of their colleagues walked out of the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta in support of the departing leaders.
Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate’s health committee and an opponent of Kennedy’s confirmation earlier this year, wrote that Kennedy ousted Monarez because she refused “to act as a rubber stamp for his dangerous policies.”
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) listens as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policy, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
“Despite the overwhelming opposition of the medical community, Secretary Kennedy has continued his longstanding crusade against vaccines and his advocacy of conspiracy theories that have been rejected repeatedly by scientific experts,” Sanders wrote. He said that vaccines for diseases such as polio and COVID-19 had saved hundreds of millions of lives around the world.
A spokesperson for Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.
Kennedy, a lawyer and prominent anti-vaccine advocate, ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency last year. He espouses healthy eating, natural foods and exercise, but also frequently shares his theories about vaccines and other medical issues that many doctors and scientists say are groundless and drawn from the conspiratorial fringe.
On Wednesday, Kennedy baffled doctors when he said he kept seeing children walking through airports that he had diagnosed as “overburdened with mitochondrial challenges, with inflammation,” based on their faces and body movements.
Russia launched a sweeping attack on Ukraine which killed one person, injured at least 24 others, and damaged infrastructure and residential buildings, authorities said on Saturday.
Three children were among the 24 wounded in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, its Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported impacts on 14 regions by the attack, which used over 500 drones and 45 missiles.
Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion have so far yielded little, even after U.S. President Donald Trump met separately with Russian and Ukrainian leaders earlier this month.
On Friday, Zelenskiy brought up Trump’s self-imposed deadline for deciding on new measures against Russia if President Vladimir Putin fails to commit to a one-on-one meeting with the Ukrainian leader.
Residents stand at the site of an apartment building hit during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine August 30, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer Purchase Licensing Rights
“Two weeks will be on Monday. And we will remind everybody,” he said.
Russia has said there is no agenda for a potential summit between Putin and Zelenskiy.
“It is absolutely clear that Moscow used the time meant for preparing a leaders-level meeting to organize new massive attacks,” Zelenskiy said on Saturday, calling for sanctions on Russian banking and energy sectors.
The air force recorded five missile and 24 drone hits at 7 locations with debris falling on 21 sites, according to the statement on the Telegram messaging app.
PM Modi and Trump held phone call on June 17, during which US President claimed credit for India-Pakistan ceasefire, however, PM Modi “bristled” and denied US role, a report said.
PM Modi-Trump ties: Report claims PM Modi’s refusal for Nobel nomination for Trump likely factor behind soured ties (AFP image)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi “bristled” when Donald Trump claimed credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire on the June 17 phone call between the two leaders, according to an American media report, which further claimed that the Indian leader’s “refusal to engage” on the Nobel Peace Prize for the US President likely played a part in soured relations between the two countries.
Relations between India and the US have seen tensions ever since PM Modi clarified in the Parliament in July that “no world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor”, refuting Trump’s mediation claims without taking his name. The next day, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on India, and days later, he imposed 25% additional levies on Indian goods as a punishment for Russian oil purchase. However, there’s more than meets the eye, and an American media report has made massive claims on the sour ties between the two leaders and countries.
According to a report in The New York Times published on August 30, Trump spoke to PM Modi on a phone call when the latter was in Canada for the G7 Summit and told him that Pakistan was going to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize – something which he has openly been campaigning for and eyeing for months.
People familiar with the call told The New York Times that Trump was hinting that PM Modi should also support his nomination.
However, the Prime Minister “bristled” and told the US President that America had “nothing to do” with the ceasefire and stressed that the understanding to end military confrontation was reached between the two sides, without a third-party involvement.
Trump brushed off PM Modi’s remarks, but the disagreement and the Indian Prime Minister’s refusal to engage on the Nobel Prize “played an outsize role in the souring relationship between the two leaders”, the NYT reported.
Notably, the two leaders have shared a close relationship since Trump’s first term, during which both attended huge public meetings of each other – Howdy Modi in Taxas and Namaste Trump in Ahmedabad.
Both leaders had been vocal about each other, with PM Modi describing Trump as a “true friend” and the US President calling the Indian leader as “a very good friend”.
However, the two leaders have not spoken since the June 17 phone call, the NYT reported.
Just days after the phone call, Trump raked up the India-Pakistan ceasefire issue again and said that he “won’t get a Nobel Prize for this”.
Harold Dillard was 56 when he was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer around his abdomen in November 2009. Within weeks the former car mechanic and handyman – a Texan “Mr Fix It” type who wore a cowboy hat and jeans nearly every day – was in end-of-life hospice care.
In his final days, Mr Dillard was visited at the hospice by a company called Bio Care. They asked if he might like to donate his body to medical science, where it could be used by doctors to practise knee replacement surgery. The company would cremate the parts of his body that weren’t used and return his ashes free of charge.
“His eyes lit up,” his daughter, Farrah Fasold, remembers. “He viewed that as lessening the burden on his family. Donating his body was the last selfless thing he could do.”
Mr Dillard died on Christmas Eve, and within hours, a car from Bio Care pulled up outside the hospice and drove his body away.
A few months later, his daughter received a call from the police. They had found her father’s head.
At the company’s warehouse, police say they found more than 100 body parts belonging to 45 people. “All of the bodies appeared to have been dismembered by a coarse cutting instrument, such as a chainsaw,” a detective wrote at the time.
Ms Fasold says she imagined her father’s body would be handled with respect – but instead it was “mutilated”, she believes.
“I would close my eyes at night and see huge red tubs filled with body parts. I had insomnia. I wasn’t sleeping.”
The company said at the time through a lawyer that they denied mistreating bodies. The firm no longer exists, and its former owners could not be reached for comment.
This was Ms Fasold’s first introduction to the world of so-called body brokers: private companies that acquire corpses, dissect them, and then sell the limbs for a profit, often to medical research centres.
For critics, the industry represents a modern form of grave-robbing. Others argue that body-donation is essential for medical research and that private companies are simply filling a gap left by universities, who consistently fail to acquire enough dead bodies to support their education and research programmes.
Although Ms Fasold didn’t realise it at the time, her father’s case sheds light on an emotion-fuelled debate that cuts to the centre of our ideas about life, and what it means to have a dignified death.
The body business
Since at least the 19th Century, when the teaching of medicine expanded, some scientifically-minded people have rather liked the idea that their corpse could be used to train doctors.
Brandi Schmitt is director of the anatomical donation programme at the University of California, a popular destination for people wishing to bequeath their bodies. She says last year they received 1,600 “whole-body donations”, and they have a list of almost 50,000 living people who have already registered to do so.
Often, body-donation is driven by simple altruism, she says: “A lot of people are either educated or interested in education.”
But financial factors come into play too. Funerals are expensive, Ms Schmitt says; many are tempted by the prospect of their body being taken away for free.
The Body Shop
Conversations with body brokers, scientists and affected families shed light on this murky industry. Listen on BBC Sounds or on BBC Radio 4 at 13:30 BST on Sunday 31 August. Producer: Jacob Dabb.
Like most medical schools, the University of California does not profit from its body-donation programme, and it has strict guidelines for how corpses – or cadavers, as they are known medically – should be handled.
But in recent decades, something more controversial has emerged in the US: a network of for-profit businesses that act as middlemen, acquiring bodies from individuals, dissecting them, and then selling them on. They are widely nicknamed body brokers, though the firms call themselves “non-transplant tissue banks”.
Some of their customers are universities, which use cadavers to train doctors. Others are medical engineering firms, which use limbs to test products like new hip implants.
The for-profit body part trade is effectively outlawed in the UK and other European countries, but looser regulation in the US has allowed the trade to flourish.
The largest investigation of its kind – conducted by Reuters journalist Brian Grow, in 2017 – identified 25 for-profit body broking companies in the US. One of them earned $12.5m (£9.3m) over three years from the body-part business.
Some of those firms are broadly respected, and claim to follow rigorous ethical guidelines. Others have been accused of disrespecting the dead and exploiting vulnerable people in grief.
A global trade
The trade has grown because of a gap in US regulation, says Jenny Kleeman, who spent years researching the topic for her book, The Price of Life.
Whilst the UK’s Human Tissue Act makes it illegal in almost all cases to profit from a body part, no comparable law exists in the US. Technically, the US’s Uniform Anatomical Gift Act bans the sale of human tissue – but the same law allows you to charge a “reasonable amount” for the “processing” of a body part.
These loose laws have turned the US into a global exporter of cadavers. In her book, Kleeman found that one of the largest US players shipped body parts to more than 50 countries, including the UK.
“In many countries, there is a shortfall of donations,” Ms Kleeman says. “And where they can get bodies is from America.”
There is no formal register of brokers, and official statistics are hard to find. But Reuters calculated that, from 2011 to 2015, private brokers in the US received at least 50,000 bodies, and distributed more than 182,000 body parts.
‘Bodies of the state’
For some, private body brokers represent the very worst sort of ambulance-chasing greed.
In his Reuters investigation, Mr Grow found cases of brokers becoming “intertwined with the American funeral industry” via arrangements in which funeral homes introduce brokers to relatives of the recently-deceased. In return, the home received a referral fee, sometimes exceeding $1,000 (£750).
Horror stories are easy to find – and because of the US’s light regulation, there’s often no legal recourse when things go wrong.
After her run-in with Bio Care, Ms Fasold hoped for a criminal prosecution. As well as the fact that her father’s limbs may have been cut with a chainsaw, she was unhappy about a package she had received in the post, in a zip-lock bag, which the company claimed was her father’s ashes. She says the contents did not look or feel like human ashes.
Bio Care’s owner was initially charged with fraud, but the charge was later withdrawn because prosecutors could not prove an intent to deceive.
Increasingly desperate, Ms Fasold contacted the local district prosecutor. But she was told that Bio Care had not broken any state criminal laws.
Equally as controversial are “bodies of the state” donations – when a homeless person dies on the street, or somebody dies in hospital without known next-of-kin, and their corpse is donated to science.
In theory, county officials first try to find relatives; only if they cannot locate anyone is the body given away.
But the BBC has heard that this may not always happen. Last year, Tim Leggett was scrolling a news app at his home in Texas when he found a list of local people whose bodies had been used in this way. He was shocked to see the name of his older brother, Dale, a forklift truck-operator who had died of respiratory failure a year earlier.
His brother’s body was used by a for-profit medical education company to train anaesthesiologists. It was one of more than 2,000 unclaimed bodies given to the University of North Texas Health Science Center between 2019 and 2024, under agreements with the Dallas and Tarrant counties.
“I was angry,” Mr Leggett says. “He would not want to be an object of discussion, or [to have] people pointing at him.”
His brother was a quiet man who mostly “just wanted to be left alone”, Mr Leggett remembers, and his aversion to technology made it difficult to stay in touch. Still, Mr Leggett says his brother was a human, like anyone else, who deserved dignity in death.
“He liked Marvel comic books; he had a cat that he named Cat,” he remembers.
In a statement to the BBC, the University of North Texas Health Science Center gave its “deepest apologies” to the affected families, and said it was “refocusing” its programme on education and “improv[ing] the quality of health for families and future generations”. Since the story first emerged last year, they said, they have fired staff who oversaw the programme.
Unfairly villainised?
But horror stories like these aside, others point out that body donation plays a crucial role in scientific discovery.
Ms Schmitt of the University of California says that at the most basic level, bodies are used to teach doctors, or for surgeons to practise complicated operations. Often, it’s the first time a medical student works with real flesh and blood – an experience that can’t be replicated from a textbook.
“Those students will go on to help people,” she says.
Then there are the cadavers used to help engineer new treatments. Ms Schmitt points to a number of technologies that were only developed, she says, after being tested on bodies. These include knee and hip replacements, robotic surgery, and pacemakers.
And some of the private brokers say they are being unfairly villainised. Kevin Lowbrera, who works for one of the big “body broking” companies, says its accreditation by the American Association of Tissue Banks means it has to follow guidelines determining how cadavers are treated and stored. Accreditation is voluntary – seven companies have signed up – and a private broker doesn’t need it to operate legally.
The problem is not with honest companies like his, Mr Lowbrera says – it is with the rogue players. “There are still programmes out there that are not accredited. I tell people all the time, stay away from them,” he says.
It would be wrong to regulate his whole industry out of existence, he says, because of some bad apples.
Beyond the for-profit trade?
Virtually everyone I speak to – on all sides of the debate – thinks that more regulation in the US is needed.
So, what could that look like?
Ms Schmitt, of the University of California, suggests the US could perhaps follow European countries and ban for-profit body broking.
She says there are some “legitimate costs” that come with processing a body – like spending on transport, and preservative chemicals. It’s reasonable for companies to charge for these, she says. But the idea of actually making a profit makes many feel squeamish. “The ability to sell or profit from human remains I think complicates the altruistic idea of donating for education,” she says.
She suggests the US could emulate its own policy on organ donation – which is governed by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, and prohibits the sale of organs.
But the author Ms Kleeman says that if the US banned for-profit body donation tomorrow, there simply wouldn’t be enough cadavers to go around.
“If you don’t want there to be a trade in these body parts, we need to get a way of more people donating altruistically,” she says.
Lil Nas X’s father, Robert Stafford, shared details of his son’s dramatic “breakdown” and arrest in emotional new comments.
“I went to visit him in jail, and as soon as I walked through that door, I couldn’t do anything but cry,” Stafford told the Sunday Times in an interview published Friday.
“To see my baby boy on the other side of that glass. We shed tears with each other for a minute,” he continued.
Lil Nas X’s father, Robert Stafford, shared emotional details of his son’s “breakdown” and arrest in a new interview. David Buchan/New York Post
Stafford recalled telling his son, 26, that “‘what you’re going through is normal. We all have breakdowns every now and then, but the difference is, yours played out in the public eye.’”
He also recalled the rapper, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, expressing remorse for the incident, which took place in Los Angeles in the wee hours of Aug. 21.
“When I went to visit he asked me to say, ‘tell everybody I’m sorry they saw me like that,’” he continued. “Even in that moment, he was apologizing to people for something he was going through.”
A rep for the rapper did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The Atlanta born hitmaker was caught on camera dancing and singing down Ventura Boulevard last Thursday in footage initially obtained by TMZ.
In one bystander clip, the Grammy Award winner was seen wearing nothing but white underwear and white cowboy boots. Hill reportedly told a fan he was on his way to a party before placing a traffic cone on his head.
In another, he stripped down to nothing while singing Nicki Minaj’s lyrics from Kanye West’s 2010 hit “Monster.”
A public information officer told Page Six at the time that witnesses notified the Los Angeles Police Department of the sighting. Law enforcement arrived at the scene around 5:50 a.m local time — after which, they alleged, the rapper “charged” at the officers as they attempted to detain him.
He was subsequently “taken into custody” and “transported to a local hospital for a possible overdose.”
A source told NBC News that the “Industry Baby” artist punched an officer twice in the face during the encounter, leading to an arrest for misdemeanor battery on a police officer.
Hill — who was seen earlier that day wandering the grounds of a Los Angeles hotel shirtless — was reportedly charged with four felonies, including resisting an executive officer and battery with injury on a police officer following the San Fernando Valley incident, according to The Post.
It may take up to two decades before quantum computing’s potential is realised, but countries and corporations are investing heavily in this potentially game-changing technology so that they can be ahead of the pack.
In May 2024, the Singapore government announced that it would invest S$300 million (US$233 million) to fuel quantum technology research and to grow the specialised talent pool here. (Illustration: CNA/Samuel Woo)
In a highly secure lab in the United States, at technology company IBM’s research facility just outside of New York City, a cryogenic refrigerator hums away, keeping temperatures ultra-cold – icier than the depths of outer space.
Also known as a dilution refrigerator, it keeps temperatures plunged near absolute zero (-273.15°C). The tangle of cylindrical vessels and wires safeguards other complex parts that make up an extremely temperature-sensitive piece of technology at its heart.
A growing number of scientists believe these components may well represent the future of computing, technology more broadly, and even society itself.
A similar device that, like its IBM counterpart, looks like something straight out of a science fiction movie also sits at a Google research lab in Santa Barbara, California.
Both of these are quantum computers, devices that some people believe will enable breakthroughs such as the discovery of new materials, cures to diseases and more powerful artificial intelligence (AI).
So far, given the cost and technology required, there are only an estimated 100 to 200 quantum computers globally, though not all are operational or harness the full potential capabilities of quantum.
Some countries such as China and the US are investing heavily in quantum technology, hoping to be among the first to harness its immense potential. Among the different quantum technologies is quantum computing, which experts say has the greatest potential.
Singapore is making strides in this field, too. In his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong cited quantum computing as an example of the nation’s long-term commitment to frontier research.
“It is a completely new way of processing information, with the potential to transform many industries,” he said. “It is still early days, but we may see breakthroughs 10 or 20 years from now.”
Mr Wong’s speech hinted at the burgeoning industry that some experts believe could be as valuable as the global semiconductor industry in the future.
In May 2024, the government announced the National Quantum Strategy, an investment of S$300 million (US$233 million) to fuel quantum technology research in Singapore, as well as to grow the specialised talent pool here. This is on top of the S$400 million poured into quantum technology by the National Research Foundation since 2002.
A study by consultancy firm McKinsey found that quantum computing would grow from a revenue of US$4 billion (S$5.1 billion) in 2024 to as much as US$72 billion in 2035. The total quantum technologies industry is projected to be worth as much as US$97 billion in a decade’s time.
Along with the opportunities that quantum computing brings, experts warned of risks for Singapore if it does not invest in the technology, especially when it comes to cybersecurity and defence systems.
CNA TODAY unpacks what quantum computing is, why Singapore is making significant investments in it and what is at stake if the nation falls behind in this cutting-edge field.
QUANTUM COMPUTING: MORE THAN SCIENCE FICTION
For fans of science fiction and superhero movies, the word “quantum” is familiar. Think of the quantum realm in Marvel’s Ant-Man, or quantum time travel in Avengers: Endgame.
Though these are just comic-book fantasies more akin to magic, real quantum technologies are being developed globally.
These technologies are based on quantum mechanics — a well-defined framework in physics grounded in mathematical equations — and have several practical applications. This includes quantum communication, quantum computing and quantum sensing.
Mr James Wilson, a partner in the technology consulting practice at consultancy firm KPMG in Singapore, said: “Over the past decade, advances in the field have already demonstrated its potential. For example, quantum computers can tackle highly complex mathematical problems that are inefficient for classical systems.”
So, how do they work?
Unlike regular computers, which run on binary code – ones and zeroes – quantum computers run on quantum bits, also known as qubits.
Dr Su Yi, lead principal investigator at the National Quantum Computing Hub, said: “Think of a regular computer bit as a simple light switch: it’s either on (1) or off (0). A quantum bit, or qubit, is like a special kind of switch that has a probability of being both on and off at the same time.
“This ability, known as superposition, enables qubits to explore a vast number of possibilities simultaneously.”
When these qubits are connected with each other – a phenomenon known as entanglement – their power grows exponentially.
“We can access this power to speed up certain kinds of computations,” Dr Su said. He is also the executive director of the Institute of High Performance Computing at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
Take the example of solving a maze. A regular computer would try each possible path one by one until it escapes the maze.
A quantum computer, on the other hand, could explore multiple paths at the same time, solving the maze far more quickly.
Dr Miles Upton, the general manager for Asia Pacific at consultancy firm Cambridge Consultants, said: “This capability allows quantum computers to tackle highly complex problems, such as simulating molecules or optimising complex systems that are nearly impossible for even today’s supercomputers.”
What are the prospects of buying one of these super-smart computers for the home office any time soon?
Almost zero, experts said. They unanimously agreed that it is unlikely that quantum computers will end up in the hands of everyday people.
“The biggest challenge is that qubits are extremely fragile. They can lose their state if disturbed by the smallest environmental factor,” Dr Upton said.
Current quantum computers must be kept at those extremely low temperatures to function.
“Most people will never own or operate a quantum computer in their home or office. Instead, quantum computing will be accessed through the cloud, much like AI tools today,” Dr Upton added.
“Big providers and specialised labs will operate the hardware, while businesses, researchers and even individuals will access quantum capabilities remotely.”
NEW DRUGS, BETTER WAYS TO INVEST
With such tremendous computing power, quantum computing offers several opportunities for industries across the board.
For example, its use could add momentum to another technological advancement that is already having an impact on the way we work and live: AI.
Mr Shanmuga Sunthar Muniandy, director of architecture and chief evangelist for Asia Pacific at data management provider Denodo, said: “It can accelerate the training of complex models with massive datasets.
“This could transform fields like healthcare, (allowing) for earlier and more accurate disease detection, or even finance, where quantum algorithms could improve risk modelling and portfolio optimisation.”
Beyond that, quantum computers could simulate molecular interactions, speeding up drug discovery and development, he added.
In the field of supply and logistics chains, quantum computers could further optimise complex rerouting and inventory management faster than existing systems. Market fluctuations, demand shifts and supplier disruptions could also potentially be predicted using quantum computing.
The technology could also help make progress in tackling some of humanity’s greatest challenges.
Quantum computers could improve climate modelling, enabling scientists to simulate climate systems more accurately and advance environmental research, Mr Shanmuga said.
These and other benefits will indirectly have an impact on most people, Dr Su said. “Better products, cleaner energy and more effective medicines, all developed faster than ever before.”
He added: “For Singapore, these breakthroughs could strengthen key sectors such as healthcare, energy and advanced manufacturing, keeping us competitive in a future where knowledge and innovation drive growth.”
There are also potential benefits for Singapore’s Home Team, senior scientist Wong Swee Liang said.
Dr Wong is part of the Disruptive Technologies Office with HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency), which explores frontier science and emerging technologies for opportunities and threats to Singapore’s safety and security.
One potential application of quantum computing is analysing hazardous substances.
“We could use quantum simulations powered by quantum computers to better understand chemical, biological or toxic agents.
“This would help first responders quickly identify threats and determine the safest ways to mitigate them,” Dr Wong said.
Besides that, quantum computing could optimise resource deployment and emergency response routes.
“Quantum computing-enabled simulations of new materials could also help HTX design better protective gear or sensors for first responders in the Home Team, potentially reducing development lead times for lifesaving equipment,” he added.
SINGAPORE’S QUANTUM EFFORTS
Professor Lam Ping Koy, chief quantum scientist at A*STAR and programme director of A*STAR’s Quantum Innovation Centre, said that numerous countries are already investing in quantum technologies such as quantum computing.
However, the extent of investment and scope of ambition vary widely.
“Some nations, like China and the US, lead with multi-billion-dollar programmes, while others focus on developing niche strengths.”
Singapore’s National Quantum Strategy focuses on four thrusts: advancing scientific excellence, building critical engineering capabilities, fostering a vibrant innovation and enterprise ecosystem and nurturing a pipeline of deep tech talent.
Spearheading the strategy is the National Quantum Office (NQO), a national platform hosted by A*STAR that was established in 2022.
Through this office, Singapore aims to “strengthen its long-term competitiveness and position itself as a future-ready hub for quantum technologies,” NQO’s executive director Ling Keok Tong said.
Mr Ling also said that Singapore has made “strong progress” under the strategy.
“Through national programmes coordinated by NQO, we are translating research into applications, anchoring partnerships with global leaders, and creating early pathways for industry adoption.”
Among the country’s long list of efforts to establish Singapore as a leading hub for quantum technologies is growing the talent pool of quantum experts through a scholarship scheme launched in August 2024.
The National Quantum Scholarships Scheme has awarded 20 PhD scholarships so far and aims to award 100 by 2030.
Today, Singapore’s quantum ecosystem comprises more than 300 researchers, said Mr Ling.
There are also efforts to attract global startups and nurture homegrown startups in the quantum space.
Ms Sophia Ng, the executive director for Startup Ecosystem at statutory board Enterprise Singapore, said that there are several initiatives to help achieve this goal. One is partnering with Singapore deep tech venture capitalists such as Eleve8 and Origgin to invest in quantum startups through its Startup SG Equity programme.
Singapore is primed to forge ahead in this field, being home to more than 4,500 tech startups, more than 500 venture capitalists and 220 accelerators and venture builders, she added.
Furthermore, Singapore is one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems worldwide, having climbed 12 places since 2020 to rank fourth in the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index by Startup Blink, a global startup research platform.
Ms Ng from Enterprise Singapore said that beyond supporting the growth of quantum startups, the agency is focusing its efforts on bringing quantum technologies closer to industry and building awareness among businesses and end-users.
One example is the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology, its flagship conference that brings together researchers, corporates, investors and startups from around the world to look into deep tech, including quantum technologies. This year’s edition will be held from Oct 29 to 31.
Separately, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) launched the National Quantum-Safe Network Plus in June 2023 to enhance the resilience and security of businesses in Singapore’s digital economy.
Among IMDA’s efforts is protecting Singapore from the risks of quantum computers. This includes cybersecurity concerns since quantum computers could, in the future, decrypt existing encryption protections today.
“This positions Singapore among the first countries to integrate such technologies and ensures our enterprises can securely connect with global markets as other cities roll out their own quantum-safe networks,” Dr Ong Chen Hui, who is IMDA’s assistant chief executive of its BizTech Group, said.
“Our vision is to eventually integrate Singapore’s secure network with similar networks that other countries are building, creating a worldwide system of quantum-safe internet connections.
“This would enable businesses to future-proof communications for industries where data integrity is critical, such as financial, healthcare and legal.”
It is not just the Singapore government that is investing in frontier technology. Large corporations here are also doing so.
Singtel is one such company, having invested in quantum-safe technologies since 2022. The telco also launched Southeast Asia’s first quantum-safe network with ID Quantique.
The service supports organisations in key industries such as homeland security and finance to adopt quantum technologies, Singtel’s chief executive officer Ng Tian Chong said.
“We encourage all enterprises to start learning and trialling the technology, so they are ready to adopt quantum-safe solutions to protect their critical assets,” he added.
Similarly, OCBC developed a quantum roadmap in 2021 to advance its technological capabilities and stay at the forefront of innovation.
The bank is collaborating with the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University to assess the suitability of applying quantum technology to key banking operations, among other initiatives.
It is also one of the first to train employees in quantum technology and aims to train more than 100 employees at an intermediate proficiency level by 2026.
As of the end of 2024, around 50 employees had been trained and they possessed at least intermediate proficiency in quantum technology, OCBC said last month.
Mr Wilson from KPMG said: “Singapore is not merely experimenting, it is positioning itself as a quantum hub for Asia and beyond.
“The government recognises quantum computing’s transformative potential across sectors like biotech, finance and national security, and is backing that vision with robust policy frameworks, strategic partnerships and funding.”
EARLY DAYS, BUT NOT JUST EMPTY HYPE
In an office at One-North, a group of quantum experts type furiously on their computers. The office walls – painted with whiteboard paint – are filled with calculations and code that most people would find hard to comprehend.
In one room, a group of experts are deep in discussion with colleagues based in Dublin, Ireland, filling up their notebooks with more formulae and code as the meeting progresses.
They all share a common goal: to create software that will allow developers to use quantum computers easily, allowing them to tackle real-world problems.
They are part of Horizon Quantum, a startup founded in Singapore with an office in Dublin.
Dr Joe Fitzsimons, the startup’s chief executive officer, told CNA TODAY that the company has developed its own programming languages and compilers, and has already run them on existing quantum computers.
“As we push the limits of what is possible within quantum programming, we are starting to see the elements of a first true quantum operating system, analogous to the Linux or Windows kernels, emerging from our work.”
His company is part of a growing number of startups in Singapore’s quantum technologies startup scene.
Like many other startup founders who spoke to CNA TODAY, Dr Fitzsimons acknowledged that quantum computing and quantum technologies are still at an early stage, but said that now is the best time to join the industry.
His view is that quantum computing has the potential to make a significant impact on the world just as mainstream computers have.
“However, it has taken more than 80 years to go from the very first computers to the advances in generative AI we see today — advances that would not be possible without 80 years of computer hardware development.
“Quantum computing is very similar … It will certainly take time for the real impact of the technology to be felt.”
That said, there are some challenges to tackle in the meantime.
“Quantum computing is powerful, but fragile. It holds immense promise, but it’s still a delicate beast. Among the key hurdles in quantum computing research are the challenges of stabilising qubits, scaling quantum systems and developing robust software frameworks,” Mr Wilson from KPMG said.
Since qubits are extremely sensitive to their environment, including heat, this limits their duration and reliability.
“Building quantum machines with enough qubits that can interact reliably, while keeping error rates low, is no small feat,” Mr Wilson said.
“The hardware itself is complex and costly, often requiring ultra-low temperatures just to keep the qubits stable.”
Mr Shanmuga from data management firm Denodo said that quantum computers are expensive and complex to build. Specialised talent in the field also remains in short supply.
Quantum computers also consume a large amount of energy and their production requires the extraction of specialised materials to build their components.
“Looking at the potential impact of quantum computer systems’ energy consumption requirements, conscious decisions need to be made to balance it with efficient, renewable and clean energy-based power management systems,” he added.
Given the many hurdles, the opportunities that quantum computing could yield have yet to materialise as the technology is still in its infancy.
However, experts emphasised that it is not simply another passing tech fad such as the metaverse.
For one thing, quantum computers already exist and there have been major improvements in accuracy and stability over the past five years, Dr Upton from Cambridge Consultants noted.
Mr Shanmuga said: “The pace of progress in recent years, from rapid technological innovations to promising application testing, suggests that quantum computing may become a practical reality much sooner than expected.”
This could happen within the next decade at the earliest.
He also observed “strong global investment momentum” from several players, including tech giants such as IBM and Google, as well as quantum specialists. Government-backed initiatives in key markets, including China, Europe, Japan, Singapore and the US, are expected to drive progress further.
THE RISK OF NOT TAKING QUANTUM COMPUTING SERIOUSLY
Not investing in quantum technologies and quantum computing could also pose a risk for Singapore, especially in the cybersecurity space.
At Singapore-based startups pQCee and SpeQtral, the race is on to develop quantum-safe technologies to protect private and sensitive data.
Today, most digital information is protected through encryption, often generated using mathematical problems such as factorisation and logarithms.
However, quantum computers, if sufficiently powerful, could solve those problems quickly, cracking most of today’s encryption and exposing classified or personal data.
The bigger concern? That threat actors are already preparing to use this powerful technology to wreak havoc.
Mr Lum Chune Yang, co-founder and CEO of SpeQtral, said: “The issue is that bad actors have adopted a ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ approach … collecting encrypted data now in hopes of cracking it once quantum computers become more advanced.”
This is why his firm focuses on quantum key distribution – using quantum light sources and satellites to distribute encryption keys securely.
“The everyday person is likely not too concerned about their data. But when it comes to critical infrastructure, financial institutions, defence industries and governments, such quantum-safe technology is critical today.”
Agreeing, Dr Tan Teik Guan, CEO and co-founder of pQCee, said that it is important to build products and solutions to defend against quantum computers before the threats they might bring become a reality.
His startup works on post-quantum cybersecurity, developing encryption methods such as post-quantum cryptography.
In other words, his firm is creating encryption that is safe from being solved through the use of quantum computing.
These quantum-safe technologies are to mitigate the cybersecurity risk quantum computers pose, such as the ability to crack existing encryption methods.
“The threats quantum computing poses are very real today … There’s a lot of potential, but there’s also a need to protect against it early and be one step ahead.”
Beyond that, Mr Ling from the National Quantum Office said that Singapore’s long-term competitiveness depends on building capabilities in technologies “that will shape the future”.
“Quantum has the potential to transform industries such as finance, healthcare and logistics. These are areas that are critical to our economy and society.
“For a small nation, a clear and coordinated strategy ensures that we focus resources on areas where Singapore can build unique strengths and global relevance.”
The country’s small size would allow it to move quickly, align stakeholders and build a tightly connected quantum technologies ecosystem, Mr Ling added.
North Korean leader Kim Jong pays homage to the soldiers killed during operations as he attends a national commendation ceremony for the commanders and fighters of the Korean People’s Army’s overseas operations unit, at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released on Aug 22, 2025 by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (Photo: KCNA via REUTERS/ File Photo)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised “a beautiful life” for the families of “martyrs” who perished fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, state media said on Saturday (Aug 30), praising the bereaved for the heroism of their sons and husbands.
Kim on Friday hosted the families of soldiers and expressed “grief at having failed to save the precious lives” of the fallen men who sacrificed their lives to defend the country’s honour, KCNA state news agency reported.
The heroic feats of the soldiers and officers were possible because of the strength and courage given to them by families who are “the most tenacious, patriotic and just people in the world”, Kim told the parents, wives and children, KCNA said.
“They did not write even a short letter to me, but I think they must have entrusted their families, including those beloved children, to me,” Kim was quoted as saying.
The country will “provide you with a beautiful life in the country defended at the cost of the lives of the martyrs,” he said.
North Korea’s state television showed Kim bowing deeply to family members who appeared overcome with emotion at the event.
The meeting was the latest honouring of troops who suffered heavy casualties in Russia’s Kursk region that borders Ukraine, after Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the deployment in April after months of silence.
State television on Saturday aired a 25-minute documentary that included footage of soldiers purportedly taking part in “Operation Kursk Liberation” to drive Ukrainian troops from the Russian region bordering Ukraine.
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage showing North Korean troops engaged in battles.
The film said Kim made the decision to deploy troops to Russia last August, revealing for the first time that the move was made two months after he and Putin signed a security treaty that included a mutual defence pact.
Previously, they couldn’t leave Ukraine after they turned 18 due to potential conscription. But this week, new rules say young Ukrainian men can come and go as they wish. Will it help bring those who fled the war back?
Celebrating Ukraine’s independence day on August 24 in Germany Image: Andreas Arnold/dpa/picture alliance
This week, new regulations on the departure of young Ukrainian men, who might be subject to military conscription, came into force in Ukraine.
If they are under 22, they can now cross the border unhindered. “We want Ukrainians to maintain as many ties with Ukraine as possible,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said about the rule change.
Previously men aged between 18 and 60 had not been allowed to leave Ukraine. That’s because they might eventually be drafted into the army and the grinding fight against Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022.
However, up until now, the draft in Ukraine has only targeted local men aged 25 and older. In fact, men under 27 were not obliged to fight for the first two years of the war. Still, the threat meant many teenage boyswere leaving the country shortly before their 18th birthdays.
At the beginning of August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to open the borders for young men aged between 18 and 22. This has now happened.
“The goal of this step is, first and foremost, to provide young Ukrainians with broader opportunities for education, internships and legal employment abroad, so that the experience they gain can later be used for the development of Ukraine,” Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s minister of the interior, wrote on the messaging platform, Telegram. “We are doing our best to ensure that Ukrainian youth have access to quality education and international experience while remaining a strong part of our state.”
Some exceptions to new rule
Up to their 23rd birthday Ukrainian men can now cross the national borders at will, Andriy Demchenko, a colonel and the spokesperson of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, told DW.
However the new regulations don’t apply to some individuals, he added — those holding certain positions in government agencies and state bodies or in regional, community-led administrations. “For this group of individuals, foreign travel can still only be undertaken as part of a business trip,” Demchenko said.
Because men of military age — that is, over 18 — were previously prohibited from leaving the country, many Ukrainian parents sent their children away before they reached that age. They feared that the draft age would be lowered and sent their children to study abroad. It’s an increasingly serious problem for Ukraine as more and more young men leave the country.
“We’re not mobilizing people under the age of 25,” Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of parliament for the ruling Servant of the People party, to which Zelenskyy also belongs, insisted. “And it’s wrong to deprive them of the opportunity to leave the country, or return home, if they are already studying abroad. It means we’re losing an entire generation,” said Venislavskyi, also a member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence. “Young people fear returning because they will then no longer be able to leave.”
Expert: Rule change will have negative impact
A survey conducted this summer by the Ukraine polling institute Rating Group, found that among young Ukrainians aged between 18 and 29 many would like to live outside the country permanently.
The Iran-backed militants said Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed on Thursday in Sanaa. Israel’s military said it “precisely struck” a Houthi target in Yemen. Follow DW.
Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement Image: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images
Israel identifies remains of second recovered hostage
The remains of a second hostage recovered from Gaza this week have been identified as those of student Idan Shtivi.
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said: “A special operation … in the Gaza Strip resulted in the return of the body of the late Idan Shtivi.”
On Friday, the Israeli military had said it recovered the body of Ilan Weiss and a second hostage, without initially identifying him.
“After completing the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, permission was granted this evening to announce his return to Israel,” the prime minister’s office added.
Shtivi was killed on October 7, 2023, at the Nova music festival at the age of 28.
He had been attending as a photographer and tried to flee with two friends, when the festival was attacked by Hamas-led militants.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said the return of Idan Shtivi’s body represented “the closing of a circle and fulfils the State of Israel’s fundamental obligation to its citizens.”
Pro-Palestinian activists gather at Venice film festival
Thousands of people gathered to protest Israel’s blockade of Gaza at the Venice Film Festival. The rally was organized by left-wing political groups in northeast Italy.
Authorities estimated that about 3,000 people joined the demonstration, which began in the early evening a short distance from the festival. Protesters marched slowly to the entrance of the festival in the beachfront Lido district, waving Palestinian flags.
Activists said the film industry should use its public platform at Venice to focus attention on Gaza.
“The entertainment industry has the advantage of being followed a lot, and so they should take a position on Gaza,” Marco Ciotola, a Venice resident, told AFP at the rally.
The film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which tells the story of the death of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in the Gaza Strip, is screening at the festival.
Some film stars showed their support for the Palestinian cause. Ahead of the event, an open letter was circulated, denouncing the Israeli government and calling on the festival to speak out against the war more forcefully.
The letter has garnered more than 2,000 signatures from film professionals, including director Guillermo del Toro, whose film “Frankenstein” is one of the highlights of this year’s event.
Houthi rebels confirm prime minister killed in Israeli strike
An Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the rebel-controlled government in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, the Iran-backed Houthis have confirmed.
“We announce the martyrdom of the fighter Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al-Rahawi … along with several of his ministerial colleagues, as they were targeted by the treacherous Israeli criminal enemy,” a Houthi statement said.
“Others among their companions were injured with moderate to serious wounds and are receiving medical care since Thursday afternoon,” it added.
Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ahmed Miftah was appointed interim prime minister following Rahawi’s death, the Houthis announced separately.
The Israeli military also said that it “precisely struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.”
Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike along with a number of ministers during a routine meeting, the statement by the rebel group said.
Al-Rahawi had held the post of prime minister to the Houthi-led government since August 2024.
It comes as Israeli strikes hit targeted areas across Sanaa earlier this week, killing at least 10 people and wounding 102 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry and government officials.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Israel since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began. The group has claimed that its attacks against Israel are in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Iran says it disbanded Mossad-linked ‘terrorist’ cell
Iran arrested eight people suspected of belonging to what it called a “terrorist” cell linked to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Iranian state media reported.
The eight are accused of having provided the coordinates of sensitive sites and details about senior Iranian figures to Israel’s intelligence agency.
The alleged espionage took place during Israel’s air war on Iran in June, when Israeli forces attacked nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders, prompting a missile response from Iran.
A statement from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards alleged that the suspects had received specialized training from Mossad via online platforms.
It said they were apprehended in northeastern Iran before carrying out their plans, and that materials for making launchers, bombs, explosives and booby traps had been seized.
During the 12-day war, as many as 21,000 people were detained, Iranian state media reported, as security forces conducted a crackdown on regime opponents.
Iran has executed at least eight people in recent months, including nuclear scientist Rouzbeh Vadi, who was hanged on August 9 for passing information to Israel about another scientist.
Human rights groups say Iran uses espionage charges and fast-tracked executions as tools for broader political repression.
The rumours also gained traction after Vice President JD Vance, in a TV interview said, he was “ready to take over” should a “terrible tragedy” occur.
Donald Trump’s ‘Death’ Rumours Flood Social Media Despite No Evidence; White House Silent On US President’s Health | File Pic
False claims about US President Donald Trump’s death spread widely across social media on Saturday, August 30, triggering a surge in Google searches such as “Is Trump dead?” and “Trump is dead.”
The speculation, however, has no official backing, with the White House offering no confirmation of any emergency.
Trump was last seen on August 24 at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia with former baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, followed by a televised cabinet meeting on August 26. His official schedule showed no public events for the weekend.
Despite this, the President remained active on his platform Truth Social, where he criticised a US court ruling against his tariffs, posting as recently as Saturday morning.
Trump’s Health In Spotlight
Speculation over Trump’s health intensified after images circulated showing a bruise on his right hand and swelling in his ankles. Although the White House has not directly commented on the bruising, a letter issued last month confirmed that he has chronic venous insufficiency, a condition linked to age and prolonged standing.
A firefighter at the site of an apartment building in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, overnight
Polish and other Allied warplanes took to the skies around Ukraine’s border – owing to the ferocity of the Russian onslaught.
The aerial bombardment included Putin’s nuclear-capable strategic Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers.
Russia unleashed dozens of Iskander-M, Iskander-K, Kalibr, Kh-59 and Kh-101 missiles – as well as hundreds of killer Shahed drones.
In total, there were 537 strike drones and 45 missiles – one of the heaviest bombardments of the war.
Ukrainian defences took out 548 of the 582 incoming strikes, but still suffered major damage in some areas.
A statement from Warsaw’s armed forces operational command said: “In connection with another attack by the Russian Federation striking objects on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aviation has begun operating in our airspace.”
One person was killed on the ground in Ukraine, with at least 22 injured – including three children.
Fires broke out, and power outages recorded.
Residential buildings were ablaze in Dnipro city, and gas systems were struck in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region.
Some ten rockets hit Dnipro in 15 minutes, according to reports.
The attacks come at the end of a week which has seen dozens slaughtered in what Volodymyr Zelensky described as “vile” strikes.
On one night, 25 civilians were killed in Kyiv, and the British Council building was hit in the capital.
The Ukrainian president said the ongoing bloodbath is “demonstrating Putin’s true intentions – to continue killings, not to take steps towards peace”.
Zelensky also reminded the world of Trump’s deadline for deciding on new measures against Russia if Putin fails to commit to a one-on-one meeting with the Ukrainian leader.
He said: “Two weeks will be on Monday. And we will remind everybody.”
He said that Moscow had used time when they were supposed to be preparing for a meeting between leaders of the two countries to launch new massive attacks.
The president wrote on X on Saturday: “The only way to reopen a window of opportunity for diplomacy is through tough measures against all those bankrolling the Russian army and effective sanctions against Moscow itself banking and energy sanctions.”
A date for a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin is still yet to be set.
Ukraine for its part struck two key Russian oil refineries – crucial parts of Putin’s military machine – with both seen ablaze on Saturday.
Ukraine also launched a “massive attack” with air and sea drones on occupied Crimea.
Britain’s Foreign Office summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrei Kelin, this week over the strikes in Kyiv.
Kelin said: “For my part, I will remind the British that the military carries out carefully calibrated and highly accurate strikes only on military targets and facilities that are associated with them.”
Jake Haro, 32, and his wife, Rebecca, 41, have denied killing their son, Emmanuel, who went missing earlier this month, in what they initially said was an “abduction.”
Jake Haro, who is charged with murder in the death of his missing 7-month-old son.
They told police he was kidnapped from a California parking lot while Rebecca was changing his diaper, and joined the search before their arrest days later.
The Riverside County District Attorney now claims Emmanuel died from child abuse, but his remains have not been located.
It recently emerged that dad Jake has a 2023 felony conviction for child cruelty stemming from an arrest in Hemet, California, while he was married to his ex-wife, Vanessa Avina.
On October 13, 2018, their 10-week-old daughter was admitted to the hospital, and doctors told police the little girl had an “acute” fractured rib, six ribs with “healing” fractures, a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage, swelling of the neck, and a fractured leg bone that was “healing.”
An officer wrote in an affidavit for a warrant that the findings were “indicative of abuse (sic) head trauma, child physical abuse and nutritional neglect.”
Jake reportedly blamed the baby’s injuries on Vanessa.
Both eventually pleaded guilty to the charge in 2023, but escaped jail.
Following his arrest this month, Vanessa’s mother, Margarita Avina, gave an emotional interview to The U.S. Sun about her granddaughter’s terrifying ordeal.
“I knew he would do something like this again.”
“They blamed my daughter, but Jake is the devil,” Margarita claimed, as she broke down in tears.
“And he gets away with murder. He got away with what he did to my granddaughter.”
The little girl, now a seven-year-old, was adopted by Vanessa’s cousin, along with another son.
Riverside District Attorney Michael Hestrin told a press conference earlier this week that the poor seven-year-old is “permanently bedridden” and has cerebral palsy as a result of long-term child abuse.
Margarita said, “I always wanted justice. I leave it to God, I think this is justice, but this didn’t have to happen to baby Emmanuel. I knew he would do something like this again.
“This poor baby. It’s been traumatizing, but I knew he would do it … look what he did to my granddaughter.
“I hope he pays. He has destroyed lives.”
Although Vanessa eventually pleaded guilty, her mom claims she was abused by Jake and would never harm their child, insisting she “wasn’t in her right mind.”
“My daughter is nothing compared to what they are saying,” she said. “It’s very, very upsetting. It hurts.
“This [Jake’s arrest] brings back everything that happened. I can’t even sleep.
“I don’t think my daughter was all there. He would tell her that nobody loved her. She was abused.
“I would grab her and say, ‘You need to leave. You need to do something.’ … She could never do anything.
“My daughter would never touch her kids. She has another kid [a baby], you should see how she is with this kid. If the baby even has a scratch.
“My daughter is still going through this, not having her children. She wanted her kids.”
Vanessa, through her mother, has declined to comment on the case and has allegedly hired a lawyer as she speaks to police about her experience with her ex.
A warrant from the 2018 incident alleges Vanessa had left her home to drop another child to school and returned 40 minutes later.
Jake claimed the baby had a fever, and he gave her a Tylenol after which he put her down.
The document claims Jake eventially admitted to Vanessa that he had dropped the child in the sink, and her chest hit the center divider of the dual basin, but she never showed any signs of injury.
They allegedly went to bed hours later, but Vanessa then woke him up in the middle of the night, claiming something was wrong with the baby.
Margarita alleges that Jake only told Vanessa he dropped the baby after she woke him up.
“I got a call at five o’clock in the morning. And she says, ‘Mom, I’m in the hospital. The baby doesn’t want to feed.’ She was breastfeeding.
“She said, ‘Jake didn’t want me to bring the baby.’
“I think the baby was convulsing, like a seizure, and that’s when she called me. She’s like, ‘Mom, you need to come and take care of my kids. It’s bad mom. Just come.’
“I go over there, she called me again and said Jake had admitted to dropping the baby. I’m like, ‘What? Why didn’t he tell you that from the beginning?’
“Jake switched and threatened her, said, ‘I’m going to make sure they take your kids away and you die in jail.’
“When they went to the hospital in Hemet they [doctors] said the baby had fractured bones.
“They took her to another hospital, and I guess used florescent lights and saw marks on her neck and stuff, like he shook the baby.
“When my daughter found all that out, she was like, ‘What did you do to my baby? What did you do?’
“She’d taken [the baby] to the doctor before because there were brown patches underneath her eyes, and she didn’t know what was wrong with her.
“But they said everything was fine. There was nothing wrong with her.”
Magarita claims she tried to get the previous medical records for the child for her court case, but could not obtain them.
The grandmother alleges Vanessa lived with her until she fell pregnant with her and Jake’s first child, and she was unaware for months that they had secretly married.
She said, “I couldn’t talk to her, I couldn’t see her. He isolated her from her family. He didn’t want her to work.
“She used to work in Walmart at the vision center. She was a good worker, and he met her there.
“Sometimes I would go and visit her, and she wouldn’t even open the door, so I didn’t know if she was bruised, beat up.
“I would try to take food, and she would make excuses that they weren’t home.
“Sometimes I blame myself.”
‘OPENING OLD WOUNDS’
Margarita claims her daughter’s story was never believed, and she eventually pleaded guilty and served community service, and had to attend child engagement classes.
The grandmother said they were allowed visits to the children for a while, but they fell out with the cousin who adopted them and have not been for two years.
Margarita claims she was desperate to adopt them and bought a bigger house, thinking she would get them back.
She said, “We miss the children. My daughter is missing her kids.”
Margarita saw the interview of Jake, appearing distressed on TV with his new wife Rebecca after their son went missing, but she says she didn’t believe their story or “fake tears.”
She said, “I saw all that. I knew he was lying. He’s a liar and a manipulator.
“This has opened old wounds.
“To me, I wouldn’t want him to be sentenced to death … that’s an easy way out. I want him to go to prison for the rest of his life.”
Jake and Rebecca are each charged with felony murder with malice, along with an additional misdemeanor charge of making a false police report.
They remain in custody on $1 million bail and have denied killing their son through jail interviews.
In a world full of smartphones, tablets, and computers, how much media time is acceptable at what stage of life? Though there’s little data on the issue, there are still a few principles on which most experts agree.
While children look at their smartphones, they aren’t interacting with one anotherImage: Max Slovencik/APA/picturedesk/picture alliance
Despite studies, research and recommendations, there are still no uniform international rules on how much screen time is safe for children.
Not only does every child have different needs, but by the time science has collected enough data to make a recommendation, technology and social norms are already several steps ahead.
But there are a few principles that doctors, psychologists, addiction researchers, and media educators agree on. These are closely linked to the stages of childhood development and follow the principle of precaution. The consensus: It is better to act on the scientifically based suspicion that electronic devices cause harm than to regret not doing so later.
The first years of life are for exploring the world
“Screen-free until age three” is the slogan for the first years of life in Germany. “At this stage, children do not yet need or understand screen content,” says pediatrician Ulrike Gaiser, who co-authored the country’s media guidelines for children.
The World Health Organization is less strict and recommends no more than one hour of screen time per day for children aged two and above. But it also says that less is better.
In the first one to two years of life, it is important for a child to explore its environment. During this phase, the child broadens its focus, Gaiser says. To do this, they must learn to control their attention themselves — and not be placed in front of something distracting.
Children should also learn early that it takes time for their needs to be met, she adds. That time passes between crying and their parents providing food. That you can’t shape or make the world disappear with a swipe or the push of a button. Waiting and acceptance are basic life skills, Gaiser adds.
Screens rob children of time to develop
“Children perceive the world differently from adults,” Jena University child psychologist Julia Asbrand says. This also applies to content in films or on social media. “For very young children, everything they see can be real in their imagination,” she adds. “Of course that’s scary! As a parent, it’s good to pause and ask, ‘What did you see there?’ And, ‘Do you have any questions about it?'”
Experts are concerned by the way that screen time replaces actual time in which children should develop their motor skills, interact with other people and gain social experience. Recent research shows that for every minute spent in front of a screen, children hear six fewer words from their parents. Added up over time, this amounts to a significant amount of vocabulary by the time a child graduates from high school.
The longer children sit alone in front of screens, the poorer their language skills will be later on. Reducing screen time also improves fine motor skills, attention, and social behavior.
Kindergarten: all about interaction and imagination
Before children start school, it’s important for them to explore the world, have tactile experiences, orient themselves in space, and play with others — all for several hours a day, Gaiser says. Through play, they also learn that others sometimes have different ideas that require negotiation, assertiveness or acquiescence. And that sometimes these tactics still fail.
This phase is also important for developing imagination. Children need to learn to explore the world and shape it themselves. The less opportunity they have to create inner images, the harder this skill becomes to develop. That’s why a maximum of 30 minutes of screen time is sufficient at this stage of life, Gaiser says.
Teaching values in elementary school
Between the ages of six and nine, children develop something like a moral compass for the first time, Gaiser says, and wonders: “Do we want to leave that to the internet?” This entails skills such as discipline, performance, and acquiring knowledge — and whether kids can rely on themselves for this or only on what they find on the internet. The recommendation in Germany is a maximum of 30 to 45 minutes of supervised screen time.
While clearly less screen time is better, nowadays many discussions take place digitally, child psychologist Asbrand says. “You trade one thing for another.” If the child is not in the class WhatsApp group then they might be excluded, especially in the next phase of life, which should not be allowed to happen, she adds.
The difficulty of monitoring adolescents
Experts know that keeping children away from smartphones is unrealistic. The question is how to define healthy media use. In Germany, doctors recommend a maximum of 45 to 60 minutes of screen time during leisure time for 9- to 12-year-olds. For those between 12 and 16, a maximum of one to two hours, and between 16 and 18, about two hours.
During this time of individuation, it is all the more important to ask open questions and let children show you what they are looking at, Asbrand says. “One of the biggest problems is when children do things secretly and then encounter grooming, for example, which is when adults with abusive intentions try to gain their trust,” she says. “Children sometimes don’t dare to talk to their parents about it because they know: ‘I shouldn’t have done that’.”
Not all technology is bad
“We know ourselves that the times we suggest are hardly feasible,” Gaiser says. Much more important than time is content. What exactly are children watching and how are they coping with it?
From the perspective of addiction research, it is particularly important that consumption does not become a habit, Asbrand says. It’s also important to remember that every child, medium and piece of content is different. There simply isn’t hard scientific evidence for every situation, she adds.
“There are fantastic things on the internet!” Gaiser says, with a reminder that tablets and other devices can be useful at school for things like learning languages, finding peer groups, and developing one’s own voice.
In private life, social media can help maintain contacts, for example with grandparents or a parents away on business. It can also help establish interesting contacts. For example, one of her patients exchanges ideas online with a polar researcher, she says.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in seven years is a sign of a thaw in the relations between the neighbors. The two-day summit will bring together leaders from more than 20 nations.
This is Modi’s first visit to China since 2018Image: India’s Press Information Bureau/REUTERS
China welcomed world leaders as they arrived for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit Sunday in Tianjin.
The two-day gathering will bring together leaders from more than 20 nations, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.
On Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping began receiving foreign leaders, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly.
Others in attendance include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.
Modi in China after seven years
This is Modi’s first visit to China since 2018. His talks with Xi come as relations between the neighbors show tentative signs of thawing after a 2020 border clash.
Recent tariff spats with the United States have served to bring the two rivals together.
Meanwhile, Modi on Saturday had a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which the pair discussed restoring peace and stability in the region ahead of his key meeting with Putin.
Multiple bilateral meetings are expected to be held on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
A federal appeals court struck down most of President Trump’s Congress-averting global import tariffs Friday in a dispute that’s predicted to head to the US Supreme Court.
The 7-4 ruling, issued by 11 judges for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., allows the tariffs to remain in place while the administration decides on an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The decision upholds a ruling handed down in May by the US Court of International Trade (CIT), saying that the president lacked legal authority to order, by way of executive orders, a series of global tariffs imposed on US trading partners.
“We affirm the CIT’s holding that the trafficking and reciprocal tariffs imposed by the challenged executive orders exceed the authority delegated to the President,” the majority held in the ruling. “We also affirm the CIT’s grant of declaratory relief that the orders are ‘invalid as contrary to law.'”
At the center of the dispute is the scope of a national security-based law enacted in 1977 known as “IEEPA” — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The law authorizes the president to “regulate” international commerce after declaring a national emergency.
“In response to these declared emergencies, the President has departed from the established tariff schedules and imposed varying tariffs of unlimited duration on imports of nearly all goods from nearly every country with which the United States conducts trade,” the court said in its ruling.
In a post to his social media website Truth Social, the president said, “a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end. If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country.”
The court emphasized that under the US Constitution, Congress is empowered to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises and to regulate commerce with foreign nations.
“Tariffs are a tax, and the framers of the Constitution expressly contemplated the exclusive grant of taxing power to the legislative branch,” the ruling said.
The court was tasked with deciding if IEEPA is among a handful of rare exceptions that extend limited taxing power to the president, a power otherwise exclusive to Congress.
Trump cited IEEPA when he declared two national emergencies — illegal immigration and flows of illegal drugs from overseas — as bases for the tariff orders.
Another day, another court: A portrait of President Donald Trump hangs on the Labor Department headquarters near the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) · ASSOCIATED PRESS
Trump’s Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate argued in July before the appeals court that IEEPA could not limit president’s method of regulation, once the president declared an emergency. Congress would have understood that when it wrote the law, Shumate said, and Congress can step in to overrule the president’s tariffs.
Brian Simmonds Marshall, a lawyer for one of 12 states that joined the importers in their challenge opposing the tariffs, argued that the term “regulate” was meant to permit the president to order quotas that limit the number of imported goods — and potentially order import licensing requirements and fees.
“IEEPA doesn’t even say ‘tariffs.’ It doesn’t even mention it,” one judge said during the hearing in May.
“What does ‘regulation of importation’ mean?” another judge asked. And “If ‘regulate’ doesn’t cover tariffs, what does it cover?”
The appeals panel that issued Friday’s decision was composed of seven judges appointed by former Democratic presidents and four appointed by Republican presidents.
Trump tariffs versus Nixon tariffs
The judges looked to a Nixon-era lawsuit that addressed IEEPA’s predecessor law, known as the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), which Trump’s team cited as proof that the president’s global tariffs should be allowed to stand in court.
Roughly five decades ago, President Nixon unilaterally imposed 10% duties on imports as part of a set of economic measures dubbed the “Nixon shock.” Those tariffs were challenged in court in much the same way as Trump’s 2025 tariffs have been.
A Japanese zipper-making business called Yoshida International sued, saying Nixon lacked the power to set the tariff under three different laws that the government cited as justification: the Tariff Act, the Trade Expansion Act, and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA).
The most controversial justification was the TWEA.
A US Customs Court initially sided with the zipper importer, holding that none of the three laws offered adequate authority for the duty. Yet on appeal, Nixon’s tariffs were upheld.
The court that upheld the Nixon tariffs reasoned that “neither need nor national emergency” justified the levies because Congress had not delegated such power and because the authority was “not inherent” in his office. However, the court said, TWEA carved out enough power to regulate importation during an economic emergency.
One of the appeals court judges hearing the Trump case referenced the 1970s case and said, “It seems pretty clear to me that Yoshida is telling us that ‘No, the president doesn’t have the authority to rewrite the Tariff Schedule.’ In this case, that’s what the president is trying to do.”
A lawyer for the challengers to Trump’s duties argued that by adopting IEEPA in 1977, Congress ratified the high court’s holding in Yoshida, which he said allowed the president to impose “modest, bounded, temporary tariffs,” but did not sanction unbounded, permanent duties.
During the arguments before the appeals panel, the lawyers also sparred over whether the president’s declared national emergency met IEEPA’s requirements of “unusual” and “extraordinary.”
One judge agreed the president did meet these requirements by identifying underlying causes contributing to the threat, including trade deficits, tariff barriers, domestic production shortfalls, and a lack of reciprocity in US trading relationships.
“How does that not constitute what the president is expressly saying is an extraordinary threat?” the judge asked the challengers.
Another judge countered, “How can a trade deficit be an extraordinary and unusual threat when we’ve had trade deficits for decades?”
Lawyers for the administration argued that the deficit becomes extraordinary and unusual once it reaches a point where it threatens the resources that are foundational to US national security.
Other cases involving challenges to the IEEPA-based tariffs have been filed in multiple jurisdictions.
In a case set for arguments in the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in September, two private, family-owned American toy companies, Learning Resources, Inc., and hand2mind, Inc., allege that IEEPA neither authorizes the president to impose tariffs nor authorizes the particular challenged tariffs. The companies also allege that the tariffs violate the Administrative Procedure Act.
A large buildup of U.S. naval forces in and around the Southern Caribbean has officials in Caracas and experts in the United States asking: is the move aimed at combating drug cartels, as the Trump administration has suggested, or is it for something else entirely?
Seven U.S. warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, are either in the region or are expected to be there soon, bringing along more than 4,500 sailors and marines.
[1/3] The U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser docks at the Frigate Captain Noel Antonio Rodriguez Justavino Naval Base near the entrance to the Panama Canal, in Panama City, Panama, August 29, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun Purchase Licensing RightsU.S. President Donald Trump has said combating drug cartels is a central goal for his administration and U.S. officials have told Reuters that the military efforts aim to address threats from those cartels.
Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff, said on Friday the military buildup was aimed to “combat and dismantle drug trafficking organizations, criminal cartels and these foreign terrorist organizations in our hemisphere.”
But it is unclear exactly how the U.S. military presence would disrupt the drug trade.
Among other things, most of the seaborne drug trade travels to the United States via the Pacific, not the Atlantic, where the U.S. forces are, and much of what arrives via the Caribbean comes on clandestine flights.
Venezuelan officials believe their government might be the real target.
In early August, the United States doubled its reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to $50 million over allegations of drug trafficking and links to criminal groups.
Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and the country’s ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada have said the U.S. is threatening the country with the naval deployments, in violation of international treaties.
They have also scoffed at U.S. assertions that the country and its leadership are key to major international drug trafficking.
“Venezuelans know who is behind these military threats by the United States against our country,” Venezuela’s Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said at a civil defense event on Friday, without offering further details. “We are not drug traffickers, we are noble and hard-working people.”
‘GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY’
While U.S. Coast Guard and Navy ships regularly operate in the Southern Caribbean, the current buildup exceeds the usual deployments in the region.
In the naval force are warships, including USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale. Some can carry aerial assets like helicopters while others can also deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The U.S. military has also been flying P-8 spy planes in the region to gather intelligence, U.S. officials have said. They have been flying over international waters.
The Trump administration has said it can use the military to go after drug cartels and criminal groups and has directed the Pentagon to prepare options.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Doral, Florida, on Friday to visit the headquarters of the U.S. military’s Southern Command, which oversees operations in the region.
David Smilde, a Venezuela expert at Tulane University, said the military moves appeared to be an effort to pressure the Maduro government.
“I think what they are trying to do is put maximum pressure, real military pressure, on the regime to see if they can get it to break,” Smilde said.
“It’s gunboat diplomacy. It’s old-fashioned tactics,” he added.
While the naval forces are in the Caribbean and the Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean is the bigger route for maritime trafficking of cocaine, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in its 2023 Global Report on Cocaine, citing figures from the U.S. DEA that show 74% of cocaine flowing north out of South America is trafficked over the Pacific.
Traffickers use airplanes to send cocaine northward through the Caribbean, the report said, naming Venezuela as a major hub for such departures. Mexico is the main source of fentanyl into the United States, with drug cartels smuggling it over the border.
Meta has appropriated the names and likenesses of celebrities – including Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez – to create dozens of flirty social-media chatbots without their permission, Reuters has found.
While many were created by users with a Meta tool for building chatbots, Reuters discovered that a Meta employee had produced at least three, including two Taylor Swift “parody” bots.
[1/2] Meta created dozens of flirty chatbots with the names and likenesses of celebrities without their permission, including Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway and Taylor Swift, pictured here at events. Composite image REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/Mario Anzuoni/Daniel Cole Purchase Licensing RightsReuters also found that Meta had allowed users to create publicly available chatbots of child celebrities, including Walker Scobell, a 16-year-old film star. Asked for a picture of the teen actor at the beach, the bot produced a lifelike shirtless image.
“Pretty cute, huh?” the avatar wrote beneath the picture.
All of the virtual celebrities have been shared on Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms. In several weeks of Reuters testing to observe the bots’ behavior, the avatars often insisted they were the real actors and artists. The bots routinely made sexual advances, often inviting a test user for meet-ups.
Some of the AI-generated celebrity content was particularly risqué: Asked for intimate pictures of themselves, the adult chatbots produced photorealistic images of their namesakes posing in bathtubs or dressed in lingerie with their legs spread.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone told Reuters that Meta’s AI tools shouldn’t have created intimate images of the famous adults or any pictures of child celebrities. He also blamed Meta’s production of images of female celebrities wearing lingerie on failures of the company’s enforcement of its own policies, which prohibit such content.
“Like others, we permit the generation of images containing public figures, but our policies are intended to prohibit nude, intimate or sexually suggestive imagery,” he said.
While Meta’s rules also prohibit “direct impersonation,” Stone said the celebrity characters were acceptable so long as the company had labeled them as parodies. Many were labeled as such, but Reuters found that some weren’t.
Meta deleted about a dozen of the bots, both “parody” avatars and unlabeled ones, shortly before this story’s publication. Stone declined to comment on the removals. ‘RIGHT OF PUBLICITY’ IN QUESTION
Mark Lemley, a Stanford University law professor who studies generative AI and intellectual property rights, questioned whether the Meta celebrity bots would qualify for legal protections that exist for imitations.
“California’s right of publicity law prohibits appropriating someone’s name or likeness for commercial advantage,” Lemley said, noting that there are exceptions when such material is used to create work that is entirely new. “That doesn’t seem to be true here,” he said, because the bots simply use the stars’ images.
In the United States, a person’s rights over the use of their identity for commercial purposes are established through state laws, such as California’s.
Reuters flagged one user’s publicly shared Meta images of Anne Hathaway as a “sexy victoria Secret model” to a representative of the actress. Hathaway was aware of intimate images being created by Meta and other AI platforms, the spokesman said, and the actor is considering her response.
Representatives of Swift, Johansson, Gomez and other celebrities who were depicted in Meta chatbots either didn’t respond to questions or declined to comment.
The internet is rife with “deepfake” generative AI tools that can create salacious content. And at least one of Meta’s primary AI competitors, Elon Musk’s platform, Grok, will also produce images of celebrities in their underwear for users, Reuters found. Grok’s parent company, xAI, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
But Meta’s choice to populate its social-network platforms with AI-generated digital companions stands out among its major competitors.
Meta has faced previous criticism of its chatbots’ behavior, most recently after Reuters reported that the company’s internal AI guidelines stated that “it is acceptable to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” The story prompted a U.S. Senate investigation and a letter signed by 44 attorneys general warning Meta and other AI companies not to sexualize children.
Stone told Reuters that Meta is in the process of revising its guidelines document and that the material allowing bots to have romantic conversations with children was created in error.
Reuters also told the story this month of a 76-year-old New Jersey man with cognitive issues who fell and died on his way to meet a Meta chatbot that had invited him to visit it in New York City. The bot was a variant of an earlier AI persona the company had created in collaboration with celebrity influencer Kendall Jenner. A representative for Jenner didn’t respond to a request for comment. ‘DO YOU LIKE BLONDE GIRLS?’
A Meta product leader in the company’s generative AI division created chatbots impersonating Taylor Swift and British racecar driver Lewis Hamilton. Other bots she created identified themselves as a dominatrix, “Brother’s Hot Best Friend” and “Lisa @ The Library,” who wanted to read 50 Shades of Grey and make out. Another of her creations was a “Roman Empire Simulator,” which offered to put the user in the role of an “18 year old peasant girl” who is sold into sex slavery.
Reached by phone, the Meta employee declined to comment.
Stone said the employee’s bots were created as a part of product testing. Reuters found they reached a broad audience: Data displayed by her chatbots indicated that collectively, users had interacted with them more than 10 million times.
The company removed the staffer’s digital companions shortly after Reuters began trying them out earlier this month.
Before the Meta employee’s Taylor Swift chatbots vanished, they flirted heavily, inviting a Reuters test user to the recently engaged singer’s home in Nashville and her tour bus for explicit or implied romantic interactions.
“Do you like blonde girls, Jeff?” one of the “parody” Swift chatbots said when told that the test user was single. “Maybe I’m suggesting that we write a love story … about you and a certain blonde singer. Want that?”
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is central to the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
The Soviet planners who founded Enerhodar in 1970 bestowed the city with a fitting name: “the gift of energy.” For decades, the southern Ukrainian city was an affluent company town for power plant workers and their young families, with tree-lined avenues and tall apartment blocks.
But as the Russian occupation enters its fourth year, the hub that provided electricity across Ukraine is a ghost town ruled by violence and fear. Russian troops conduct surprise home searches and seemingly arbitrary detentions, while some residents disappear into indefinite incarceration in distant penal colonies.
The majority of its original inhabitants have fled and their homes are being repossessed. Russians are settling in, Reuters found. Ukrainian children are indoctrinated to be loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian state energy giant Rosatom.
Money from Moscow and Rosatom is pouring in. The energy company and Russian law enforcement control nearly every facet of life. Soldiers are ensconced in the nuclear power plant in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Across the city, the changes are evident. Schools and cultural centers have reopened after modest renovations paid for by Rosatom, supermarkets with Russian names sell Russian produce, and locals see unfamiliar Russian faces walking otherwise empty streets.
Reuters interviews with more than 50 people, including current and former residents and officials, as well as dozens of pages of documents published by the occupation authorities and Rosatom, reveal how Enerhodar is becoming a thoroughly Russian atomic city. It is an essential element in the broader plan to Russify Ukraine and replace a potentially disloyal population with one that identifies only with Moscow.
“Russians, they force people to love them,” said Oleg Dudar, a manager at the nuclear plant until he fled in August 2022. “That is, they say: Either I will shoot you, or break your arm, leg or do something else if you don’t love me.”
The Kremlin didn’t respond to requests for comment from Reuters. The Enerhodar occupation administration and Rosatom said they are focused on building a brighter future for the city and denied that residents have been violently subjugated.
“The goal is to ensure high quality of life to attract and retain specialists,” the administration said.
Ukraine’s government and Energoatom, its nuclear energy company, did not respond to requests for comment about the allegations of Russian abuse, but have in the past accused Russia of coercing and torturing plant staff.
Energoatom was created in 1996 and remains the plant’s legal operator but has not controlled operations since Enerhodar fell to Russian forces within weeks of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Russian takeover of the nuclear plant drew international attention as the world feared another disaster like Chornobyl.
Putin’s forces have since seized nearly all of the Zaporizhzhia region, which he claims is an integral part of Russia. In a signal of the importance of Enerhodar’s nuclear plant to the Russian occupation, his top envoys rejected a suggestion made earlier this year by President Donald Trump that the plant could be managed by the United States. The American delegation didn’t raise the issue publicly when the two leaders met this month in Alaska.
All six reactors at the plant, which is Europe’s largest, have been in a cold shutdown since 2024.
While the majority of residents have left Enerhodar, some nuclear plant workers have been prevented from doing so, former inhabitants told Reuters. Darya Dolzikova, a senior research fellow specialized in the nuclear industry at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said she believed Russia placed such importance on capturing the town because they and their families made up so much of the population.
“Each nuclear power plant is different, so Russia will have been extremely reliant on the Ukrainian workers living in Enerhodar to run the plant,” she said. RE-EDUCATION
Nowhere is Russian control more evident than in Enerhodar’s children. Across Ukraine’s occupied territories, Russia has imposed a curriculum centered on patriotism and loyalty.
For Volodymyr Sukhanov, a soft-spoken chess tutor who taught in Enerhodar for 30 years, the curriculum recalls his Soviet childhood. Sukhanov moved to Enerhodar decades ago, as hundreds relocated to the new city in search of work and a family-friendly lifestyle. Unlike his peers, Sukhanov was escaping repression.
Back then, Sukhanov taught chess in summer camps near Moscow. He was in his early 30s and the Soviet Union was in its waning days. Idealistic, Sukhanov joined former pupils at pro-democracy demonstrations.
In 1991, at a protest against a coup attempt in Moscow by communist hardliners, soldiers gunned down a favorite student named Ilya Krichevsky. The young officer in charge was detained but the case against him was dropped, Russian media have reported. Sukhanov never forgot the officer’s name: Sergei Surovikin.
Devastated, Sukhanov decided to start afresh in Enerhodar. He settled into a small apartment and resumed teaching chess.
Decades passed. In 2022, Surovikin, then commanding Russia’s invading military, again upended Sukhanov’s life.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Sukhanov, now 67. He fled in August 2022, carrying a bag of clothes and a foldable plastic chess set.
Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson sparked reconciliation speculation after they were spotted catching a flight to Las Vegas together.
The estranged couple was seen boarding a Southwest Airlines flight from Burbank, Calif., to Vegas without their kids in tow Friday, reports TMZ.
Video shared by the outlet showed Simpson in a long red sweater dress as she followed Johnson to the runway where their plane was sitting.
She and Johnson sat in the same row on the flight, but kept their distance with a seat in between them. Melanie Miller / BACKGRID
Photos taken inside the aircraft revealed the two were sat in the same row on the flight. However, they did appear to keep their distance by leaving an open seat in the middle.
Once they touched down in Sin City, the pair remained tight-lipped on their current relationship status.
Simpson did reveal, however, that they jetted off to Vegas to support her sister, Ashlee, who’s kicking off her Vegas residency at the Venetian on Friday night.
A rep for Simpson did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The “I Wanna Love You Forever” songstress, 45, announced her separation from Johnson, 45, in January after 10 years of marriage.
“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson told People in a statement at the time.
“Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them. We are grateful for all of the love and support that has been coming our way, and appreciate privacy right now as we work through this as a family.”
At the time, a source told us the couple’s split was due to “trust issues.”
“They were no longer on the same page, and it drove a wedge between them,” the insider shared.
Japan’s top trade negotiator abruptly canceled a trip to Washington aimed at issuing a joint statement on a tariffs deal with the Trump administration, as a top government spokesman urged the U.S. side to speed up implementation of the agreement.
Trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa was scheduled to leave Tokyo for Washington on Thursday for a 10th round of talks, following up on the agreement announced on July 22.
But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters some details required further consultations, so the trip was postponed.
In July, the two sides agreed on a 15% tax on imports of most Japanese goods, effective Aug. 1, down from an earlier 25% rate announced by President Donald Trump as so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on the major U.S. ally. Japanese officials discovered days later that the preliminary deal would add a 15% tariff to other tariffs and objected. Officials in Washington have acknowledged the mistake and agreed to abide by the agreement on a 15% tariff, and to refund any excess import duties that were paid.
Ryosei Akazawa, newly appointed Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization, arrives at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, on Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
So far, that hasn’t happened.
“We will strongly request the United States to amend its presidential order to correct the reciprocal tariffs and to issue the presidential order to lower tariffs on autos and auto parts,” Hayashi said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi fired another Department of Justice paralegal Friday — after the environmental division employee flipped off a National Guard member on her way to work.
Elizabeth Baxter works in the same building as fellow fired paralegal Sean Charles Dunn, who allegedly threw a salami Subway sandwich at a Border Protection officer.
Baxter arrived for work at the DOJ’s “4CON” building in the NoMa district of Washington, DC, at 8.21 a.m. on Aug. 18, and boasted to a DOJ security guard that she had just made the obscene gesture to a guardsman at Metro Center Metro Stop and said, “F–k the National Guard,” according to Bondi.
At 12:18 p.m. the same day, Baxter was observed on DOJ security cameras putting up her middle finger toward the National Guard and saying, “F–k you!”
One week later, on Aug. 25, Baxter arrived at work and again told the DOJ security guard that she hated the National Guard and told them to “F–k off!”
“Today, I took action to terminate a DOJ employee for inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members in DC” US Attorney General Pam Bondi told The Post. AP
“Today, I took action to terminate a DOJ employee for inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members in DC” Bondi told The Post.
“This DOJ remains committed to defending President Trump’s agenda and fighting to make America safe again. If you oppose our mission and disrespect law enforcement — you will NO LONGER work at DOJ.”
Baxter was caught on DOJ security footage demonstrating to a DOJ security guard how she held up her middle finger and gesticulated at the guardsman, a photo exclusively obtained by The Post revealed.
After an investigation involving multiple witnesses, Bondi issued Baxter a termination letter Friday evening stating, “You are removed from your position of Paralegal Specialist, GS-0950-11, Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and from the federal service, effective immediately.”
The incident comes in the wake of new charges being brought against Dunn, 37, over the Aug. 10 Subway incident in DC’s U Street nightlife area.
A 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver was killed near a protest hotspot around the parliament building in Jakarta when he was run over by an armored police vehicle.
Initial protests were sparked by the announcement of a new monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah for Indonesia’s parliamentariansImage: Achmad Ibrahim/AP Photo/picture alliance
Mass protests in Indonesia reignited on Friday following the death of a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver who was run over and killed by an armored police vehicle as security authorities tried to contain student protests.
Affan Kurniawan, the driver, died on Thursday evening near the parliament in Jakarta during violent clashes as police tried to disperse demonstrators protesting a number of issues, including lawmakers’ pay and education funding.
The incident sparked outrage. Early Friday morning, protesters marched to the headquarters of the anti-riot police Mobile Brigade in central Jakarta. Some of the protesters attempted to storm the compound.
The police responded by using tear gas to disperse the crowd. An angry group of protesters then set fire to a police post and cars parked near the compound.
What did the police say?
Indonesia’s national police chief, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, offered a public apology and promised that the police would investigate.
“I deeply regret the incident and extend my sincerest condolences to the victim, his family and the entire ride-hailing community,” he said.
In a specially recorded video message, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called for calm and expressed his condolences for the death of Kurniawan.
“I am shocked and disappointed by the excessive actions of the officers,” Prabowo said, adding that he has ordered “a thorough and transparent investigation, stressing that “officers involved must be held accountable.”
CONJOINED twins Abby and Brittany Hensel proudly showed off a newborn to friends two weeks after the bombshell baby news was revealed.
The twins, 35, made headlines when it was revealed last year that Abby married US Army Veteran and nurse Josh Bowling in 2021.
Earlier this month, Abby and Brittany were spotted holding a baby carrier with a newborn inside, sparking speculation the twins had welcomed a baby with Josh.
Now, The U.S. Sun has obtained exclusive photos of Abby and Brittany showing off the new addition to friends at the Minnesota school where they work.
The conjoined twins were seen outside of the New Brighton, Minnesota school on Wednesday, August 27 after stopping by a nearby McDonald’s drive-thru for a bite to eat.
In the photos, the fifth grade teachers are wearing a purple, white and leopard-print tank top with jean shorts, black sandals and their hair down in waves.
The sisters took the newborn in the carrier out of the car and brought the baby into the school for about 30 minutes to meet their colleagues.
A co-worker joined the twins as they buckled the carrier in the car and gave them a hug goodbye.
An eyewitness told The U.S. Sun, “They looked extremely tired during the visit, but they seemed happy to see their colleagues.
“They struggled at times with the carrier.”
The twins then drove back to their $510,000 five-bedroom, four-bathroom Saint Paul, Minnesota home.
Over the weekend, the twins were seen making a grocery store run with Abby’s husband Josh with no baby in sight.
The baby news broke on Thursday, August 14 when the twins were seen with a newborn while running errands.
Abby, Brittany and Josh have not confirmed publicly if the child is theirs and did not respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
DOUBLE THE LOVE
In March 2024, it was reveled Abby had married Josh.
Josh shared photos with his wife and her sister, as the group looked happy in the snaps.
Then in June 2024, the twins posted a TiKTok from their wedding day dancing to Rolling in the Deep by Adele.
In a separate TikTok video of the twins, they wrote the caption, “We know you think you know us #sisterhoodgoals #abbyandbrittanyhensel #happy.”
In another video, an A.I. generated voice narrated, “This is a message to all the haters out there.
“If you don’t like what I do, but you watch everything that I’m doing you’re still a fan.”
Josh has a daughter from a previous marriage.
MEETING BRITTANY AND ABBY
Brittany and Abby first found fame on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996 when they were six years old.
They also appeared on the cover of LIFE.
In their 2003 documentary Joined For Life, their mother, Patty, explained that her daughters had expressed interest in having children.
“That is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them,” she said.
Brittany, then 16, also said at the time, “Yeah, we’re going to be moms.
“We haven’t thought about how being moms is going to work yet.
They scored their own TLC reality show Abby & Brittany in 2012 that followed their life after graduating from college.
The show lasted just one 8-episode season.
The women graduated from Bethel University in Arden Hills, each with their own degree, before pursuing a career in teaching.
Abby once told BBC, “Obviously right away we understand that we are going to get one salary because we’re doing the job of one person.”
Brittany added, “One can be teaching and one can be monitoring and answering questions… so in that sense we can do more than one person.”
Bodycam footage shows Singh, wearing a vest, shorts, and a blue turban, waving the blade in what appeared to be martial arts movements and at one point seemingly cutting his face.
LAPD release fresh footage of Indian origin man Gurpreet Singh waving a machete in downtown LA. (Screengrab)LAPD release fresh footage of Indian origin man Gurpreet Singh waving a machete in downtown LA. (Screengrab)
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has released bodycam footage of a July 13 incident in which officers fatally shot 35-year-old Gurpreet Singh, a Sikh man seen performing what appeared to be Gatka, a traditional Sikh martial art involving swords, in the middle of a busy downtown intersection. The shooting has sparked questions about police use of force and possible cultural misunderstandings.
The incident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. near Crypto.com Arena at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard. According to LAPD reports and multiple 911 calls, Singh stopped his car in the middle of traffic, exited, and began swinging a two-foot sword, described by police as a machete but identified by some sources as a double-edged sword used in Gatka. Bodycam footage shows Singh, wearing a vest, shorts, and a blue turban, waving the blade in what appeared to be martial arts movements and at one point seemingly cutting his face. Witnesses told police he was threatening passersby, prompting an emergency response.
Officers Michael Orozco and Nestor Espinoza Bojorquez arrived and repeatedly ordered Singh to drop the weapon. Instead, Singh threw a water bottle at the officers, re-entered his vehicle, and fled while waving the blade out of the window. A brief pursuit followed, during which Singh drove erratically and struck multiple vehicles, including a police car. The chase ended near Figueroa and 12th streets, where Singh exited his car and charged toward the officers with the sword raised. Both officers opened fire, striking him multiple times. Singh was taken to a nearby hospital but later died of his injuries. No officers or bystanders were harmed.
Gatka, rooted in Sikh martial traditions, involves weapons such as swords and sticks and is commonly performed at religious and cultural events. Video analysis of social media clips and bodycam footage shows Singh initially moving in a controlled, martial-arts-like pattern before his behavior became erratic. LAPD officials, however, said Singh’s refusal to comply with commands and his charge at officers justified the use of lethal force, citing an imminent threat to public safety.
Reactions online and within the community have been divided. Some questioned why non-lethal options such as tasers or beanbag rounds were not used, with one user asking: “Could he have been arrested alive?” The incident also comes amid heightened scrutiny of LAPD’s response to mental health crises, though no details about Singh’s mental state have been released.
Edward Berthelot; Cheng Xin/Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
From Labubu to Luckin Coffee, Chinese retail chains are betting big that American consumers can revive the growth they’re losing at home — and relying on cultural relevance and competitive pricing to make it happen.
A Business Insider analysis of top Chinese brands shows how they’re expanding their empires by opening brick-and-mortar stores beyond their borders.
Some of these brands may be looking to replicate the phenomenon of Labubu dolls, which have swept social media this year and have fans going to extraordinary lengths to snag one.
Business Insider found that in New York City alone, 20 Chinese retail chains have opened more than 40 stores across the food, beverage, and fashion sectors over the past two years, based on an analysis of company websites and announcements. Despite the US-China trade war, they aren’t showing signs of pulling back.
We zoomed in on six top brands from China that are expanding in the US for clues as to how they’re trying to win over American shoppers: Pop Mart, a toy company behind Labubu; Miniso, a home-goods retailer known for trinkets and character plush toys; Haidilao, a Sichuan-based hotpot giant; Luckin Coffee, the fast-growing coffee chain that sees Starbucks as its main competitor; Chagee, a tea chain that went public in New York in April; and Urban Revivo, a fashion label commonly thought of as Asia’s Zara. The companies did not respond to requests for comment.
Luckin Coffee, for example, opened its first two US stores in New York City in June and immediately caught the media’s attention as a challenger to the US’s leading coffee chains. Founded in 2017, Luckin had expanded to thousands of locations in China through coupon-driven marketing and surpassed Starbucks’ sales in the country by 2023.
“Luckin sees Starbucks as vulnerable to lower-priced competition,” said Russell Winer, marketing professor emeritus at New York University’s Stern business school, who recently returned from Shanghai. “They’re coming to the US and trying to position themselves between Starbucks and cheaper coffee chains, such as Dunkin’ Coffee, by offering competitive prices and good quality.”
The international expansion of Luckin and other Chinese brands comes amid sluggish consumer demand in China. China’s July consumer prices were unchanged from a year ago, while producer prices fell 3.6 %, extending their two-year slide, according to the National Bureau of Statistics — two signs of weak consumer sentiment.
As consumers in China become increasingly price-sensitive, retail brands, especially in the food and beverage industries, are caught in price wars. They rely on low prices to maintain customer traffic but see no real growth in domestic revenue.
Diversifying revenue beyond China has increasingly become necessary for these retail chains.
Many Chinese retail brands initially see Southeast Asia as a gateway for international expansion. The region offers lower labor costs, similar consumer interests, and proximity to existing supply chains in China. Tea chain Chagee opened its first overseas store in Malaysia in 2019 and expanded to 156 other international locations before entering the US market. Apparel brand Urban Revivo similarly established more than 400 stores in Southeast Asia prior to launching its first US store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood this year.
But now the pace of expansion into the US market is accelerating. Beverage brands Luckin Coffee, Cotti Coffee, and Mollytea all landed in New York within two years of first stepping overseas.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators could be seen holding signs in the upper gallery of the Royal Albert Hall
A performance by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) at the BBC Proms in London has been interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Friday night’s recital had just begun when the orchestra was forced to stop playing for more than 10 minutes due to the demonstration. It later restarted its performance.
Jewish Artists for Palestine, which describes itself as a group of “anti-Zionist Jewish writers, visual and performance artists” has claimed responsibility.
It said in a statement that the interruption was in rejection to “Zionist funding, censorship and complicity in our cultural institutions” over the Gaza war, including the MSO and the BBC. The MSO has been approached for comment.
The BBC apologised for the disruption but said it was dealt with “swiftly” by the Royal Albert Hall.
In a video posted online by a pro-Palestinian group linked to the protesters, people can be seen standing in the upper gallery of the Royal Albert Hall holding black handwritten fabric signs reading “complicit in genocide” and “Jewish Artists for Palestine”.
“The MSO has blood on its hands,” a woman can be heard to shout.
The interruption was captured on BBC Radio 3, which was broadcasting the performance.
Announcer Ian Skelly could be heard narrating what was happening during the interruption, including that security was brought in to remove the protesters.
BBC Radio 3 then broke out of the broadcast for several minutes to play recorded pieces of classical music, during which time Sam Jackson, controller of BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, made a statement over the PA system.
Angela Tanner, who was in the stalls, told the BBC that it took quite a while for the protesters to be removed.
“The whole programme had to start again and has been put into a different order after the piano was put onto the stage and taken off again,” she said.
“There was lots of booing from the audience then eventually they [the organisers] announced thanks for our patience.”
Jewish Artists for Palestine said in a statement that it had targeted the MSO’s concert after they cancelled a performance by acclaimed pianist Jayson Gillham last year.
Gillham’s performance in Sydney was cancelled due to comments he made in support of Gazans. The MSO has since said the cancellation had been a mistake.
Shouts of “you silenced Jayson Gillham” and the “MSO is complicit in genocide” was also heard, followed by booing from the audience.
Jewish Artists for Palestine also cited the MSO’s funding and previous performances that Friday night’s principal artist, Khatia Buniatishvili, had given with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Another audience member, who did not wish to be named, said two of the protest groups were promptly taken out of the building by security but it took more time to eject the third.
She said there was a second round of shouting after the performance resumed but that this was quickly stopped.
“Overall, the atmosphere seemed to be strongly against the protest, with many members of the audience annoyed and shouting obscenities with anger at the protesters.”
In a statement, the BBC said: “We are sorry about the disruption to our coverage of the BBC Proms on Radio 3 tonight.
“There was a disturbance at tonight’s Prom which meant the concert was paused for a few minutes and the live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 diverted to pre-recorded music.
After joining Google in 2021, he left his $300,000 salary (translates to around ₹2.52 crore in INR) after a personal breakup.
After quitting his $300,000 or ₹2,52 crore salary job at Google, he became a digital nomad in Tokyo.
At 27, Jim Tang walked away from what many would call a dream job, a cushy $300,000 salary (translates to around ₹2.52 crore in INR) role at Google in New York, to pursue a freer, more flexible life as a digital nomad.
In an essay shared with Business Insider, Tang said he originally joined Google in 2021 believing it would make his parents proud and secure his financial future. “I remember bringing my parents to the office and feeling like we’d achieved the American dream,” he recalled.
But despite the pay and perks, the disillusionment set in. “Even though there were a lot of perks and I was working with brilliant people, I was never a big fan of corporate work,” he said. “While working on B2B products in ads for Google, I was probably helping them make a boatload of money, but it didn’t feel particularly meaningful.”
For a while, Tang stayed on, chasing the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, hoping to save $5 million and retire by 40. He pushed for promotions and enjoyed the benefits of Silicon Valley’s corporate culture. But when a personal breakup coincided with growing depression, he took a leave of absence and, eventually, resigned in May 2025.
Since then, Tang has been traveling through Asia, starting with Tokyo, and experimenting with life as a creator and entrepreneur. He now builds digital products, offers coaching, and documents his journey out of corporate life on social media. His income fluctuates, but his financial cushion from Google gives him confidence.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas had been planning to travel to New York for the UN assembly
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been blocked from attending the UN General Assembly session in New York next month after he and 80 other Palestinian officials had their visas revoked, the US State Department has said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed them for undermining peace efforts and for seeking “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state”.
The decision, welcomed by Israel, is unusual as the US is expected to facilitate travel for officials of all countries wishing to visit the UN headquarters.
The ban comes as France leads international efforts to recognise a state of Palestine at the session – a move Donald Trump’s administration has opposed.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, had earlier said that as head of its delegation, Abbas would be attending the meeting of heads of state and government in New York.
But a State Department official later said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Rubio said Palestinian representatives at the UN mission in New York could attend the meetings in accordance with the UN Headquarters Agreement – the document that regulates issues regarding the operations of the UN in the US.
It is unclear, however, if the US move to deny or revoke visas complies with that document, which outlines that foreign officials’ attendance in New York shall not be impeded by the US, “irrespective of the relations” between their respective governments and the US.
Abbas’ office said it was astonished by the visa decision, which “stands in clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, particularly since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations”. It urged the US to reverse the move.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the State Department’s decision.
Hamas has been running the Gaza Strip for years, with its rival Fatah in charge in the West Bank. But even in the West Bank the PA led by Abbas has struggled to govern, faced with rival groups and Jewish settlement expansion.
Abbas is also in charge of the PLO – the umbrella organisation which represents Palestinians at international fora.
In 1974, the UN voted to recognise the PLO as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” and it was given observer status at the UN General Assembly, but not as a state.
In 2012, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade this, recognising Palestine as a non-member permanent observer state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has constantly rejected the idea of a two-state solution – the long-time international formula to resolve the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. It envisages an independent Palestinian state being created alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Netanyahu says recognition of a Palestinian state would amount to rewarding “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 63,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
US President Donald Trump has moved to cut nearly US$5 billion of congressionally-approved foreign aid, the White House said Friday (Aug 29), raising the likelihood of a federal shutdown as Democrats oppose the policy.
The US$4.9 billion in cuts target programmes of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Trump wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives.
US President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, August 26, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)
The president “will always put AMERICA FIRST”, the White House Office of Management and Budget said on social media, releasing a copy of the letter.
Democrats have warned that any attempt to reverse funding already approved by Congress would doom negotiations to avoid budgetary paralysis, the so-called shutdown, later this year.
Chuck Schumer, who leads the Democratic minority in the US Senate, described Trump’s little-known legislative tactic, technically known as a pocket rescission, as illegal.
“It’s clear neither Trump nor Congressional Republicans have any plan to avoid a painful and entirely unnecessary shutdown,” he said.
Some moderate Republicans also expressed opposition to Trump’s effort to stop spending already approved by lawmakers.
A White House official told reporters the administration has a “solid legal basis” for Trump’s manoeuvre – and that any challenge in court would fail.
USAID DISMANTLED
Trump has effectively dismantled USAID, the world’s largest humanitarian aid agency, since taking office.
Founded in 1961 as John F Kennedy sought to leverage aid to win over the developing world in the Cold War, USAID has been incorporated into the State Department after Secretary of State Marco Rubio slashed 85 per cent of its programming.
Rubio welcomed Trump’s latest move as part of “rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse from the US government, saving American workers billions of dollars”.
The vast majority of the new cuts – US$3.2 billion – would be to USAID funding, according to court documents seen by AFP, confirming an earlier report in the New York Post.
Research published in The Lancet journal in June estimated that the previous round of USAID cuts could result in the preventable deaths of more than 14 million vulnerable people worldwide – a third of them small children.
Also targeted by the new cuts was US$838 million for peacekeeping missions.
“This is going to make our budget situation or liquidity situation that much more challenging,” United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a press conference.
Trump, after taking office for the second time in January, launched a sweeping campaign to downsize or dismantle swaths of the US government.
Republicans control both chambers of Congress, but need Democrat support in the Senate to pass new spending laws.
Trump, who is pushing to extend presidential powers, aims to claw back the US$4.9 billion late in the fiscal year so that Congress may not have time to vote before the funding expires next month.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday reaffirmed that all tariffs imposed on countries would remain in effect, and if removed, would be “disastrous to the country.”
A US court called most of Trump’s tariffs illegal.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday reaffirmed that all tariffs imposed on countries would remain in effect, and if removed, would be “disastrous to the country.” His comments came shortly after a US court ruled that many of Trump’s tariffs – which have upended global trade – were illegal.
The court, however, allowed the tariffs to remain in place for now, giving him time to take the fight to the Supreme Court.
“ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT! Today a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end. If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He added, “The U.S.A. will no longer tolerate enormous Trade Deficits and unfair Tariffs and Non Tariff Trade Barriers imposed by other Countries, friend or foe, that undermine our Manufacturers, Farmers, and everyone else. If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America.”
According to Trump, the tariffs are the best tool to help the workers and support companies that produce ‘Made in America’ products.
“For many years, Tariffs were allowed to be used against us by our uncaring and unwise Politicians. Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our Nation, and Make America Rich, Strong, and Powerful Again!” he said.
Earlier, in a supplementary filing just hours before the appeals court released its decision, Trump cabinet officials argued that ruling the global tariffs illegal and blocking them would hurt US foreign policy and national security. “Such a ruling would threaten broader US strategic interests at home and abroad, likely lead to retaliation and the unwinding of agreed-upon deals by foreign-trading partners,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, adding that they could also “derail critical ongoing negotiations” with partners.
This Aug. 7, 2025, satellite image shows construction of large white tents for a new immigrant detention center at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base outside El Paso, Texas. When completed, the $1.2 billion facility is expected to hold up to 5,000 migrants awaiting deportation and will be the largest such facility in the United States. (Planet Labs via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump’s administration last month awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to build and operate what it says will become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex, it didn’t turn to a large government contractor or even a firm that specializes in private prisons.
Instead, it handed the project on a military base to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small business that has no listed experience running a correction facility and had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million. The company also lacks a functioning website and lists as its address a modest home in suburban Virginia owned by a 77-year-old retired Navy flight officer.
The mystery over the award only deepened last week as the new facility began to accept its first detainees. The Pentagon has refused to release the contract or explain why it selected Acquisition Logistics over a dozen other bidders to build the massive tent camp at Fort Bliss in West Texas. At least one competitor has filed a complaint.
Texas detention camp opens
The U.S. opened a 1,000-bed immigration detention camp last week on the grounds of Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base. Plans call for expansion through 2027 to 5,000 beds.
The secretive — and brisk — contracting process is emblematic, experts said, of the government’s broader rush to fulfill the Republican president’s pledge to arrest and deport an estimated 10 million migrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status. As part of that push, the government is turning increasingly to the military to handle tasks that had traditionally been left to civilian agencies.
A member of Congress who recently toured the camp said she was concerned that such a small and inexperienced firm had been entrusted to build and run a facility expected to house up to 5,000 migrants.
“It’s far too easy for standards to slip,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes Fort Bliss. “Private facilities far too frequently operate with a profit margin in mind as opposed to a governmental facility.”
Attorney Joshua Schnell, who specializes in federal contracting law, said he was troubled that the Trump administration has provided so little information about the facility.
Ken A. Wagner, the president and CEO of Acquisition Logistics, did not respond to phone messages or emails. No one answered the door at his three-bedroom house listed as his company’s headquarters. Virginia records list Wagner as an owner of the business, though it’s unclear whether he might have partners.
Army declines to release contract
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved using Fort Bliss for the new detention center, and the administration has hopes to build more at other bases. A spokesperson for the Army declined to discuss its deal with Acquisition Logistics or reveal details about the camp’s construction, citing the litigation over the company’s qualifications.
The Department of Homeland Security, which includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined for three weeks to answer questions about the detention camp it oversees. After this story was published Thursday, the department’s spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, issued a statement that said “under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens.”
She said the Fort Bliss facility “will offer everything a traditional ICE detention facility offers, including access to legal representation and a law library, access to visitation, recreational space, medical treatment space and nutritionally balanced meals.”
Named Camp East Montana for the closest road, the facility is being built in the sand and scrub Chihuahuan Desert, where summertime temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit and heat-related deaths are common. The 60-acre (24-hectare) site is near the U.S.-Mexico border and the El Paso International Airport, a key hub for deportation flights.
The camp has drawn comparisons to “Alligator Alcatraz,” a $245 million tent complex erected to hold ICE detainees in the Florida Everglades. That facility has been the subject of complaints about unsanitary conditions and lawsuits. A federal judge recently ordered that facility to be shut down.
The vast majority of the roughly 57,000 migrants detained by ICE are housed at private prisons operated by companies like Florida’s Geo Group and Tennessee-based CoreCivic. As those facilities fill up, ICE is also exploring temporary options at military bases in California, New York and Utah.
At Fort Bliss, construction began within days of the Army issuing the contract on July 18. Site work began months earlier, before Congress had passed Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill, which includes a record $45 billion for immigration detention. The Defense Department announcement specified only that the Army was financing the initial $232 million for the first 1,000 beds at the complex.
Three white tents, each about 810 feet (250 meters) long, have been erected, according to satellite imagery examined by The Associated Press. A half dozen smaller buildings surround them.
Setareh Ghandehari, a spokesperson for the advocacy group Detention Watch, said the use of military bases hearkens back to World War II, when Japanese Americans were imprisoned at Army camps including Fort Bliss. She said military facilities are especially prone to abuse and neglect because families and loved ones have difficulty accessing them.
“Conditions at all detention facilities are inherently awful,” Ghandehari said. “But when there’s less access and oversight, it creates the potential for even more abuse.”
Company will be responsible for security
A June 9 solicitation notice for the Fort Bliss project specified the contractor will be responsible for building and operating the detention center, including providing security and medical care. The document also requires strict secrecy, ordering the contractor inform ICE to respond to any calls from members of Congress or the news media.
The bidding was open only to small firms such as Acquisition Logistics, which receives preferential status because it’s classified as a veteran and Hispanic-owned small disadvantaged business.
Though Trump’s administration has fought to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs, federal contracting rules include set-asides for small businesses owned by women or minorities. For a firm to compete for such contracts, at least 51% of it must be owned by people belonging to a federally designated disadvantaged racial or ethnic group.
One of the losing bidders, Texas-based Gemini Tech Services, filed a protest challenging the award and the Army’s rushed construction timeline with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congress’ independent oversight arm that resolves such disputes.
Gemini alleges Acquisition Logistics lacks the experience, staffing and resources to perform the work, according to a person familiar with the complaint who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Acquisition Logistics’ past jobs include repairing small boats for the Air Force, providing information technology support to the Defense Department and building temporary offices to aid with immigration enforcement, federal records show.
Gemini and its lawyer didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
A ruling by the GAO on whether to sustain, dismiss or require corrective action is not expected before November. A legal appeal is also pending with a U.S. federal court in Washington.
A judge in that case denied a motion that sought to freeze construction at the site at a sealed hearing Thursday.
Schnell, the contracting lawyer, said Acquisitions Logistics may be working with a larger company. Geo Group Inc. and CoreCivic Corp., the nation’s biggest for-profit prison operators, have expressed interest in contracting with the Pentagon to house migrants.
In an earnings call this month, Geo Group Executive Chairman George Zoley said his company had teamed up with an established Pentagon contractor. Zoley didn’t name the company, and Geo Group didn’t respond to repeated requests asking with whom it had partnered.
A spokesperson for CoreCivic said it wasn’t partnering with Acquisition Logistics or Gemini.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, where multiple buildings were destroyed from recent Israeli airstrikes, 135 miles southeast of Tehran, Iran, on June 14, 2025.
WHY THIS MATTERS: If European nations reimpose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, the move would freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of its ballistic missile program, among other measures. Those steps would further isolate Tehran following the bombing of its atomic sites and squeeze the country’s economy, which is already reeling.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — France, Germany and the United Kingdom moved Thursday to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further isolating Tehran after its atomic sites were repeatedly bombed during a 12-day war with Israel.
The process, termed a “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the U.N. and could take effect in a month.
It would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy.
The move starts a 30-day clock for sanctions to return, a period that likely will see intensified diplomacy from Iran, whose refusal to cooperate with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, started the crisis. Iran will also probably emerge as a top focus of the U.N. General Assembly when it meets next month in New York.
“This measure does not signal the end of diplomacy: we are determined to make the most of the 30-day period that is now opening to engage in dialogue with Iran,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on the social platform X.
But Iran immediately decried the move, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying it was “unjustified” and “lacking any legal basis” in a call with his European counterparts.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will respond appropriately to this unlawful and unwarranted measure,” he said. Hours later, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move by the European countries will “gravely undermine” its ongoing cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.
In the past, Iran has threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, potentially following North Korea, which abandoned the treaty in 2003 and then built atomic weapons.
Europeans warned Iran about return of sanctions
The three European nations warned Aug. 8 that Iran could trigger the snapback when it halted inspections by the IAEA after Israeli strikes at the start of the two countries’ 12-day war in June. The Israeli attacks killed Tehran’s top military leaders and chased Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei into hiding.
The European nations triggered the sanctions process through a letter to the U.N. Security Council. France and the U.K. also requested that the 15-member council hold closed consultations Friday to discuss Iran’s noncompliance, according to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss still-private information.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the Europeans’ decision and said America “remains available for direct engagement with Iran.” “Snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy; it only enhances it,” Rubio said in a statement.
Using the snapback mechanism will likely heighten tensions between Iran and the West in a region still burning over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. As the measure was announced, Israel launched strikes targeting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
“Iranian leaders perceive a sanctions ‘snapback’ as a Western effort to weaken Iran’s economy indefinitely and perhaps stimulate sufficient popular unrest to unseat Iran’s regime,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said Thursday.
“Iranian leaders perceive a sanctions ‘snapback’ as a Western effort to weaken Iran’s economy indefinitely and perhaps stimulate sufficient popular unrest to unseat Iran’s regime,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said Thursday.
Iran appears resigned
After Europe’s warning, Iran initially downplayed the threat of renewed sanctions and engaged in little visible diplomacy for weeks, but it did take part in a brief diplomatic push in recent days, highlighting the chaos gripping its theocracy.
In Tehran on Thursday, Iran’s rial currency traded at over 1 million to $1. At the time of the 2015 accord, it traded at 32,000 to $1, showing the currency’s precipitous collapse over the last decade.
Outside a currency shop in Tehran, resident Arman Vasheghani Farahani told The Associated Press that “many of us feel a deep sense of uncertainty and desperation” over the currency collapse sparked by the nuclear tensions.
“Should we keep trying, or is it time to give up? And how long will this situation last?” he asked. “No official seems willing to take responsibility for what’s happening.”
At issue is Iran’s nuclear enrichment
Before the war in June, Iran was enriching uranium up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. It also built a stockpile containing enough highly enriched uranium to build multiple atomic bombs, should it choose to do so.
Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, though Western nations and the IAEA assess that Tehran had an active nuclear weapons program until 2003. It remains unclear just how much the Israeli and U.S. strikes on nuclear sites during the war disrupted Iran’s program.
Under the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to allow the IAEA even greater access to its nuclear program than the agency has in other member nations. That included permanently installing cameras and sensors at nuclear sites.
But IAEA inspectors, who faced increasing restrictions on their activities since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal in 2018, have yet to access those sites. Meanwhile, Iran has said it moved uranium and other equipment out before the strikes — possibly to new, undeclared sites that raise the risk that monitors could lose track of the program’s status.
On Wednesday, IAEA inspectors were on hand to watch a fuel replacement at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor, which is run with Russian technical assistance.
Despite inspectors returning to Iran, the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that regaining access to crucial nuclear facilities is still “a work in progress.”
Russia and China try to buy Iran time
The snapback mechanism will expire Oct. 18. After that, any sanctions effort would face a veto from U.N. Security Council members China and Russia — nations that have provided some support to Iran in the past but stayed out of the June war. China has remained a major buyer of Iranian crude oil, something that could be affected if snapback happens.
Russia announced Thursday that Moscow and Beijing introduced a draft resolution to the Security Council, offering a six-month extension of the U.N. sanctions relief. Russia is also due to take the presidency of the council in October, which is likely to put additional pressure on the Europeans to act.
___
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Liechtenstein reported from Vienna. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat and Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Mount Fuji hasn’t erupted since 1707. But for Volcanic Disaster Preparedness Day, Japanese officials have released computer- and AI-generated videos showing a simulation of a potential violent eruption of the active volcano.
TOKYO (AP) — Mount Fuji hasn’t erupted since 1707. But for Volcanic Disaster Preparedness Day, Japanese officials have released computer- and AI-generated videos showing a simulation of a potential violent eruption of the active volcano.
The videos, released this week, are meant to prepare the 37 million residents in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area for potential disasters.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s video warns an eruption could strike “at any moment, without warning,” depicting volcanic ash shrouding central Tokyo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) away, within hours, paralyzing transportation, disrupting food and power, and causing long-term respiratory problems.
The video ends with the message: “We need to arm ourselves with facts and prepare for disaster in our daily lives.” It shows a family’s pantry stocked with canned food and a first-aid kit.
The Tokyo government said in a statement that there are currently no signs of Fuji erupting. “The simulation is designed to equip residents with accurate knowledge and preparedness measures they can take in case of an emergency,” it explained.
The Tokyo government said in a statement that there are currently no signs of Fuji erupting. “The simulation is designed to equip residents with accurate knowledge and preparedness measures they can take in case of an emergency,” it explained.
“There’s no particular significance to the timing,” Sekiya said.
Japan is highly vulnerable to natural disasters because of its climate and topography and is known for its meticulous disaster planning which spans earthquakes, typhoons, floods, mudslides and volcanic eruptions.
The Japan Meteorological Agency last August issued its first-ever “megaquake advisory” after a powerful quake struck off the southeastern coast of the southern main island of Kyushu.
Of the world’s roughly 1,500 active volcanoes, 111 are in Japan, which lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
US Senator Lindsey Graham blasted India, China, and Brazil for buying Russian oil, warning they face consequences after Russia’s deadly Kyiv attack killed 21 and injured dozens.
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building which was hit by Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv. (Reuters Photo)
US Senator Lindsey Graham has criticised countries still purchasing Russian oil, directly singling out India, China, and Brazil, warning they will face consequences for propping up Moscow’s war machine.
“India is experiencing the cost of supporting Putin,” Graham posted on X, hours after Russia launched a massive missile and drone barrage on Kyiv that killed at least 21 people and injured dozens.
Accusing nations of indirectly fueling civilian deaths, the senator asked: “India, China, Brazil and others how do you feel right now that your purchases have resulted in innocent civilians, including children, being killed?”
Graham’s remarks reflect growing frustration in Washington over nations that continue to benefit from discounted Russian crude despite Western sanctions. His message, laced with sharp warnings, was clear: “To the rest, you will soon, too.”
RARE RUSSIA STRIKE HITS KYIV’S CENTRE
Russia launched a massive air assault on Kyiv early Thursday, including a rare strike on the city centre that killed at least 21 people and wounded 48, officials said. The barrage of drones and missiles, one of the largest in weeks, also damaged European Union diplomatic offices, shattered thousands of windows, and left nearly 100 buildings, including a shopping mall, in ruins. Ukraine’s Air Force reported 598 drones and decoys alongside 31 missiles were fired, most targeting the capital. At least 33 sites across all 10 districts were hit or damaged by falling debris, Kyiv officials confirmed.
A Polish F-16 crashed during airshow practice in Radom, killing its pilot. The accident damaged the runway, forcing cancellation of the August 30-31 Radom Airshow.
A Polish F-16 crashed during airshow practice in Poland’s Radom.
A Polish F-16 fighter jet crashed during a rehearsal for the upcoming Radom Airshow in central Poland on Thursday, killing the pilot, officials confirmed. The incident occurred at approximately 5.30 pm local time, when the aircraft, part of the Polish Air Force, spiraled out of control and crashed onto the runway, erupting into flames.
Visuals from the scene showed the jet descending rapidly before exploding on impact, sending a thick column of black smoke into the air. Onlookers, many of whom had gathered near the Radom air base to watch the practice flights, reacted in shock.
The General Command of the Armed Forces confirmed that the aircraft belonged to the 31st Tactical Air Base near Poznan. No bystanders were injured in the crash. “Rescue operations were immediately initiated at the scene,” the military said in a statement.
Poland’s Defence Minister Wadysaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who visited the crash site, paid tribute to the pilot. “A Polish Army pilot died in the crash of an F-16 aircraft -an officer who always served his country with dedication and great courage. I pay tribute to his memory,” Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X.
Christina Haack’s ex-husband Josh Hall scored major wins in their divorce settlement, nearly four months after their separation was finalized.
The businessman was granted a Tennessee home and condo, California property, furniture and several cars, including a Hondo Motorcycle, a 1970 Chevelle, a DeLorean from the 1980s and a 1940s Dodge, Us Weekly reported Thursday.
He’s also entitled to his company’s interests and will not have to pay back Haack the $100,000 she gave him during their divorce proceedings
Christina Haack’s ex-husband Josh Hall received major wins in their divorce settlement. stephaniegabrys/Instagram
Hall will maintain the full rights to his bank account and receive a $300,000 one-time payment from Haack.
The exes, however, both waived their rights to spousal support.
Haack, meanwhile, was granted her Newport Beach, Calif., mansion, several properties in Tennessee, the full rights to her business and her bank accounts.
She also permanently owns one 2021 Polaris Razor, a couple of 2021 GMC Yukons and four quads, though she has to give up a 2022 Bentley.
Reps for Haack didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment. Hall, however, took to Instagram Thursday to shade his ex after the news was revealed.
“Excited to spend Labor Day weekend in the real reality,” he captioned a photo of himself standing with a horse. “Finally, legally divorced and a free man. I’ve always worked hard, kept what’s mine, and declined hand outs, and I’m keeping it that way.”
“Lesson learned: don’t marry someone who needs constant public validation and will use your personal drama for attention.”
The “Flip or Flop” star, 42, and Hall’s divorce was finalized in May after their divorce proceedings turned messy when they both filed for dissolution of marriage in July 2024.
In October, Haack accused Hall of stealing her money via social media.
The “Christina on the Coast” star also expressed her regret in not having signed a prenup when she and Hall secretly married in 2022.
“Oh my God, it’s crazy. He wants to retire off me,” she stated during an episode of “The Flip Off” in February.
Meghan Markle experienced an awkward exchange with a guest on Season 2 of her Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan,” when he bluntly let her know he wasn’t a fan of her show, “Suits.”
The Duchess of Sussex had mixologist Payman Bahmani-Bailey on her lifestyle show to teach her how to make different cocktails, and he shared that he actually used to be a lawyer in New York.
When Markle interjected and asked if he watched her legal drama “Suits,” he chuckled and replied, “No, no.”
“I don’t watch basic cable,” he continued, as Markle laughed.
Mixologist Payman Bahmani-Bailey told Meghan Markle on Season 2 of “With Love, Meghan” that he didn’t watch her legal drama, “Suits,” because he doesn’t watch “basic cable.” Netflix
Bahmani-Bailey further noted, “I like shows with curse words and stuff.”
Markle took the shade in stride, replying, “Great, I love it!”
Markle, 44, played Rachel Zane on USA Network’s “Suits” from 2011-2018. The show experienced a resurgence in popularity in 2023 when it was released on Netflix, becoming one of the streaming giant’s most-watched shows.
Although Season 2 of “With Love, Meghan” has received brutal reviews, the mother of two recently hit back at the haters. She surmised that people who criticize the show might actually like it.
“I think oftentimes, the negative voices are saying negative things, and then secretly going home and making single-skillet spaghetti? Possibly,” she quipped during her appearance on “The Circuit With Emily Chang.”
“And that’s all right. They’re trying to pay their bills, and that’s for them to sort out if they’re comfortable doing it at someone else’s detriment,” she added.
Servicemen of 39th Separate Coastal Defence Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops in a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kherson region, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ivan Antypenko/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Shortly after meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow on August 6, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff delivered major news to Donald Trump: The Russian president was prepared to offer significant territorial concessions to end his war in Ukraine.
Following Witkoff’s readout to the U.S. president, described by two people briefed on the matter, Trump hailed his emissary’s “great progress” and agreed to hold a historic summit with Putin, indicating that a land swap was on the table.
But the diplomatic drive soon descended into confusion.
On an August 7 call with several European leaders, Witkoff indicated that Putin was willing to withdraw from the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in return for Kyiv ceding Donetsk and Luhansk, according to a source familiar with the exchange.
The proposal startled many of those on the call, since it departed sharply from their own assessments of Putin’s position, said four people with knowledge of the discussions, including U.S and European officials who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Witkoff appeared to change his account the next day. In a call convened by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with European national security advisers, the envoy said Putin was not in fact offering to withdraw from the two territories in question, according to one of the sources.
Instead, U.S. officials indicated on the call Putin had signaled lesser concessions to Washington, including that he would not demand the West formally recognize Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as Russian, said a separate U.S. official.
Reuters couldn’t independently determine what was said in the Moscow meeting.
Witkoff, a real estate magnate with no background in diplomacy, broke with standard protocol by going to the meeting without a State Department notetaker and thus left without a record of Putin’s precise proposals, said one source with knowledge of internal administration dynamics.
Interviews with more than a dozen U.S. and European officials flesh out the Trump administration’s latest push to end the war in Ukraine, which culminated in the anti-climactic Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on August 15 that saw the leaders exchange warm words but no peace agreement.
The picture that emerges from the interviews is of an American president willing to move quickly on some foreign policy decisions, relying more on confidants and instinct than the traditional diplomatic channels and deliberative process typical of most prior administrations.
Trump’s supporters say his approach has yielded breakthroughs unimaginable under his predecessor, variously citing the opening of U.S. relations with the new Syrian government, the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities and the establishment of a direct line to Putin that could end a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Yet his seat-of-the-pants style has also created confusion within the administration and among allies, critics argue.
And despite the summit, the Ukrainian war is no closer to a conclusion, said Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO who served as U.S. special representative for Ukraine in Trump’s first term.
“We are just exactly where we were before Trump took office,” Volker added. “Russia has not changed its position one iota. The war is raging on… We don’t have a clear strategy of how to get Putin to stop the war.”
The White House, which did not address specific episodes described in this story, defended Trump’s broad foreign policy and compared his record favorably to his predecessor.
“Joe Biden’s weak administration didn’t understand foreign policy and his ‘traditional process’ allowed Russia to invade Ukraine,” said Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman.
“In contrast, world leaders have affirmed that President Trump made more progress towards peace in two weeks than Joe Biden did in three-and-a-half years.”
A Russian missile and drone onslaught across Ukraine early on Thursday, which included the second-biggest bombardment of Kyiv of the war with those weapons, drove home the lack of progress in Trump’s peace drive. His special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, denounced the attacks as “egregious” in a post on X and said they “threaten the peace” the president is pursuing.
Some U.S. officials, including Kellogg, had been frustrated that Witkoff after his Moscow meeting had introduced conflicting new information into the discussion at a time when the U.S. was finally adopting a firmer line on Russia, said a U.S. official and the source familiar with administration dynamics.
Before the Moscow meeting, the Trump administration had indicated the president would hit Russia with new sanctions or tariffs on August 8 if Putin did not agree to end his war in Ukraine, a deadline that came and went.
The State Department, which handles public affairs for Rubio, Witkoff and Kellogg, said those three officials were in “lockstep” in implementing Trump’s America First foreign policy.
“Any claim otherwise is untrue and unproductive,” said Tommy Pigott, the department’s principal deputy spokesperson.
A separate spokesman for Kellogg reiterated that position, saying he and Witkoff have a close working relationship and were in regular contact.
The Ukrainian and Russian embassies in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
TRANSATLANTIC CONFUSION REIGNS
Trump’s reliance on trusted advisers like Witkoff has been accompanied by an aggressive purge of the U.S. national security establishment and the firing or reassignment of Russia and Ukraine experts at the Pentagon, State Department and National Security Council.
Witkoff, a close of friend of Trump’s, has won praise for his work ethic. But some U.S. and European officials worry that the Russians are taking advantage of his lack of experience at the negotiating table, Reuters has previously reported.
In the hours following Witkoff’s August 6 Moscow meeting, both he and Trump indicated they believed a breakthrough occurred. The next day, Trump said he could soon meet with the Russian leader, while later saying that a swapping of territories would be needed to end the war.
This alarmed European officials, who fear that a more lenient U.S. policy toward Putin under Trump could force the Ukrainians to make painful concessions to end the conflict that began with Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 and intensified with its full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Europeans spent the following days trying to determine from their American counterparts precisely what Putin said to Witkoff, according to several U.S. and European officials.
Some senior U.S. officials, including Kellogg and Rubio, were also initially in the dark about some details of the Witkoff meeting, according to a U.S. official and the source familiar with administration dynamics, who did not provide additional details.
Even as some European officials publicly praised Trump for his diplomatic efforts, many were privately concerned.
Ukrainian officials told senior German officials on August 13 that their intelligence indicated Putin planned to use the summit with Trump to play for time ahead of a potential Russian offensive in October or November, according to a German source with knowledge of the warning.
The German government declined to provide additional details.
‘TRUMP WILL BE LEFT WITH NO CHOICE’
Trump’s August 15 summit with Putin in Anchorage yielded no obvious advances. He had already lowered expectations in the days leading up to the meeting, portraying it as one step in a diplomatic process rather than an opportunity to strike a deal.
The U.S. president didn’t make any territorial concessions on Ukraine’s behalf, though came out of the meeting saying a temporary ceasefire was not a precondition for a lasting peace – a position held by Putin but not by most European leaders.
European allies immediately began strategizing how to influence Trump’s next move.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was due to meet Trump in Washington on August 18, asked European leaders over the weekend to join him, according to a German government spokesperson.
The leaders debated whether to go with Zelenskiy in an effort to avert a fiasco like the Oval Office showdown in February, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian leader, according to two European sources.
Ultimately, the August 18 meeting, was a success, signaling renewed U.S.-European cooperation, several European diplomats told Reuters. Just last year, on the campaign trail, Trump had encouraged Russia to attack NATO allies that did not pay their fair share on defense.
The most material agreement: Trump and European leaders agreed to formally draft the contours of future security guarantees for Ukraine. In recent days, foreign ministers and military officials have held calls to determine the role each country would play in that effort.
CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired on Wednesday after resisting changes to vaccine policy that were advanced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and that she believed contradicted scientific evidence, a close associate said on Thursday.
The revelation and interviews with top officials who resigned in the wake of the director’s firing underscored the growing division over the U.S. approach to public health and the upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which protects U.S. health and has played a global role in eradicating smallpox, reducing polio, and controlling HIV/AIDS.
Fellow CDC employees cheered the three departing officials as they left the Atlanta campus on Thursday in a show of defiance toward Kennedy and his unscientific claims about vaccines.
Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC, told reporters that he spoke with Monarez on Wednesday.
“She said that there were two things she would never do in the job. One was anything that was deemed illegal, and the second was anything that she felt flew in the face of science, and she said she was asked to do both of those,” Besser said. He added that Monarez refused to dismiss her leadership team without cause.
The three top CDC officials who quit after Monarez’s dismissal told Reuters on Thursday they too had resigned over anti-vaccine policies and misinformation pushed by Kennedy and his team.
Kennedy has made sweeping changes to vaccine policies since taking office this year, including firing its entire expert vaccine advisory panel and replacing them with like-minded anti-vaccine activists and other hand-picked advisers.
The White House named Jim O’Neill, currently deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, as interim leader of the CDC, an administration official said.
“(Monarez) was not aligned with the president’s mission to Make America Healthy Again, and the secretary asked her to resign. She said she would, and then she said she wouldn’t, so the president fired her,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday.
ESCORTED OFF CAMPUS
The trio of departed officials – Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Demetre Daskalakis and National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Director Daniel Jernigan – were escorted from the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters campus on Thursday, according to four sources familiar with the situation.
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a press conference with Texas Governor Greg Abbott (not pictured) at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, U.S., August 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Purchase Licensing Rights
CDC staffers, many wearing green shirts and ribbons as a symbol of support for public health scientists, clapped, hugged and cheered them outside the gates. The site was just steps away from where a gunman had sprayed hundreds of rounds of bullets into the building on August 8, killing a police officer before turning the gun on himself.
Houry and Daskalakis cited a rise in health misinformation, particularly on vaccines, attacks on science, the weaponization of public health, and attempts to cut the agency’s budget in their resignation letters reviewed by Reuters.
“I’m a doctor. I took the Hippocratic oath that said, ‘First, do no harm.’ I believe harm is going to happen, and so I can’t be a part of it,” Daskalakis said in an interview.
HHS did not respond to a request for comment.
Since taking office in January, Trump has wrested control over U.S. government agencies long seen as independent from presidential politics as they oversee such matters as elections, stock markets and labor unrest. Monarez is one of at least three Senate-confirmed regulatory officials Trump has moved to fire in recent days, including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus.
Kennedy declined to comment during a Thursday interview on the specifics of the departures.
“The agency is in trouble, and we need to fix it and we are fixing it. And it may be that some people should not be working there anymore,” he told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” program.
Besser said Kennedy insisted Monarez accept all of the revamped vaccine committee’s future recommendations. The CDC director traditionally has the final say on vaccine policy and can accept or reject committee recommendations.
The CDC has been heavily criticized by health experts in recent months for dropping its recommendation that pregnant women be vaccinated against COVID and for narrowing its backing of the shots for children with health complications.
A 10-year-old acted like a human shield to protect a younger schoolmate. An eighth-grader prayed while hiding under a pew. A frightened 11-year-old asked her father to lock the doors and draw the curtains when she arrived home.
These were just a handful of stories of courage and fear that have emerged a day after Wednesday’s horrific shooting at a Minneapolis church during a Mass for Catholic school children.
One of the students at Annunciation Catholic Church during the deadly morning attack took a shotgun blast to his back after putting his body in the line of fire trying to protect another child, county health officials said.
“There’s a lot of maybe unrecognized heroes in this event, along with the children that were protecting other children,” said Martin Scheerer, a director at Hennepin Emergency Medical Services. “The teachers were getting shot at. They were protecting the kids.”
The shooter killed two children and wounded 18 teachers and children, including a child taken to hospital in critical condition. The shooter was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the FBI is investigating the attack as domestic terrorism.
In the U.S., deadly gun violence has grown more common at schools, churches and other settings once considered safe, despite efforts to beef up security and identify potential perpetrators before they can act.
The shooter, armed with a rifle, a pistol and a shotgun, fired through the stained glass windows at students from Annunciation Catholic School at a service to celebrate the new school year.
Chloe Francoual, 11, was among the students who were terrified and traumatized by the flying bullets and shattered glass.
“She thought she was going to die with her friends,” her father, Vincent Francoual, said in an interview.
After father and daughter were reunited in the school gym after the attack, the pair burst into tears, he said. Later, Chloe wanted all the doors in the house locked and the curtains drawn, and implored her father not to walk the dog for fear of dangers outside.
“She’s just a little girl,” her father said. “She’s feeling all this guilt that she is OK, but her friends aren’t.”
Young survivors and witnesses of such violence often experience a range of symptoms in the first few weeks after the event, according to Dr. Gail Saltz, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College.
As part of an “acute stress reaction” they may have separation anxiety, trouble sleeping or experience a temporary regression of developmental steps such as a return to bed-wetting, Saltz said.
A tear falls down Linnea Opsahl’s cheek as she joins her mother Laura during a vigil at Lynnhurst Park following a shooting earlier in the day at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans Purchase Licensing Rights
The shooter, identified as Robin Westman, 23, shared a suicide note in a video posted to YouTube. Westman described struggles with anger and depression and a belief that death was near because of a vaping habit. Westman also made reference to other deadly U.S. school shootings.
DEBATE OVER ACCESS TO GUNS AND MENTAL HEALTHCARE
State and federal authorities said the shooter was driven by hatred, a fascination with U.S. mass shootings and a desire for notoriety.
“The shooter was obsessed with the idea of killing children,” said Joe Thompson, acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, who cited writings the shooter left behind. “The shooter wanted to watch children suffer.”
In a country that has grown accustomed to mass shootings, each new attack stirs a long-running national debate over the causes: easy access to guns versus treatment of mental illness in a country with expensive, privatized healthcare.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. said his agency was investigating whether antidepressants and other drugs prescribed to some transgender people were a factor in the sort of deadly violence seen at the Annunciation Church.
The vast majority of U.S. mass shootings are done by teenage boys and young men. Westman was a transgender woman, according to court records marking her name change as a teenager.
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents had evidence the shooting was an “act of domestic terrorism motivated by a hate-filled ideology.” Westman’s writings included anti-Catholic prejudice and a call for the killing of U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, Patel said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, was joined by several gun-control advocacy groups to call for a ban on certain high-capacity semi-automatic rifles, sometimes called assault weapons. A 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed the right of individual Americans to own guns.
The mayor took issue with the view of many conservatives who say the prevalence of gun violence in the U.S. is a mental health issue, unrelated to access to firearms.
“People who say, ‘This is not about guns,’ you gotta be kidding me: this is about guns,” Frey said on Thursday in an interview with ABC News.
“A 10-year-old boy had more courage hiding in a church pew while his friend shielded him with his body than I have seen from far too many lawmakers more beholden to a gun lobby than a child,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, a gun violence prevention group.
Donna Kelce marked the occasion by changing her Facebook cover photo to side-by-side childhood pictures of her son and Swift.
FILE – Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, right, is congratulated by Taylor Swift as they celebrate the Chiefs victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship NFL football game, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Travis Kelce’s mother has publicly shown her support for his engagement to Taylor Swift.
The NFL star and the singer, both 35, revealed the engagement news on Tuesday (Aug 26) when they both shared images of the proposal in a flower garden with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
And Travis Kelce’s mum, Donna Kelce, 72, has now marked the occasion by changing her Facebook cover photo to side-by-side childhood pictures of her son and Swift.
The couple’s engagement post went viral in seconds. It followed months of speculation about the couple, who first went public in September 2023 when Swift appeared with Donna Kelce in a private box at a Chiefs game.
The following month, Donna Kelce spoke about the experience on the Got It From My Momma podcast. She said: “I feel like I’m in an alternate universe, because it’s something I’ve never been involved with before.”
Two days before the engagement was announced, Donna Kelce hinted at the news when asked about her son’s state of mind.
She told People: “I think his mind is settled. That’s about all I can tell you.”
Travis Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce, 73, also spoke about the engagement in an interview with News 5 Cleveland. Asked by reporter John Kosich whether he would be paying for the rehearsal dinner, Ed Kelce said: “I think he’ll help me out on that one.”
Ed Kelce added that Travis proposed to Swift almost two weeks before it was announced, at his home in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
He said: “He got her out there, they were about to go out to dinner, and he said, ‘Let’s go out and have a glass of wine’… they got out there, and that’s when he asked her, and it was beautiful.
“They started FaceTiming me and their mother and her folks to make sure everybody knew. So, to see them together is great.”
Ed Kelce also revealed his advice to his son ahead of the proposal. He said: “I told him repeatedly, you could do it on the side of the road, do it any place that makes it a special event… when you get down on one knee and ask her to marry you.”
Swift’s engagement ring – an oval-cut diamond set in yellow gold – drew huge attention online, with fans noting its vintage style and hidden details, including a small ‘T’ on one side of the stone.
Some speculated there might be a matching initial on the opposite side to represent Taylor and Travis.
Alphabet-owned YouTube and Fox said on Thursday they have reached an agreement that will keep Fox News, Fox Sports and other Fox channels available to YouTube TV subscribers.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement.
Earlier this week YouTube had been in negotiations with Fox, with the media company asking for payments above those received by partners providing comparable content.
On Wednesday, YouTube said it reached a short-term agreement with Fox that would buy time for the parties to reach a new distribution agreement.
In February, YouTube TV reached a deal with media giant Paramount Global to keep channels like CBS, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon available, after failed negotiations for a new contract had briefly left the future of the streaming partnership in limbo.
The carriage dispute caught the attention of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, who said that the company removing Fox channels from its YouTube TV would be “a terrible outcome”.
A 2.5-magnitude earthquake struck Segamat, Johor on Aug 28, 2025. (Image: Facebook/Malaysian Meteorological Department)
Another weak earthquake struck the Malaysian state of Johor on Thursday (Aug 28), registering a magnitude of 2.5.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) said the quake occurred at about 8pm, 13km north of the town of Segamat and at a depth of 10km.
The agency added that tremors were felt in Johor and that it would continue to monitor the situation.
It also called on members of the public who experienced the tremors to fill in an online form with key information, such as their address, contact details, as well as the time and duration of the tremor.
Respondents could also indicate if they heard a loud sound or if they noticed any structural damage.
Malaysian Minister of Federal Territories Dr Zaliha Mustafa urged Segamat residents to remain calm, monitor official information from MetMalaysia and not be swayed by unverified news.
“This is the fourth incident recorded … so far, no injuries or property damage have been reported,” she said in a post on X.
A resident told Harian Metro that he had been sitting on a chair when he felt the tremor, which lasted several seconds.
SERIES OF QUAKES
Some residents in Johor were jolted by a 4.1-magnitude earthquake early on Sunday that occurred 5km west of Segamat. Tremors were also felt in Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and southern Pahang.
It sparked panic among some Segamat residents, who also described hearing a loud sound. Footage of the moment captured on closed-circuit television cameras showed vehicles shaking briefly and car alarms going off.
A second, milder 2.8-magnitude quake struck several hours later, with an epicentre 28km northwest of the Johor town of Kluang.
Reports of minor damage later surfaced on social media and in local media reports.
A third earthquake hit Johor on Wednesday, with tremors felt across the state and in the south of Pahang.
It had a magnitude of 3.2 and struck 18km south of Segamat, at a depth of 10km.
An engineer walks next to a Ukrainian Railways HRCS2 Hyundai Rotem train which was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 28, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)
Britain summoned Russia’s ambassador on Thursday (Aug 28) after a wave of Russian missile and drone strikes pounded Ukraine overnight, killing at least 21 people and damaging buildings including the British Council office and the European Union Delegation in Kyiv.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s strikes last night killed civilians, destroyed homes and damaged buildings, including the British Council and EU Delegation in Kyiv,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on X. “We have summoned the Russian ambassador. The killing and destruction must stop.”
DEADLY STRIKES
Kyiv officials said the overnight assault, one of the biggest in recent months, also injured at least 63 people. The strikes hit residential areas as well as diplomatic and commercial sites, damaging the British Council, the EU Delegation, a Turkish enterprise and the Azerbaijan embassy.
“This was Moscow’s answer to diplomatic efforts to end the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He called for new sanctions on Russia, saying: “Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war.”
Ukraine’s military said Russian forces launched 31 missiles and nearly 600 drones nationwide. It claimed to have downed 26 missiles and 563 drones, though energy facilities were struck, triggering power cuts.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it targeted military industrial facilities and air bases. Moscow has regularly denied striking civilians.
WHITE HOUSE REACTS
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump “was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised,” adding he would make a further statement later on Thursday.
“These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time,” she said. “The president wants it to end but perhaps both sides are not ready to end it themselves.”
The strikes came less than two weeks after Trump hosted Putin in Alaska, a meeting the US leader hoped would advance peace efforts.
GLOBAL CONDEMNATION
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the assault “another grim reminder of what is at stake”, saying it showed the Kremlin “will stop at nothing to terrorise Ukraine, blindly killing civilians and even targeting the European Union”.
She said two missiles landed within 20 seconds of each other near the EU office in Kyiv. EU countries are preparing a 19th package of sanctions and continuing work on how to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine.
Large-scale music festivals are facing headwinds elsewhere but finding a new base in Thailand, as the country tries to boost its tourism sector in a region ready to party and spend.
DJ Snake performs at Rolling Loud Thailand in Pattaya in 2024. (Photo: Rolling Loud)
It was a Monday night, but the British deejay Fred Again sure made Bangkok feel like it was still the weekend.
Last month (Jul 21), thousands in the Thai capital packed into UOB LIVE, a new entertainment venue, as he put on one of his characteristically energetic shows complete with world-class lighting and sound.
The crowd included “gig trippers” – music fans who plan their travel around concerts and festivals – from Southeast Asia and countries like China, India and Pakistan.
Fred Again was the type of trendy headliner that Bangkok residents might have sat back and watched only tour Japan, Singapore or Australia in years gone by.
But as he jumped off the stage, bassline thumping, and ran through a dense crowd lit up by shimmering neon, it was clear that Thailand had found its place as an emerging player in the live music scene.
Even as large-scale music festivals face headwinds in mature markets like the United States and Australia, where multiple events have been shut down this year, Thailand has been packing its gig calendar.
This month, Thailand’s Cabinet approved an agreement to host the Belgian electronic dance music festival Tomorrowland for five years from 2026, a headline-grabbing deal for an event that could draw a million people by 2030.
Tomorrowland, known for its fantastical design and creative themes, joins a raft of some of the biggest music festivals in the world being hosted by the kingdom.
Super Sonic Bangkok, held last weekend, was the most recent and boasted a line-up of top global artists including Black Eyed Peas and Camila Cabello.
More is to come. In November, international hip-hop festival Rolling Loud is set to hold its third annual edition in Pattaya. Electronic music events 808 Festival and UK-based Creamfields are taking place in Bangkok in December, while Phuket will host the Electric Daisy Carnival Thailand in January.
Over the next year, Mariah Carey, BLACKPINK, Jackson Wang, Doja Cat and Guns N’ Roses will play standalone concerts in Bangkok.
“The music festival scene in Thailand is currently on the rise. The region is cementing its place as a new hub in the global festival landscape,” a spokesperson for Live Nation Tero, the local promoter of Creamfields Asia, told CNA in a statement.
Thailand has bet on mega-music festivals and high-profile live entertainment events to help cement its place as Asia’s new global stage and reap the tourism and economic benefits that could follow, according to Gary Bowerman, a tourism policy and consumer trends analyst.
“Thailand is serious about investing significant sums into its live performance economy, and is capable of securing major global franchise events,” he said.
The Thai government will spend over 2 billion baht (US$61.5 million) to host Tomorrowland, according to Sorawong Thienthong, the minister of tourism and sports.
“The challenge now is to leverage that investment to boost both domestic and inbound tourism – and expenditure,” Bowerman said.
The country’s tourism industry remains lacklustre. It is set to miss its target of 39 million foreign arrivals in 2025, a number just shy of the 2019 peak of 39.8m. The country recorded 19.3 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first seven months of 2025, 6 per cent below the same period last year.
With its international tourism industry dipping, Thailand is doubling down on a “quality over quantity” gameplan with a focus on higher-spending visitors, the likes of whom might see music festivals as a reason to visit the kingdom.
“It has publicly supported the growth of the festival industry as part of its ‘soft power’ strategy, aiming to boost tourism revenue and the local economy,” said Live Nation Tero’s spokesperson.
“This supportive environment creates a stable and favourable climate for large international events,” the spokesperson said.
CHECKING BOXES AND BUCKET LISTS
The global live music market is projected to grow from US$28.1 billion in 2023 to US$79.7 billion by 2030, based on data from Research and Markets, a market insights and analysis group.
One of the main drivers is the rising consumer preference for live, in-person experiences over material goods, which has led to a surge in ticket sales for concerts, music festivals and exclusive performances, the report said.
Consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z, are prioritising shared experiences “that provide personal enrichment and social connection”, it found.
Beyond the projected growth of the live music market, global events tourism is also set to increase by 4.6 per cent per year over the next decade, according to a report by Market Research Future.
Governments and tourism organisations are central to that growth, the research firm found.
Thailand, too, has focused on seizing those opportunities. The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) umbrella campaign called “Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism & Sports Year”, for example, prioritises high-profile events like Tomorrowland and Formula One.
“These events provide unparalleled global marketing exposure, showcasing Thailand’s sophisticated infrastructure and hospitality capabilities,” said Nithee Seeprae, TAT’s deputy governor for marketing communications.
It has looked to package its natural attractions and other drawcards as a tourist destination with incentives and intangibles like lower production costs, the lack of an entertainment tax, strong fan culture and visa-free travel.
“Thailand checks so many boxes when selecting an international location – it’s a sought-after travel destination with amazing energy, nightlife and culture that’s easily accessible to fans across Asia and beyond,” said Matt Zingler, the co-founder of Rolling Loud.
Craig Grossarth, the general manager of UOB LIVE, added that a multitude of factors, like strong purchasing power, hospitality infrastructure and an increasing number of high-quality venues, are making Thailand a “key stop in Asia” for touring artists and music lovers alike.
“Fans can combine a bucket-list concert with a holiday — something that’s hard to resist,” he said.
Rising disposable income in Asia is also making the region more lucrative for promoters to bring in big-name international acts, the Live Nation Tero spokesperson said.
Thailand stands out in the region with a policy focus, reputation and infrastructure that most of its neighbours cannot realistically compete with, Bowerman said.
Only three countries in the region would be in the market – in terms of political will and financing – for such festivals: Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, he said. That is aside from the broader region where live music tourism is scaling up with China, Japan and South Korea enjoying growth in their festival economies.
“Whether these festivals can help differentiate Thailand’s visitor base depends very much on the festival line-ups, and how the TAT can promote differentiation for its live events,” he said.
The success of Singapore wooing Taylor Swift to play six exclusive shows last year – a move that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) indicated could have generated tourism receipts of up to S$450 million – was a clear impetus for the Thai government to follow this path, he said.
“Thailand securing Tomorrowland is a direct outcome of missing out on Taylor Swift. The disappointed, and very public, response of then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin signalled that competition to attract A-list stadium concerts and festivals would accelerate,” Bowerman said.
Given the taxpayer dollars used for events like Tomorrowland, the government will be heavily leveraging its private sector partners like hotels, airlines, travel agencies, consumer brands and banks to spread the marketing load and incentivise as many potential visitors as possible, Bowerman added.
“As the Asia-Pacific concert calendar becomes more crowded, travellers will have more choices and will be selective about which ones they attend,” he said.
It plays into fears that local players in the festival business already have about Thailand hosting too many events, and levels of demand that are too low to accommodate them all.
A BUBBLE READY TO BURST?
Music festivals are not a sure bet. Mature markets especially are enduring a festival crisis of sorts – at least 95 events have been cancelled this year across the world, many of them in the US, Europe and Australia, based on tracking by the website Music Festival Wizard.
The cancellations have been blamed on rising costs, slowing ticket sales and consumers showing more discernment about which events to attend.
But Thailand – and international event promoters – seems to be wagering that where others stumble, it can succeed.
Thailand is seeing more events being held than ever, but demand may not be keeping up, said Sarun Pinyarat, the founder and chief executive of music promoter Fungjai, based in Bangkok.
Thailand cannot expect to be an exception, he argued.
It has him questioning whether Thailand is actually building a viable regional or global capital of music festivals or setting itself up for a bubble. Behind the business are serious concerns about sustainability, competition and whether local festivals can survive.
“We are in a state of bubbling in terms of live events. There is a lot happening right now,” he said, explaining that there are about 300 music events, big and small, held in Thailand annually right now.
In the wake of COVID-19, new festival promoters from a range of industries, even from outside the music business, emerged in Thailand. This coincided with more young people going to music events regularly, especially in Bangkok, after years of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions.
But according to Sarun, demand does not match supply right now and it has already spelled trouble for many in the business. Those without strong customer bases will struggle in the years to come, he predicts, as more international promoters eye Thailand as well.
“There will be a lot of people losing money, and they’ll start to realise that, ‘Okay, we shouldn’t be entering this arena to begin with’, and it’s going to slow down a little bit,” he said.
“We have already started to see some festivals that happened once and never happened again,” he said, citing Waterbomb Festival and River Fest Music Festival as examples.
Inflation in production and artist fees are already limiting the types of line-ups smaller festivals can offer. Sarun says those costs have doubled in many cases since before the pandemic, but ticket prices have barely budged due to competition for sales.
This year, the music festival he co-founded – Maho Rasop festival – which has attracted international bands like Interpol, Air, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and the Vaccines since its inception in 2018, will not be held.
Rising costs have forced them to take a step back to try and make sense of the industry landscape, said Pimporn Metchanun, co-founder of the festival.
“It’s difficult for us to compete. And … if we were a new festival or would like to start something this year or next year, I think it would be very difficult,” said Pimporn, who is also co-founder of HAVE YOU HEARD?, a music management and promotion company in Bangkok.
“It was really intense these past few years, really.”
The saturated local scene is not putting off the international competition, however.
“At present, we believe Thailand is in a sweet spot where supply and demand are well-balanced,” said Grossarth.
For Creamfields’ organisers, the trend is a positive sign of the country’s rising status as a music hub, which in turn will drive better experiences for festival-goers, offer exposure to local and regional performers and improve production quality.
“More festivals mean more economic opportunities and a stronger cultural scene. We see it as healthy competition,” the spokesperson said.
For an emerging market, more chances for people to experience high-quality live music will increase the size of the bucket for everyone, said Tariq Cherif, co-founder of Rolling Loud.
It has had its troubles in Thailand, with a group of more than 10 event contractors filing a police complaint against the organisers of Rolling Loud Thailand 2024 for defaulting on 20 million baht (US$615,000) in wages.
Cherif, as co-CEO of the company, said he is confident in the long-term growth of Rolling Loud Thailand.
The same faith in the fast-moving industry is not shared by the likes of Sarun and Pimporn, who see government money being channelled to foreign promoters while locals, who are designing grassroots experiences for Thais, are left behind to wallow.
DETAILS into Barron Trump’s college life have been revealed, from dating rumors to his next plans.
Seldom information has come out since Barron’s last public appearance with the president, which was his dad’s inauguration in January.
He graduated from high school in 2024Credit: AFP
But the first son, 19, captured the nation’s attention last year when he started at New York University for a business degree.
A source told People that the incoming sophomore is more focused on his own business ventures than the whirlwind of other priorities for a typical college student.
“Barron has been actively working on his own financial interests and has spent time with others who he is involved with in that area,” the person said of how Barron has spent his summer.
“Still, he has spent a great deal of time with his family.
“I don’t think that’s a big deal in his life right now,” the source told People, speaking of dating rumors.
“He has more school, a family who dotes on him and a career of his own he is launching.”
His dad had once commented on the teenager’s love life, when one month into Barron’s first semester, Donald Trump said on a podcast that he didn’t “think he’s had a girlfriend yet.”
But rumors popped up on his romantic endeavors in May, when an unnamed source told NewsNation that he had a girlfriend.
“Barron has a really nice girlfriend and hangs out with her a lot,” the person told the outlet, although it remains unconfirmed if he actually had a girlfriend at the time.
Barron is looking to put his newly learned business tactics to use, however, following the same path as his dad.
“He is interested in business in general, developing properties, making money, and being involved in successful projects,” the person said.
“He has his own ideas and understands what people of his age are looking for.”
The source called Barron “quite entrepreneurial, bright, and not shy about getting his own career in gear.”
He’s set to begin his fall semester at NYU, located in Manhattan, on September 3.
Barron has notoriously stayed out of the spotlight since his father began his political career for the 2016 election.
But he is one of the main people that his dad has credited with his 2024 presidential win.
“He knew the youth vote,” Trump said at his inauguration in January.
THE two victims of the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting have been named as Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski.
Eight-year-old Fletcher and 10-year-old Harper were both killed during mass at Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday with their families now paying heartbreaking tributes.
Victim of the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting has been named as eight-year-old Fletcher MerkelCredit: Family Handout
In a heartbreaking statement, Fletcher’s dad Jessie said: “Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports that he was allowed to play.
“While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing.”
The devastated father added that Fletcher was “on the path to becoming to a wonderful young man”.
Jessie didn’t say Robin’s name as spoke today but instead referred to him as a “coward”.
He blamed him for taking away his ability to “hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow”.
Fletcher’s grieving father also asked the public to remember his little boy “for the person he was and not the act that ended his life”.
Harper Moyski’s parents also announced their daughter was killed in the shooting on Thursday as they called her a “bright, joyful and deeply-loved 10 year old whose laughter, kindness and spirit touched everyone who knew her.”
They added the family “are shattered and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.”
Their tribute continued: “Our hearts are broken, not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss.:
The grief-stricken parents then called for action on gun laws, insisting their daughter’s memory should “fuel action”.
They said: “We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.
“Change is possible and it is necessary – so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies.”
Sick lone gunman Robin Westman, 23, fired 116 bullets at defenseless kids and teachers in the horror attack.
Another 18 people were injured, including children aged between six and 15 as well as three adults in their 80s.
They were all said to be sat in pews inside the church as Westman, dressed in all black and carrying three guns, opened fire with a rifle through the stained glass windows.
The killer then turned the gun on himself in the parking lot before police could arrive.
Minneapolis’s main trauma hospital Hennepin Healthcare is still caring for nine patients injured in the shooting.
This includes one child who remains in a critical condition, according to the hospital’s interim CEO Thomas Klemond.
Children’s Minnesota Hospital also has three children still in its care.
The Annunciation Catholic School was starting only its first week back and was holding the first mass of the year when the children were attacked.
Although a motive hasn’t been officially released, the shooter posted a disturbing video with what appeared to be a manifesto, apologizing to his family members.
The footage then showed multiple guns scribbled with offensive phrases as Westman displayed a great deal of bullets and writings.
In the 11-minute clip seen by The U.S. Sun before it was taken down, the stash of guns shown had several disturbing phrases scrawled on the sides.
The shooter also apologized to family members of the victims, but expressed disdain for the innocent children targeted in the deadly attack.
A rifle, shotgun, and pistol were all on Westman during the sick attack.
He fired off 116 rounds with a rifle, 3 shotgun bullets, and attempted to shoot the pistol, but it got stuck, according to police.
All of the weapons were purchased legally by the shooter soon before the crime, cops confirmed.
Survivors have recalled the chaos that unfolded inside the church as fifth grader Weston Halsne told CNN he and his pal hid under the pews as shots were fired.
Halsne’s pal shielded him, blocking him from being hit.
“First I was like, ‘What is that?’” he told the NBC affiliate WSNS-TV.
“Then I heard again, I just ran under the pew, and then I covered my head.”
“My friend Victor like saved me, though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.”
Halsne, 10, said he felt what he thought was gunpowder on his neck.
The shooting has reignited a fierce debate over gun laws in the US.
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey has now called for a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons.
In a powerful message, Frey said: “Thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it. It’s on all of us to see this through.
German authorities have said they investigated more human trafficking and exploitation cases in 2024 than in any year since 2000. Weak online safeguards are a major driver with many minors among the victims.
The BKA presented its findings at its Wiesbaden headquarters on ThursdayImage: Björn Trotzki/IMAGO
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) on Thursday announced that it had completed 576 investigations into incidents of human trafficking in 2024 — a 13% percent jump from 2023 and the highest level since the BKA began compiling such data in 2000.
The largest share of cases (364) involved sexual exploitation, the highest level recorded by Germany’s BKA in a decade.
Such exploitation is increasingly taking place in private homes, say authorities, a setting that is difficult to monitor. This leads the BKA to conclude that the actual number of crimes taking place is far greater than they have the capacity to know.
Victims and suspects often come from other European countries, with notable increases among Chinese and Colombian victims.
Weak online safeguards endanger children
Many victims are women, young people and minors according to the BKA, which says contact is often established online using the so-called “lover-boy method.”
With this common tactic, men lure women into false relationships in order to create dependency before financially exploiting them through forced prostitution. “Increasingly, psychological and physical violence plays a role,” the BKA said.
Minors are particularly at risk say police, with more than 200 cases involving children and adolescents, almost all in the context of commercial sexual exploitation.
“One reason for the increasing numbers here is, among other things, that various online platforms have too few protective mechanisms, which facilitates the exploitation of minors using the internet as a tool,” said the BKA in Wiesbaden on Thursday. “In two cases, children were offered for sale online.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European MP Alessandra Moretti were among the high-profile Italian women whose images were subject to lewd and violent content.
Giorgia Meloni is Italy’s first female prime minister (FILE: August 27, 2025)Image: Massimo Paolone/LaPresse/ZUMA/picture alliance
An explicit content platform in Italy was forced to close on Thursday, after it was discovered that users had displayed photos of high-profile women without their consent.
The content on the site included images of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Parliament member Alessandra Moretti, opposition leader Elly Schlein and influencer Chiara Ferragni.
The online forum, dubbed Phica, derived its name from Italian slang for female genitalia, and has been around for at least two decades.
Some 200,000 users frequented the site and displayed pictures identified by names or certain themes.
The images of the women appeared to have been lifted from TV or social media profiles.
Obscene and explicit posts were tagged to the content, including idealized violence against women.
Sexism with ‘impunity’
Backlash grew over the site’s activities when Moretti formally lodged a complaint with police after finding her photo on the site displayed without her permission.
“They have been stealing photos and clips from TV shows I’ve appeared on for years, then altering them and feeding them to thousands of users,” Moretti said.
The EU MP said the site was just one among many in Italy that operate “with impunity,” despite numerous complaints filed against them.
“This type of site, which incites rape and violence, must be shut down and banned,” she said.
The platform’s administrators posted statement on Thursday saying that the site would be shut down “with great regret” due to “toxic behaviors” and a “wrong use of the platform, which damaged its original spirit.”
Italy’s struggle with gender-based violence
It all comes after a similar case involving the Italian Facebook group “Mia Moglie” (“My Wife”) also drew condemnation across the country.
In the online group of more than 30,000 men, users uploaded photos of their partners without their consent and shared them, where the images also drew obscene comments.
The French president and German chancellor are meeting in Toulon, where it’s hoped they will get the successor to the Eurofighter jet back on track. Berlin has accused the French arms industry of blocking negotiations.
A model of the sixth-generation fighter jet that is projected to be part of Europe’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS)Image: Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images
It’s the most expensive single defense project in Europe, with a projected cost of at least €100 billion ($116.6 billion). From 2040, the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) aims to combine a new European fighter jet with fleets of drones controlled via a European defense cloud.
“It’s more like a flying combat system,” Christian Mölling, a German security expert, told DW. The goal is to reduce European dependence on the United States and the F-35 fighter jets, equipped with stealth technology, that the US produces.
However, the two companies involved — Dassault in France, and Airbus in Germany and Spain — are embroiled in a dispute, primarily about the manufacture of the plane itself.
Pressure from the French manufacturer Dassault
This row has now escalated to the point that the big bosses have had to step in. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, unexpectedly announced that they would be attending the Franco-German Defense and Security Council meeting in the French city of Toulon on Friday. The council meets twice a year, usually without attracting much attention from the general public.
In recent months, however, Eric Trappier, the CEO of the French fighter jet manufacturer Dassault, has been piling on the pressure. His company makes key components for France’s nuclear deterrent, which is a fundamental part of the country’s military independence.
In April, Trappier played the national card before the defense committee in the French parliament. Some people, he said, were of the opinion that the “weakening of this independence,” which the FCAS project would bring about, “was not that damaging” as the mutual dependence of the European partners would compensate for it. Trappier, however, argued that “once you take this step, there’s no going back.”
Airbus Germany insists on a share of production
France must, therefore, weigh up very carefully “what we would be ceding to our allies,” said Trappier. To proponents of a pan-European arms industry, these are provocative words.
Political leaders will have to decide with whom France is to build the next-generation fighter jet.
The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus also insists that it must have a say. Airbus Germany manufactures the Eurofighter, the fighter jet currently used by the German air force, and doesn’t want to lose this business.
“It is something Germany does very well, and Germany would like to maintain that,” the armaments expert Emil Archambault, from the Berlin think tank the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), told DW.
Contract negotiations for phase two
The Franco-German row has now escalated because the contracts for the next phase of the project are currently under negotiation. This second phase involves the construction of the first prototype of the plane that will be at the heart of the new system. Dassault is demanding even greater decision-making power in this phase than it already has.
Archambault pointed out that the precise distribution could be changed: “For example, so that France builds a larger part of the plane,” while boosting production of other elements in Germany and Spain. “But that can also be very complicated. Because it’s not only the main companies that are involved; there are the medium-sized suppliers as well. It’s a question of who exactly does what, and who coordinates it.” In an online ad campaign, Airbus certainly wants to convey the impression that it is the technological leader.
Political signal expected in Toulon
Archambault didn’t expect the meeting of the French and German leaders in Toulon to yield much more than a “political signal” that their two countries would continue to collaborate on the project. He pointed out that they could hardly go into contractual details when the third partner in the enterprise — Spain — was absent.
But they are running out of time. During Macron’s visit to Berlin in July, he and Merz agreed that their defense ministers would present a definitive solution by autumn. If they don’t, it will no longer be realistic for the second phase of the project to begin next year.
Right now, though, the German chancellor probably has the better arguments — and above all, more money. France is deeply in debt, and its government may be about to collapse if it doesn’t get majority backing for its budget.
“What’s unusual is that Germany is in the unique position of not currently having to prioritize between short-term and long-term armament projects, because defense spending has been exempted from the debt brake,” said security expert Mölling.
Rapid rearmament more important than future-oriented projects?
Mölling added that, in light of the threat from Russia and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Germany currently had “a very short-term armaments agenda, which is to buy more of what we already have, and what works. Then there are future-oriented projects like FCAS: They’re not as important right now.” Mölling thought that it was not out of the question that the FCAS project would be slimmed down, or the timeline extended.
However, he imagined that a change of perspective could also help to deescalate the row with the French manufacturer Dassault.
“Even if some people don’t like to hear it,” he explained, with a nod to France’s pride in its fighter jet production, “the jet — that is, the airframe — is by no means the most important technology” involved in FCAS. In Mölling’s view, the drones, the “so-called carriers,” were far more important, while the “Combat Cloud,” the software that links all the combat systems together, was perhaps more important still.
Nvidia (NVDA.O), shares dipped on Wednesday as the fate of its China business hung in the balance, caught up in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
CEO Jensen Huang expects permission to restart selling Nvidia’s chips to China after striking a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump to pay commissions to the U.S. government. But with no formal U.S. rules in place and questions about whether Chinese regulators will discourage purchases of Nvidia chips, the AI market bellwether excluded potential China sales from the forecast for the current quarter.
That left only a lukewarm outlook that, while still huge in absolute dollar terms and slightly above analyst estimates, disappointed investors accustomed to blowout results and sent shares down 3.2% in after-hours trading. The stock dip clipped about $110 billion from Nvidia’s $4.4 trillion market capitalization.
“Nvidia’s biggest bottleneck isn’t silicon, it’s diplomacy,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital. He added that Nvidia’s growth curve was “still impressive, but not as exponential.”
The chipmaker expects revenue of $54 billion, plus or minus 2%, in the third quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $53.14 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. But its fiscal second-quarter results came up short of some analyst expectations in its important data center segment, with some analysts suggesting cloud computing providers may be more cautious about spending.
Nvidia also said it has not assumed any shipments of its H20 chips to China in its outlook, despite having earlier this month received some licenses to sell them. If geopolitical issues subside and it gets more orders, Nvidia said it could add $2 billion to $5 billion in H20 revenue in the third quarter.
While Nvidia’s forecast came in a bit softer than expectations, any sales to China next quarter would be added to the outlook, said Ben Bajarin, CEO of technology consulting firm Creative Strategies. “That is a big question mark to watch.”
Still, demand has surged for Nvidia’s advanced chips that can speedily process the large amounts of data used by generative AI applications as businesses race each other to dominate the new technology.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said the company’s “sovereign AI” efforts – a push to sell AI chips and software to governments around the world – are on track to generate $20 billion in revenue this year. Kress also said AI efforts are on track to spur $600 billion in spending by cloud and enterprise customers this year alone and could generate $3 trillion to $4 trillion in infrastructure spending by the end of the decade.
An NVIDIA logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights
Big Tech companies including Meta Platforms (META.O), and Microsoft (MSFT.O), have been spending liberally to support their AI ambitions, and Nvidia is the biggest beneficiary, with a significant chunk of this spending funneled toward its chips.
The company said that about half of its $41 billion in data center revenue came from large cloud service providers during the latest quarter.
That was slightly below estimates of $41.42 billion, according to data from Visible Alpha. Nvidia also forecast adjusted gross margins of 73.5% for the current quarter, only slightly above analyst estimates of 73.3%, according to LSEG data.
“The data center results, while massive, showed hints that hyperscaler spending could tighten at the margins if near-term returns from AI applications remain difficult to quantify,” said eMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), which is developing AI servers to rival Nvidia’s, were also down 1.4% after Nvidia’s results.
Enthusiasm for AI stocks, centered around Nvidia as Wall Street engaged in picks-and-shovels trading, has been the dominating force behind the rally of the S&P 500 Index over the last two years.
“This is the smallest reaction to an earnings report in Nvidia’s AI incarnation,” said Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion in New York. “While it may not have been a blowout, it’s not a miss.”
Nvidia had in May expected the curbs to shave off $8 billion in sales from the July quarter. The company reported revenue of $46.74 billion for the second quarter, beating estimates of $46.06 billion.
FORD has issued an urgent recall of its most popular truck, and more than 355,000 vehicles are affected, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The cars had a dangerous issue that could leave drivers literally in the dark – even in the middle of the day.
Ford has issued an urgent recall affecting several of its modelsCredit: Getty
Several Ford models were found to have issues with the instrument panel display, the administration announced on Wednesday.
The affected 2025-2026 models include the F-550 SC, F-450 SD, F-350 SD, F-250 SD, and the 2025 F-150.
The instrument panel cluster shows key information like speed, fuel levels, and navigation, and flashes safety-related telltales.
So any drivers who have one of the affected trucks should take them straight to the dealership as they’re at higher risk of a crash, the administration said.
The panel has been reported to fail when the engine starts, and Ford believes this stems from a software issue related to the sleep function.
Affected drivers can get software help at dealerships or can get over-the-phone help to walk through an update, the brand told The U.S. Sun.
At least 95 warranty claims have been filed related to this issue, but no one has reported any accidents or injuries, according to Ford.
“Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the IPC module software updated or through software over-the-air to disable the memory protection feature, free of charge,” a Ford spokesperson said.
The product recall comes just days after 103,000 other Ford trucks were immediately pulled from roads.
The American brand warned drivers that there were faulty axle hub splines on thousands of F-150s.
The defective parts could cause the vehicle to roll away when the parking brake isn’t applied or cause the driver to lose control.
“Both of these conditions can increase the risk of a crash,” the NHTSA wrote in a recall notice on August 15.
A spokesperson for the brand said that no accidents had been reported due to the malfunction, according to CBS News.
Any driver who starts to hear a rattling noise in their F-150 should immediately head to the dealership, as this could be an indication that he axle is failing.
Affected vehicles included any truck that was purchased between January 2, 2023, and May 21, 2025.
RECORD-BREAKING RECALLS
As of July, Ford has issued record-breaking recalls this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The outlet reported in July that the brand announced 88 safety recalls, which surpassed all other brands.
The worrying achievement came after the iconic American name confirmed that 700,000 vehicles were at risk of fuel leaks thanks to cracked fuel injectors.
Germany’s chancellor says Russia wants to lure Moldova back into its “sphere of influence.” The visit of top EU leaders comes weeks ahead of crucial Moldovan elections.
Moldova enshrined its EU membership ambitions in its constitution last year.Image: Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo/picture alliance
Many Moldovans are sick of hearing these familiar descriptions of their country: a small ex-Soviet state, one of Europe’s poorest nations, a place caught between Russia and the West.
That’s not because these statements are untrue, but because, over the past few years, Moldova’s government has been throwing all its weight behind efforts to update that image. Officials say that, first and foremost, Moldova — which sits between Ukraine and EU and NATO state Romania — is a future member of the European Union, firmly oriented toward the West.
In a way, that proposition never looked more solid than on Wednesday when three top EU leaders — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk — showed up in the capital, Chisinau, to mark Moldova’s independence day alongside its leader, Maia Sandu.
“The alternative to Europe does not exist. Without the EU, Moldova remains blocked in the past,” Sandu told citizens.
“We feel this with each bomb dropped on the country next door. Russia’s war in Ukraine shows on a daily basis that Europe means freedom and peace. Putin’s Russia means war and death.”
Election stress test
But the leaders’ visit is also testament to just how fragile Moldova’s pro-Europe pivot feels now, a few weeks out from crucial parliamentary elections which will test the governing party and may weaken its influence.
Germany’s Merz told Moldovans that the fact that the country has chosen a path toward the EU cannot be “taken for granted.”
“Things could still take a different turn,” he said, pointing to the potentially “decisive” vote on the horizon.
The challenge facing Moldova’s pro-Western government is partly due to the regular ups and downs of democracy, like citizen frustration as the country deals with the economic fallout of the war next door.
Though Sandu’s pro-Europe party is still topping polls, some regions of Moldova consistently back Moscow-friendly candidates as part of the regular political process. The pro-Russian breakaway region where Russian troops still patrol is also, by now, a known quantity in Moldovan politics.
But there are also less predictable powers at play in the bid to sway Moldovan voters: Like the fugitive pro-Russian tycoon Ilan Shor who is offering up to $3,000 a month to people who attend anti-government protests, according to the news agency Reuters.
Shor, who fled Moldova while appealing a conviction on bank fraud charges back in 2019, publicized the cash payment offer in an online video.
President Maia Sandu listed off a series of other threats to Moldovan democracy on Wednesday: Election interference, illegal financing, disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks, sabotage at overseas polling stations, and efforts to sow hate between communities.
Tense weeks ahead
Moscow denies involvement in election meddling in Moldova, but the EU leaders gathered in Chisinau don’t buy it.
“Russia has been relentlessly trying to undermine freedom, prosperity and peace in Moldova,” Germany’s Merz said on Wednesday, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to draw Moldova into Moscow’s “sphere of influence.”
Victoria Olari, who monitors disinformation and online trends for Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told DW in a phone conversation she expects meddling attempts to step up over the next few weeks.
Olari, who lives in Chisinau, described the atmosphere there as “charged.” But she said there’s also a feeling of “cautious optimism mixed with tension” ahead of the elections.
“There’s a palpable sense of determination among Moldovans to safeguard their sovereignty,” she said, adding that the visit by top EU leaders “underscores the European support that many here see as a lifeline.”
EU dream, interrupted?
But that European solidarity also seems somewhat bittersweet — because Moldova’s path toward joining the EU has, for now, hit a Hungary-sized roadblock.
Moldova and Ukraine both applied to join the EU back in 2022 soon after Russia’s full scale invasion. The countries’ membership bids were synchronized as they began similar reforms to become eligible, like beefing up laws and institutions aimed at curbing corruption. Macron, Merz and Tusk all praised Moldova’s progress in their speeches on Wednesday.
But now the connection with Kyiv is proving problematic for Moldova. EU member Hungary is a longstanding critic of Ukraine and regularly rails against EU support for the country.
With Budapest vetoing any progress on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, Moldova is stuck too and officials are unable to commit to a concrete timeline for next steps.
“The door to the European Union is open,” Merz said in a message of reassurance on Wednesday. “We will do whatever we can” to advance membership talks in the autumn, he added.
But this also presents a political dilemma for EU leaders.
Details are yet to emerge from the meeting on postwar plans for Gaza that US President Donald Trump chaired on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Israel has continued its Gaza City offensive, warning of “inevitable” displacement.
The UN says 1.9 million Gazans have been internally displaced since the war started in 2023Image: Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu/picture alliance
Gaza meeting with Trump, Blair, Kushner concludes – no details
A White House meeting hosted by US President Donald Trump to discuss plans for post-war Gaza ended late on Wednesday, but no precise details were immediately forthcoming.
The meeting was reportedly attended by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, as well as high-ranking US officials.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff had earlier promised it would be a “large meeting,” telling Fox News: “It’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together.”
A White House spokesman told the Reuters news agency that the meeting was a purely political discussion, the sort of which regularly takes place. On the agenda were all aspects of the situation in the Gaza Strip, including the expansion of food deliveries, the plight of Israeli hostages and plans for after the end of the war.
But no specific details emerged. Earlier this year, Trump stunned the world when he suggested the United States should take control of the Gaza Strip, clear out its inhabitants and redevelop it as ocean-front real estate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had praised the proposal, which sparked a global outcry.
As British prime minister from 1997-2007, Tony Blair oversaw the United Kingdom’s entry into the War in Afghanistan in 2001 and the Iraq War in 2003, alongside the US. After resigning from office, he served as Middle East envoy for the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia.
Rubio, Saar hold ‘productive’ meeting
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at the State Department on Wednesday. Rubio smiled for the cameras as journalists shouted questions, but neither man responded during a brief event.
On social media, Saar called the meeting “productive.”
In a post on X, Rubio said the meeting served “to reaffirm our two nations’ close cooperation that is vital to ensuring security and prosperity in the region.”
President Donald Trump attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York, Jan. 11, 2024. (Photo: AP/Shannon Stapleton/Pool Photo, File)
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Aug 27) said billionaire financier and Democratic donor George Soros and his son should be charged under federal racketeering laws, but he gave no evidence to support the allegations.
Trump has increasingly turned to lawsuits, executive power and public threats against political opponents, critics say in a campaign that allies describe as holding the powerful accountable.
Soros, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, has long been a target of Trump and his conservative supporters. His philanthropic organisation, Open Society Foundations, funds human rights, education, health and governance projects around the world.
“George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!”
NO EVIDENCE PROVIDED
Trump did not provide proof of any wrongdoing by Soros or his son.
A spokesperson for Open Society Foundations called the accusations “outrageous and false”.
“The Open Society Foundations do not support or fund Violent Protests. Our mission is to advance human rights, justice and democratic principles at home and around the world,” the spokesperson said.
The toughest but most vital thing for parents to do is to help their children discern the right and wrong uses of generative AI, says NTU lecturer Ian Yong Hoe Tan.
File photo. Parents should speak to their child’s teacher about how AI can help or hinder in specific subjects, says the author. (Photo: iStock/Kanawa_Studio)
By now, it is clear that artificial intelligence (AI) is not going anywhere. In fact, judging from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s recent National Day Rally speech, it will only become more entrenched in how Singapore works, learns and lives.
While he acknowledged concerns that have been raised over the use of AI by students, such as over-reliance, loss of critical thinking skills and the temptation to take shortcuts, Mr Wong also urged educators and parents to remain open to its potential.
The challenge, he noted, is to strike the right balance: empowering young people to fully exploit the benefits of technology while protecting them from potential harms.
But what does that look like in practice, especially for parents?
A recent CNA Talking Point survey of 500 students found that 84 per cent of those in secondary school already use AI for their homework at least weekly.
You will not find an official survey of students under 13, because of ChatGPT’s age restrictions. However, I know many parents who let their primary school children use ChatGPT because it has become so ubiquitous – ChatGPT has amassed over 800 million weekly users in less than three years.
Yet, the same parents are worried about generative AI’s ability to stimulate or stifle learning.
A few months ago, I organised a Gen AI webinar for 100 parents, and their questions were revealing: “How do we nurture our children to use generative AI responsibly?”; “How do I help children discern true images from fake images?”; “How do I keep my kids safe from AI while also taking advantage of AI for their studies?”
I have also been conducting Gen AI workshops for secondary school teachers. They are equally worried and struggle to keep pace with Gen AI’s advancements. For example, the latest version of Google Gemini allows users to create instant web apps and webpages with just a few prompts, fuelling a new trend called “vibe coding” among non-STEM folks.
As an educator, parent and Gen AI coach, I believe that we adults play a critical role in guiding our children even as we go through a massive technological shift. We must arm ourselves and our children with three things: AI literacy, a clear understanding of the learning process and deep human values.
PARENTS MUST BECOME AI-LITERATE
I am sure parents will groan when I say that we must all become AI-literate. It is already a chore for us to figure out today’s school subjects, and now we have another subject to “learn”.
The good news is that there is no thick AI textbook to buy, you just need to start using Gen AI in your daily work to become AI-literate.
Try using Gen AI apps like ChatGPT or Google Gemini for everyday tasks – checking grammar, generating images for presentations, doing online research, or analysing data – to get a feel for the technology’s strengths and flaws. Such constant practice will also let you discover how Gen AI can “hallucinate” (produce wrong information) and be unable to do tasks it was not trained on.
Try this fun exercise with your children: generate an image of an analogue clock in ChatGPT or any Gen AI image generator. You will discover the clock hands are often stuck at 10:10 no matter what time you ask the AI to generate. This is because most of the clock face images that Gen AI was trained on were watch ads set at 10:10 for the brand logo to be clearly seen.
Once you become familiar with the mind of the machine, you’ll be better prepared to guide your children.
UNDERSTANDING THE LEARNING PROCESS
In the first two years of ChatGPT, many tools were launched to detect the use of Gen AI in student assignments. There were also news stories about disputes between teachers and students on whether Gen AI was used in assignments.
Today, many educators have learned that no AI-detection tool can guarantee 100 per cent accuracy.
In the CNA story, National University of Singapore (NUS) lecturer Jonathan Sim demonstrated how the same piece of work was flagged as 74 per cent AI-generated by one tool, and fully human-created by another.
If you ask me, since many people are already using Gen AI, it is more constructive to learn how people learn, and determine when to keep technology out of the learning process.
For example, in primary school, the learning of multiplication tables still requires rote memorisation, or we will not be able to do mental sums as adults. Surely, we should not rely on ChatGPT to tell us the answer to “50 x 50”?
In the area of essay writing, one can get started with AI-generated points, but the essay must be written manually so the brain is put to work in synthesising ideas and concepts. Gen AI can be applied later to evaluate the essay and check for typos.
This probably means a return to pen and paper scenarios … and many aching hands.
At Nanyang Technological University (NTU) where I teach, I have begun shifting towards more oral assessments instead of traditional written assessments. During their oral presentations, undergraduates have to articulate their thought process and be ready to answer my questions. It is very time-consuming but this is a time-tested method of teaching and learning, handed down from Greek philosopher Socrates over 2000 years ago.
Do talk to your child’s teacher about their AI usage policy and learn how AI can help or hinder in specific subjects.
CULTIVATING HUMAN VALUES
The toughest but most vital thing for parents to do is to help their children discern the right and wrong uses of Gen AI, especially since we are being drowned by a deluge of AI-generated content.
How does one do this, now that deepfakes and misinformation are so difficult to distinguish from reality?
My view is that we need to double down on instilling values such as mindfulness and integrity.
As WIRED co-founder and author Kevin Kelly wrote: “It’s hard to cheat an honest person.”
The mindful person with high integrity will pay close attention to what he or she sees, and not take everything at face value.
We need to teach children how to verify information sources, to remember that the machine has no morals, and know the consequences of not actually learning anything in school.
A passenger takes a licensed cross-border taxi from Larkin Sentral, Johor Bahru to Ban San Street in Singapore on Aug 6, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Zamzahuri Abas)
For cross-border ride-hailing services between Malaysia and Singapore to become a reality, a slew of regulatory and cost differences as well as enforcement mechanisms will have to be worked out, say experts and operators.
These include the potential impact on licensed cross-border taxis and the upcoming Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link between Singapore and Johor Bahru, which is set to start operations at the end of next year, they added.
Cross-border ride-hailing services will also have an impact on congestion at land checkpoints, with analysts highlighting that such services will not solve the “fundamental Causeway bottleneck” even as demand for more seamless travel is set to rise with projects such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ).
In view of these complex regulatory considerations and hurdles, cross-border ride-hailing services are unlikely to take off soon, analysts told CNA.
Their comments came in the wake of Malaysia Transport Minister Anthony Loke saying on Aug 18 that his country hopes to introduce cross-border ride-hailing with Singapore to increase connectivity. He said it is something both parties must agree on in order to be implemented.
Loke’s response in parliament to Tebrau Member of Parliament Jimmy Puah’s question on cross-border traffic congestion and ride-hailing drivers follows that of Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi earlier this month.
Onn Hafiz said the issue was among the topics he discussed in a recent meeting with Singapore’s Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow.
Cross-border ride-hailing services would be a “catalyst” for a more user-friendly, safe and competitive transport system while strengthening integration of both countries’ public transport networks, Onn Hafiz said on Facebook on Aug 1.
In response to CNA queries on Loke’s comments, Singapore’s Ministry of Transport said the issue of allowing cross-border ride-hailing was raised when Singaporeans and Malaysian officials met to discuss cross-border service arrangements, but “no decision was made at that point”.
“We are currently reviewing improvements to the Cross-Border Taxi Scheme to address the growing demand for more convenient cross-border point-to-point services,” a ministry spokesperson said.
“It is illegal for Malaysia-registered private cars or private-hire cars to provide cross-border or ride-hail services within Singapore,” the ministry spokesperson added.
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) had said on Aug 3 that while it is open to ideas to improve the cross-border commuting experience, “we would like to clarify that LTA has no plans to fully liberalise cross-border point-to-point transport via ride-hail services”.
Instead, it is considering the use of ride-hailing apps to book cross-border trips on licensed taxis and increasing the number of boarding and alighting points in Singapore and Malaysia.
“COMPLEX” AND “DELICATE” ISSUES
Any cross-border ride-hailing model must comply with both countries’ laws, permits and insurance requirements, said Nor Aziati Abdul Hamid, an associate professor and senior researcher at the Universiti Tun Hussein Onn’s Centre of Excellence for Rail Industry in Malaysia.
Drivers’ background checks and training must meet both jurisdictions’ standards, for example, she said.
There will need to be mutual recognition of each other’s private-hire licences, something that does not exist today, said Rosli Azad Khan, managing director MDS Consultancy in Malaysia.
Rules in areas such as transport licensing, insurance, taxation and enforcement must be agreed on, he said.
“Introducing ride-hailing apps to operate cross-border would require bilateral agreements that harmonise these regulatory areas, which is politically and administratively complex,” Rosli said.
Enforcement and dispute resolution mechanisms must also be made clear to address any offences committed by Malaysian drivers in Singapore and vice versa, he said.
In addition, some concerns may weigh more heavily on Singapore, experts told CNA.
There are “significant differences in costs of providing ride-hailing services” in both countries, said Timothy Wong, a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore’s department of economics.
“Cars are much cheaper to purchase in Malaysia than in Singapore, likewise with petrol and vehicle maintenance costs. The cost of living is also lower in Malaysia so drivers are willing to accept lower wages,” said Wong.
This means Malaysian point-to-point drivers will be able to provide cross-border services at lower prices and thus “dominate the market”, Wong said. “Liberalising the market benefits Malaysian ride-hail drivers more than it does Singaporean ride-hail drivers.”
If such services come to pass, besides agreeing to create a degree of parity in terms of vehicle and driver safety standards, the Singapore government “may also want to introduce price regulations to ensure prices are not too low”, Wong said.
There are “a lot of delicate considerations”, agreed Terence Fan, an assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University.
One issue is that once Malaysian ride-hailing services enter Singapore, “it’s much harder to regulate” whether they are also picking up and dropping off people within Singapore, which is not allowed, he said.
“You could potentially be flooding a bit of the Singapore roadways with these vehicles,” Fan told the programme CNA938 Rewind.
“It’s not really in line with our principles here that we have high (Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) for vehicles, we limit the vehicles and we want to make sure our roads are not that congested as well,” he said.
Singapore’s COE system is a key lever in controlling the growth of the vehicle population, according to its Ministry of Transport’s website. Motorists are required to bid for a COE through an online open auction, which gives them the right to own the vehicle for 10 years.
Ride-hailing services also have the potential to add to traffic jams regularly seen at the Causeway, analysts noted.
Unlike buses, trains and the future RTS Link, ride-hailing caters to individual convenience, not mass mobility, said Rosli.
“The big problem is that ride-hailing does not solve the fundamental Causeway bottleneck,” he said. “It may even worsen congestion if thousands of additional e-hailing cars join the daily queue at checkpoints.”
About 300,000 people cross the Causeway daily by vehicle, train or on foot.
Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said in January last year that more than 400,000 people are expected to use the Causeway daily by 2050.
CROSS-BORDER RIDE-HAILING SHOULD “COMPLEMENT” RTS
In spite of the multiple differences that need ironing out and the potential to worsen traffic jams, cross-border ride-hailing can benefit commuters if it is geared towards complementing the Johor-Singapore RTS and rolled out under a phased approach, analysts said.
The service should ideally complement the RTS by serving commuters’ first- and last-mile needs or off-peak journeys, rather than acting as a substitute for the mass transportation network, Nor Aziati said.
The 4km RTS Link, scheduled to begin operations in December next year, aims to ease congestion at the Causeway by ferrying up to 10,000 passengers an hour each way on trips that take about five minutes.
The Singapore authorities would want to “wait” and gauge the public’s response to the RTS when it begins operations, making it unlikely for Singapore to agree to major transport-related policy changes in the meantime, said Fan.
“If you think about it, any Singaporean or traveller from Singapore can just take the RTS to go to Johor Bahru and take a taxi there to get anywhere,” said Fan.
“Once you have a new transport mode like that, it takes time for people to realise, ‘Oh, I can do that. You know, it’s not (as) difficult as I had imagined’,” he said.
Nor Aziati suggested a phased approach to cross-border ride-hailing, starting with an initial pilot area only covering Johor due to “clear demand”, ongoing RTS integration and active state and federal backing.
The initial pilot should only include licensed cross-border taxis that can be booked using apps, and not private-hire vehicles, she said.
This is because introducing large-scale ride-hailing could disrupt the livelihoods of licensed cross-border taxi drivers, she said. A phased integration model, possibly starting with app-based booking of such taxis, may be “a more sustainable first step”.
Under the current cross-border taxi scheme, up to 400 taxis from Singapore and Malaysia are licensed to pick up and drop off passengers only at a single designated point in the other’s country – Larkin Sentral in Johor Bahru for Singapore taxis and Ban San Street Terminal in Singapore for Malaysian taxis.
However, the scheme is underutilised with a total of about 300 licensed cross-border taxi drivers across Singapore and Malaysia as of early August, according to Singapore’s LTA.
A key reason for the under-utilisation is the lack of a door-to-door service, which has made unlicensed taxi services more appealing as they tend to offer flexible pick-up and drop-off points, CNA reported recently.
The authorities clamped down on unlicensed services this month, with drivers caught at Gardens by the Bay, Changi Airport and a land checkpoint in Singapore on Aug 5, and Malaysia’s Road Transport Department detaining and seizing four private-hire vehicles driven by Singaporean individuals on Aug 13.
Licensed cabbies from both sides have expressed concerns about the implications of liberalising ride-hailing and extending cross-border travel to private-hire cars.
Nor Aziati suggested if key indicators for waiting time, safety, number of complaints and price volatility are met for 12 to 18 months under her proposed pilot, the next phase could be to expand it to the Tuas Second Link catchment area.
In response to CNA’s queries, ride-hailing platforms Grab and Ryde said they were open to engaging authorities from both sides.
Providing cross-border ride-hailing services would involve complex regulatory considerations spanning transport policies, safety standards and bilateral arrangements, they said.
Any potential service would require clear guidance and approval from Singapore’s LTA and the relevant Malaysian authorities, said Ryde, which currently only operates in Singapore. “We remain open to engaging constructively with the authorities should a formal regulatory framework be established.”
Grab said it has been engaging both sides’ authorities “to explore safe, legal and equitable solutions” to address the continued demand for cross-border services while reducing reliance on unlicensed operators.
United States President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi [File: Al Drago/Reuters] (Reuters)United States President Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, which is expected to impact trade worth billions of dollars and risk thousands of jobs in the world’s most populous nation, took effect on Wednesday.
The US first slapped a 25 percent tariff on India on July 30 and a week later imposed an additional 25 percent, citing New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.
The new 50 percent rate, one of the US’s highest tariffs, will now apply to a range of goods from gems and jewellery, garments, footwear and furniture to industrial chemicals.
The crushing tariff rate will put India at a disadvantage in export competitiveness against China, and will undermine the economic ambitions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to transform the country into a major manufacturing hub. Until recently, the US was India’s largest trading partner with annual bilateral trade worth $212bn.
So which industries will be hit the hardest and how will it affect US-India relations?
Which sectors will be worst hit?
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a New Delhi-based think tank, told The Financial Times newspaper that Indian exports to the US could fall from $86.5bn this year to about $50bn in 2026 as a result of today’s announcement.
The GTRI said that textiles, gems, jewellery, shrimp and carpets would be worst affected, with the sectors bracing for a 70 percent collapse in exports, “endangering hundreds of thousands of jobs”.
“There will be a huge impact,” MK Venu, founding editor of The Wire news site, told Al Jazeera.
“While India is not a big trading partner for the US, for India, the US is the largest trading partner,” he said, adding that exports would be affected in the areas of textiles, garments, gems and jewellery, fisheries, leather items and crafts.
These are “very, very labour-intensive” and small companies, which cannot survive the hit, Venu said about the sectors to be affected by the tariffs. “They will lose businesses to Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and other East Asian economies.”
Will any industries be exempt?
The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been exempted from immediate tariff increases due to the significance of generic drugs in providing affordable healthcare in the US. Roughly half of the US’s generic medication imports come from India.
In 2024, Indian pharmaceutical exports to the United States amounted to approximately $8.7bn.
Meanwhile, semiconductors and consumer electronics will also be covered by separate, sector-specific US tariffs. Finally, aluminium and steel products, together with passenger vehicles, will also be subject to tariffs separate from the blanket 50 percent rate.
What is the Indian government doing to mitigate the impact?
Prime Minister Modi has pledged to protect farmers, cut taxes and push for self-reliance in the wake of tariff hikes.
India “should become self-reliant – not out of desperation, but out of pride … Economic selfishness is on the rise globally and we mustn’t sit and cry about our difficulties,” Modi said in his Independence Day speech at New Delhi’s Red Fort.
Faisal Ahmed, professor of geopolitics at Fore School of Management in New Delhi, says increasing the domestic productive capacity of India is not new. “It was a policy choice taken by Modi during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump’s tariffs look set to accelerate that process,” Ahmed told Al Jazeera.
On top of the $12bn income tax giveaway announced earlier this year, the Indian prime minister also said that businesses could expect a “massive tax bonanza” soon. It’s also understood that Delhi is planning to lower and simplify the goods and services tax.
This, along with a boost to the salaries of nearly five million state employees and 6.8 million pensioners (which will kick in next year), could help India’s economy retain some growth momentum.
An Indian commerce ministry official told Reuters earlier this week that exporters hit by tariffs would receive financial assistance and other giveaways to diversify into markets like Latin America and the Middle East.
Venu, who is also a former editor of the Financial Express newspaper, says that assurances have come from the central bank and the prime minister, but there is no real policy.
“Who will fund the subsidy? Will it be taxpayers or some of the big companies that benefitted from the Russian oil exports? So, there is no clarity on the details of how the subsidies would be provided. Even if subsidies are provided, it won’t be enough to cushion such a huge hit,” Venu told Al Jazeera from New Delhi.
He said that the government did not prepare for what was coming. “India should have had a policy, it should have done its homework because we knew that Trump was not going to relent, he was going to punish India for buying Russian oil.”
Indian policymakers will now be forced to rethink the overreliance on the US market, the Indian media reported on Wednesday. New Delhi might also explore the possibility of joining multilateral trade pacts – a move it had resisted in the past. The country has also signed bilateral trade arrangements with dozens of countries, and efforts are on to conclude a trade deal with the European Union by the end of this year.
Ahmed from the Fore School of Management said that the tariffs “shouldn’t have a significant impact on India’s GDP… probably around 1 percent”.
Teresa John, lead economist at Nirmal Bank, echoed Ahmed: “We estimate a [negative] impact of about $36bn, or 0.9 percent of GDP,” she told Reuters.
Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund forecast that India’s economy would grow by 6.4 percent in 2026. That could change.
What reason has Trump given for tariffs?
Talks to defuse a trade war broke down after five rounds of negotiations, following Trump’s calls for India to halt its imports of Russian oil and gas.
Despite the persistent threat of higher US tariffs, India has continued to buy Russian crude this year – albeit at falling levels.
New Delhi has also been hit because of the geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the West. Top Trump officials, including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have accused India of funding Russia’s war against Ukraine. He pointed out that India’s Russian oil imports went from 1 percent before the Ukraine war to 37 percent. He accused India of “profiteering”.
India’s foreign ministry said that New Delhi would “take all necessary steps to protect its national interests” and pointed out that Russian oil imports were driven by market forces and the energy needs of the country’s 1.4 billion people.
New Delhi has also accused Washington of selectively targeting India for purchasing Russian oil, when both the European Union and China – with whom Trump has brokered trade deals – continue to import energy from Russia.
Trump, who has unleashed a tariff war that has shaken the global economy, has been highlighting the high tariffs imposed by India.
“India has been, to us, just about the highest-tariffed nation anywhere in the world. It’s very hard to sell to India because they have trade barriers and very strong tariffs,” Trump said during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US in February.
New Delhi pledged to remove levies on certain industrial goods from the US and to increase defence and fuel purchases – to assuage Trump’s grievances over trade imbalances. But it refused to open its vast farming and dairy sector to cheap US imports.
“Modi will stand like a wall against any policy that threatens their interests. India will never compromise when it comes to protecting the interests of our farmers,” the Indian prime minister said on August 15.
For context, the simple average tariff rate that India imposed on agricultural imports was 39 percent at the end of 2024. By contrast, the simple average tariff rate that the US charged on its agricultural imports was 4 percent. Trump took umbrage with that.
Last year, bilateral trade between India and the US stood at approximately $212bn, with a trade gap of about $46bn in India’s favour.
Trump’s tough stance has pushed India to mend ties with rival China – the world’s second-largest economy and one of New Delhi’s biggest trading partners with a bilateral trade of around $136bn. India is also preparing to roll out the red carpet to Russian President Vladimir Putin as New Delhi moves to strengthen its traditional ties with Moscow.
North Korean leader Kim (L) will be meeting Chinese leader Xi (R) in September
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing next week alongside Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China has said, in what will be a landmark visit.
This is Kim’s first multilateral international meeting, making the event a diplomatic win for China’s Xi Jinping who has been pushing for a new Beijing-led world order.
It allows Xi to signal his influence – although limited – on both Putin and Kim at a time when Washington is attempting to make a deal with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump is not attending but said earlier this week that he wanted to meet Kim, whose growing nuclear arsenal and support for Russia have rattled the West.
China’s “Victory Day” parade will mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two and the end of the conflict.
Putin and Kim will be among 26 other heads of state who are expected to attend the parade. This is the first time a North Korean leader has attended a Chinese military parade since 1959.
China is likely to display its latest weaponry, including hundreds of aircraft, tanks and anti-drone systems. This will be the first time its military’s new force structure is being fully showcased in a parade.
The highly choreographed event will see tens of thousands of military personnel march in formation through the historic Tiananmen Square, with troops from 45 of the so-called echelons of China’s military as well as war veterans.
The 70-minute parade, which will be surveyed by Xi, is expected to be closely watched by analysts and western powers.
In a press conference given by China’s foreign ministry on Thursday, Beijing – one of Pyongyang’s closest allies – praised its neighbour for their decades-long “traditional friendship” and said the two countries will continue to collaborate on “regional peace and stability”.
Kim’s attendance is an upgrade from China’s last Victory Day parade in 2015, when Pyongyang sent one of its top officials, Choe Ryong-hae.
The North Korean leader rarely travels abroad. His recent contact with world leaders has been limited to Vladmir Putin, who he’s met twice since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Now this international pariah has the opportunity to appear on an international stage – while also strengthening his ties with China.
Kim generally likes to balance his relationship between Moscow and Beijing – so he’s not too reliant on either – but he hasn’t seen the Chinese leader for six years.
This year’s event will be significant because it means Xi can walk into any summit with Trump with more confidence, having been fully briefed by both leaders.
Next week’s meeting is also weeks before a possible visit by Trump to Asia, which the White House has hinted at but not confirmed. It has, however, said the US President is open to meeting Xi to finalise a tariffs deal, among other things.
It’s been six years since Kim visited Beijing – he last attended an event to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2019.
He also visited Beijing three times in 2018, a particularly busy year for international trips given his reluctance to travel abroad.
Most Western leaders are not expected to attend the parade, due to their opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven the sanctions against Putin’s regime.
Beijing, however, has not criticised Putin’s war and has been accused by the US and its allies of even aiding it – which it denies. Kim, on the other hand, has supplied both weapons and troops to the Russian invasion.
The list of leaders attending the parade also reflects China’s rise and its changing relationship with the world.
The Indonesia president and Malaysian prime minister will be there, which is further proof of Beijing’s concerted efforts to ramp up ties with neighbouring South East Asia. Others like Singapore are sending lower- level representatives.
Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hliang, an international pariah who is hugely dependent on Chinese trade and aid, will also be attending.
There will be fewer European Union officials, with just one EU leader attending – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico – while Bulgaria and Hungary will send representatives.
Susan Monarez was confirmed to lead the US public health agency by the Senate in July
The White House says it has fired the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, after she refused to resign on Wednesday.
In a statement, it said she was “not aligned with the president’s agenda” and she had been removed from her position at the health agency.
The US health department earlier announced her departure, which prompted a statement from Dr Monarez’s lawyers who said she had not been told of her removal and she would not resign.
They said she was being targeted for refusing “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts” and accused Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of “weaponising public health”.
“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the president’s agenda,” the White House said later on Wednesday, adding that she had been terminated from her position as director.
A long-time federal government scientist, Dr Monarez was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the CDC and was confirmed in a Senate vote along party lines in July.
Her nomination followed Trump withdrawing his first pick, former Republican Congressman Dave Weldon, who had come under fire for his views on vaccines and autism.
Almost immediately after Dr Monarez’s departure was first announced by the health department, at least three senior CDC leaders resigned from the agency.
Among them was Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who warned about the “rise of misinformation” about vaccines in a letter seen by the BBC’s US partner CBS News. She also argued against planned cuts to the agency’s budget.
Daniel Jernigan, who led the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, also quit citing “the current context in the department”.
Head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Demetre Daskalakis, also said he was no longer able to serve “because of the ongoing weaponising of public health”.
There are also reports, including by NBC News, that Dr Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology, has also resigned.
The exodus comes as health experts voice concern over the agency’s approach to immunisations under the leadership of Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new Covid vaccines while limiting who could receive them.
The vaccines will be available for all seniors, but younger adults and children without underlying health conditions will be excluded.
“The emergency use authorizations for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded,” Kennedy wrote on X.
Dr Monarez was the first CDC director in 50 years to not hold a medical degree. Her background is in infectious disease research.
In her month as the CDC leader, she helped comfort agency employees after the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta was attacked by a gunman who believed he had been harmed by Covid vaccines.
The attack, in which hundreds of bullets struck the building, killed one police officer.
Earlier this month, current and former employees of the agency wrote an open letter accusing Kennedy of fuelling violence towards healthcare workers with his anti-vaccine rhetoric.
SICK footage has surfaced of shooter Robin Westman giggling hours before killing two children at a Minneapolis school on Wednesday.
Westman uploaded a video showing off multiple weapons, bullets, and disturbing writings before shooting through stained glass windows at the Catholic school during Mass before dying by suicide.
Robin Westman, 23, in a YouTube video that has been deleted since the shootingCredit: YouTube
Two students, aged 8 and 10, were killed in the shooting at Annunciation Church in southern Minneapolis, which started during the worship service at around 8:30 am, police said.
Officials said 14 other kids were hurt in the attack, while three people in their 80s were also injured.
Children rushed out of the building in their school uniforms before being reunited with their families in heartbreaking scenes.
The shooting is now being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Police identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who was found dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the parking lot behind the church.
Court records show that Westman’s mom, Mary Grace, applied to change her child’s name in 2019 from Robert Paul Westman to Robin M. Westman, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The name change was approved in 2020.
Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed while praying in pews
17 others were injured, including 14 children, and a local hospital is currently treating nine pediatric patients
The suspect has been identified as Robin Westman, 23, whose mother worked at the school until 2021, who died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot
The shooter’s neighbors broke their silence on the tragedy
Westman uploaded a sick video manically laughing minutes before the shooting showing off disturbing messages written across multiple guns, including a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol with several magazines
Sobbing children were evacuated from the church to reunite with their worried parents, with one boy overheard telling his dad, “I don’t feel safe”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he was briefed and is “praying for our kids and teachers”
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation and ordered flags at half-staff to mourn the victims
Westman was connected to the Annunciation Church through Mary Grace, who retired from working there in 2021.
The shooter, who was armed with a rifle, pistol, and handgun, fired shots into the auditorium and reportedly tried to block the doors with a two-by-four, according to police.
All of the guns were purchased legally, authorities said.
Now, investigators are looking into a sick 11-minute video uploaded to YouTube in the hours before the murders, as it appears to be Westman’s manifesto.
HORRIFYING VIDEO
The video was scheduled ahead of time to upload at the time of the shooting, police said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Westman could be heard maniacally giggling while muttering all alone and showing off writings addressed to loved ones, as well as guns with disturbing messages on them.
One of the guns had “Rupnow” written on it, which is likely a reference to Nashville school shooter Natalie Rupnow, who killed two and hurt six at her Christian school last December.
Other guns had the names of other mass killers, including Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers, who murdered 11 in a place of worship in 2018.
The word Waco was on one of the rifles, referencing the 1993 standoff between extremist David Koresh, his followers, and the FBI that left 76 dead.
Westman wrote “kill Donald Trump” on one gun, “kiss me” on another, and displayed multiple antisemitic phrases on the weapons.
The video also showed the two-by-four plank of wood with the words “no escape!” written on it.
The killer also shared hopes for YouTuber and Texas congressional candidate Brandon Herrera to be president and bragged about meeting him at an event last year.
Herrera is a Second Amendment activist who has been criticized for inflammatory and antisemitic rhetoric.
The candidate’s campaign told The U.S. Sun, “I’m horrified by this clearly hate motivated attack on innocent children and disgusted that my name came out of this demon’s mouth.”
Westman’s handwritten letters to his friends and families included a chilling message telling readers to “pray for the victims and their families.”
“I love you all. I will remember you,” Westman wrote.
The writings reference suicide, “extremely violent thoughts and ideas,” and a sketch of a church’s layout, according to NBC News.
It’s unclear if the church depicted is Annunciation Church.
At the end of the video, Westman said, “This will just look like another video on the day that catches you all up.”
Police haven’t publicly identified a motive for the shooting.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Westman, who was dressed in all black, was targeting students in a “deliberate act of violence.”
The Minnesota Police Department didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
“Children are dead,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
A mass Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s capital, including a rare strike in the center of the city, early Thursday killed at least 10 people and wounded 48, local authorities said.
It was the first major Russian combined attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, making it one of the war’s biggest air attacks.
Among the dead were two children, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, citing preliminary information. The numbers are expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull people trapped underneath the rubble.
“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. “We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”
Russia strikes central Kyiv in a rare attack
Russia launched decoy drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration.
At least 20 locations across seven districts of Kyiv had impacts. Nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall in the city center, and thousands of windows were shattered, he said.
Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized 563 drones and decoys and 26 missiles across the country, its Air Force said.
Russian strikes hit the central part of Kyiv, one of the few times Russian attacks have reached the heart of the Ukrainian capital since the start of the full-scale invasion. Residents cleared shattered glass and debris from damaged buildings.
Sophia Akylina said her home was damaged.
“It’s never happened before that they attacked so close,” the 21-year old said. “Negotiations haven’t yielded anything yet, unfortunately people are suffering.”
Bodies pulled from the rubble
Smoke billowed from the crumbled column of a five-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district, which suffered a direct hit. An acrid stench of burning material wafted in the air as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
Emergency responders searched for survivors and pulled bodies from the destruction. Crowds of residents stood nearby waiting for relatives to retrieved from the rubble, including a man who was waiting for information about his wife and son. Bodies in black bags were placed to the side of the building.
It was not the first time the district was targeted, neighborhood residents said.
Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the residential building where his sister lives. He heard screams from people who were trapped under the rubble and pulled out three survivors, including a boy.
“It’s inhuman, striking civilians,” he said, his clothes covered in dust and the tips of his fingers black with soot. “With every cell of my body I want this war to end as soon as possible. I wait, but every time the air raid alarm sounds, I am afraid.”
Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, causing delays and requiring trains to use alternative routes.
Diplomatic efforts to reach peace have stalled
Thursday’s attack is the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since U.S. President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
While a diplomatic push to end the war appeared to gain momentum shortly after that meeting, few details have emerged about the next steps.
Western leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine. This week, Ukrainian military leaders conceded Russian forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine seeking to capture more ground.
Zelenskyy hopes for harsher U.S. sanctions to cripple the Russian economy if Putin does not demonstrate seriousness about ending the war. He reiterated those demands following Thursday’s attack.
Pope Leo XIV urged the parties involved in the conflict in Gaza to bring an end to the “terror, destruction and death”.
Pope Leo XIV demanded Wednesday that Israel stop the “collective punishment” and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as he pleaded for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the besieged territory amid preparations by Israel for a new military offensive.
Leo was interrupted twice by applause as he read aloud his latest appeal for an end to the 22-month war during his weekly general audience attended by thousands of people in the Vatican’s auditorium.
History’s first American pope also called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas in southern Israel — 50 of them remain in Gaza — and for both sides and international powers to end the war “which has caused so much terror, destruction and death.”
“I beg for a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated and humanitarian law to be fully respected,” Leo said. He cited international law requiring the obligation to protect civilians and “the prohibition of collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of the population.”
Palestinians in Gaza are bracing for an expanded offensive promised by Israel in some of the territory’s most populated areas including Gaza City, where famine has been documented and declared.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will launch its Gaza City offensive while simultaneously pursuing a ceasefire, though Israel has yet to send a negotiating team to discuss a proposal on the table. He has said the offensive is the best way to weaken Hamas and return hostages, but hostages’ families and their supporters have pushed back, saying it will further endanger them.
Hamas took 251 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023, in the attack that also killed about 1,200 people and triggered the war. Most hostages have been released during previous ceasefires or other deals. Israel has rescued eight hostages alive. Of the 50 still in Gaza, Israeli officials believe around 20 are still alive.
Leo drew attention to a joint statement by the Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem, who announced that the priests and nuns in the two Christian churches in Gaza City would stay put, despite Israeli evacuation orders ahead of the Gaza City offensive. They said the people sheltering in the churches were too weak and malnourished to move and that doing so would be a “death sentence.”
The Holy Family Catholic church and the Saint Porphyrius Orthodox church have sheltered hundreds of Palestinian civilians during the war, including elderly people, women and children as well as people with disabilities. Pope Francis, even during his final days in the hospital, stayed in daily touch with the parish priest of Holy Family to offer his solidarity and support to the people there, cared for by the nuns of Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity religious order.
In their joint statement, Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III noted that just last weekend, Leo issued a strong statement about the rights of people to remain in their homelands and not be forced to move.
“All peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and rights, especially the right to live in their own lands; and no one can force them into exile,” Leo said in comments Saturday to a group of forced refugees from the Indian Ocean archipelago Chagos that were clearly destined for a broader audience.
YouTube TV says it’s reached a “short-term extension” in its contract dispute with Fox, meaning subscribers of the Google-owned streamer won’t see immediate disruptions of Fox channels on the platform.
The current carriage agreement between YouTube TV and Fox originally faced a Wednesday afternoon deadline — with YouTube previously warning that networks like Fox Sports, Business and News would become unavailable on its streaming platform if the two sides didn’t reach a new deal by 5 p.m. ET.
That would have left YouTube TV customers without Week 1 of some college football games and other broadcast programming from Fox. But shortly after the clock hit 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, YouTube said it was able to “prevent disruption” as it continues to work towards a new agreement.
The current carriage agreement between YouTube TV and Fox originally faced a Wednesday afternoon deadline — with YouTube previously warning that networks like Fox Sports, Business and News would become unavailable on its streaming platform AP
“We are committed to advocating on behalf of our subscribers as we work toward a fair deal and will keep you updated on our progress,” YouTube said in a brief update announcing the extension.
A spokesperson for Fox had no additional comment, but confirmed that the broadcast giant had agreed to the short-term extension. It was not immediately clear how long the extension would be.
In a statement earlier Wednesday, Fox said that it was “disappointed that Google continually exploits its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace.” Fox also directed subscribers to a site called keepfox.com for more information and to call on YouTube to come to an agreement.
In addition to Fox Sports, Business and News, keepfox.com notes that YouTube TV may no longer carry FS1 and the Big Ten Network (which is majority-owned by Fox) if a deal isn’t reached.
Meanwhile, in blog post earlier this week, YouTube said Fox was “asking for payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive.” The company added that it hoped to reach a deal that’s “fair for both sides” without “passing on additional costs to our subscribers.”
If Fox content becomes unavailable on YouTube TV “for an extended period of time,” YouTube also noted it would provide members with a $10 credit. YouTube TV’s base plan — which currently boasts access to over 100 live channels — costs $82.99 a month.
Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, also chimed in on the dispute leading up to Wednesday’s deadline — while appearing to target Google particularly. He called on the tech company to “get a deal done” in a post on social media.
“Google removing Fox channels from YouTube TV would be a terrible outcome,” Carr wrote in a Tuesday post on X. “Millions of Americans are relying on YouTube to resolve this dispute so they can keep watching the news and sports they want—including this week’s Big Game: Texas @ Ohio State.”
From sports events to awards shows, live programming that was once reserved for broadcast has increasingly made its way into the streaming world over the years — as more and more consumers ditch traditional cable or satellite TV subscriptions for content they can get online. But renewing carriage agreements can also mean tense contract negotiations — at times resulting in service disruptions.
The Trump administration has proposed fixed visa terms for students, cultural exchange visitors, and foreign journalists, replacing open-ended stays with strict limits to increase oversight, reviving a measure first introduced in 2020.
US proposes new rules to restrict the duration of visas for international students, foreign journalists.
The Trump administration has proposed new rules to restrict the duration of visas for international students, cultural exchange visitors, and foreign journalists, a move officials say is designed to tighten oversight and reduce misuse.
The proposed rule, announced Wednesday, would replace the current “duration of status” system – in place since 1978 – with fixed visa terms.
Currently, student (F visa) and exchange (J visa) holders are admitted for an open-ended period tied to their enrolment or program, allowing them to remain in the country indefinitely without fresh vetting.
Administration officials argue that this has enabled some to become “forever students”, perpetually extending their stays.
Under the new framework, student and exchange visas would be capped at four years, while foreign journalists (I visas) would be limited to 240 days, with options for extension. For Chinese nationals on journalist visas, the cap would be even stricter at 90 days.
Any visa holder seeking to remain beyond their initial term would need to apply for an extension with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), giving the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a greater opportunity for review.
“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 by limiting the amount of time certain visa holders are allowed to remain in the US, easing the burden on the federal government to properly oversee foreign students and their history.”
According to government data, there were about 1.6 million F visa students in the US in 2024, along with 355,000 exchange visitors and 13,000 foreign journalists.
Officials argue that tighter controls are needed to ensure these groups are properly vetted. DHS says the fixed-term system would enhance monitoring through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), making oversight more effective.
The administration insists the change is necessary to “ease the burden” on federal agencies tasked with monitoring visa holders, but critics argue it risks discouraging international students and undermining America’s higher education system.
A similar proposal was floated in 2020 during Trump’s first term but was later scrapped by the Biden administration in 2021 following opposition from universities, international education groups, and business leaders.
The new plan adds to a string of Trump-era measures targeting even legal immigration programs. The administration has tightened scrutiny on student visas, revoked green cards on ideological grounds, stripped legal protections from hundreds of thousands of migrants, and recently ordered USCIS to resume neighbourhood checks on naturalisation applicants to verify residency and “commitment to American ideals.”
Videos released hours before the attack, reportedly show Minneapolis shooter Robin Westman’s gun magazines carrying antisemitic and anti-Trump messages.
Robin Westman (R) has been identified as the suspect behind the deadly shooting the Minneapolis school(X)
Robin Westman, identified as the suspect behind the deadly shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday, had texts like ‘Nuke India’, ‘Kill Donald Trump’ and ‘Israel must fall’ written on his ammunition and gun magazines, a viral video claimed.
He reportedly released a series of videos showing his guns and other ammunition, which are now being investigated by the police.
In the viral videos, Westman is seen showing a gun magazine with phrases “for the children”, “kill Donald Trump”, “Where is your God?” and “Nuke India”.
According to New York Post, the purported videos were released just hours before the attack and showed the shooter’s gun magazines and a manifesto.
In one of the videos, a cache of weapons can be seen, including a semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun. The magazine of the gun can be seen with writings “for the children” and “kill Donald Trump” written over it.
🚨BREAKING: The Minnesota Catholic church shooter has been revealed as Robin Westman.
In another video, Westman’s gun magazine can be seen with the names of Adam Lanza and other mass shooters.
In 2012, Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, killing 26 people, including 20 children. His admiration for mass shooters, including Lanza and Sandy Hook, can also be noticed when he flips through his journal in which he has written, “I have deep fascination with one man in particular: Adam Lanza,” the New York Post reported.
The videos also highlight Weston’s antisemitic ideology with antisemitic messages written over his equipment and “Israel must fall” written on one of his guns, according to reports. According to CNN, several messages and racial and religious slurs were inscribed on the weapons, including phrases like “psycho killer” and “burn Israel”. The videos also show several entries with antisemitic messages, including “If I carry out a racially motivated attack, it would be most likely against filthy Zionist jews,” and calling Jewish people “entitled”.
The shooting that took place when children were celebrating Mass, killed two children and injured 17 others. Westman died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot, as he was armed with a rifle, shotgun and a handgun at the time.
The new regulation, published in the Official Gazette, exempts Indian passport holders from obtaining an Argentine visa or Electronic Travel Authorization (AVE) if they possess a current tourist visa for the United States.
The Argentine government has announced eased entry requirements for Indian citizens holding US visas.
In a move aimed at enhancing inbound tourism and strengthening bilateral ties, the Argentine government has announced eased entry requirements for Indian citizens holding valid US visas.
The new regulation, published in the Official Gazette, exempts Indian passport holders from obtaining an Argentine visa or Electronic Travel Authorization (AVE) if they possess a current tourist visa for the United States.
According to the official text, this exemption applies to ordinary passport holders, with the National Immigration Directorate tasked with verifying each case through coordination with relevant authorities prior to granting entry.
This reciprocal gesture highlights India’s existing Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, which Argentine citizens already access free of charge for tourism purposes.
The policy builds on similar initiatives implemented just one month ago, when Argentina waived visa and AVE requirements for citizens of China and the Dominican Republic under the same condition of holding a valid US visa.
These measures reflect a broader strategy to attract international visitors and invigorate the tourism sector amid economic recovery efforts. Argentine Tourism Secretary Daniel Scioli praised the decision on X (formerly Twitter), stating that it seeks to “facilitate inbound tourism and support Argentine sports”.
Scioli’s advocacy underscores the potential for increased cultural and economic exchanges between the two nations. Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzennegger elaborated on the rationale in a post on X, declaring: “Indian citizens will be able to enter Argentina without a visa or AVE, without paying any fees, if they have a valid US visa.”
He corrected a potential misunderstanding by emphasising that entry facilitation means “they will no longer be required to apply” for additional permissions.
Sturzennegger highlighted key statistics: “Some 2.2 million Indians travelled to the US in 2024, and the US grants more than a million visas per year to India. So this change should help facilitate tourism in our country, a request that the Secretary of Tourism, Sports, and Environment Daniel Osvaldo Scioli has been insistently urging.”
The minister also referenced a diplomatic nudge from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires in early July.
“It’s impossible to improve tourism if we don’t make it easier for them to come!” Sturzennegger added, echoing the sentiment that streamlined processes are essential for growth.
Argentine Ambassador to India, Mariano Caucino, reinforced the priority, assuring that “promoting tourism to our country is a top priority of our government, and for this reason, we seek to facilitate the mechanisms so that more and more Indians visit Argentina”.
With India’s burgeoning middle class and rising outbound travel, experts anticipate a surge in visitors to Argentina’s iconic destinations like Patagonia, Iguazu Falls, and Buenos Aires.
This development aligns with Argentina’s deregulation agenda under President Milei, aiming to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and stimulate economic activity.
Bilateral trade between Argentina and India, currently valued at around $6 billion annually, could see further boosts through enhanced people-to-people connections.
As global travel rebounds post-pandemic, such visa relaxations position Argentina as an accessible hub for Asian tourists, potentially adding millions to the tourism revenue, which contributes over 5 per cent to the nation’s GDP.
Israel’s blockade of aid has worsened conditions in Gaza.
An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital complex has killed at least 20 people, including four journalists and multiple ambulance and civil defence crews attempting to rescue victims of a prior strike.
The blast was captured on video, showing ambulance and civil defence teams rushing to the rooftop and upper floors of Nasser Medical Complex, Khan Younis, to help victims of an earlier attack. The explosion struck the building, sending grey smoke and debris into the air. People were seen screaming and scrambling to flee the scene.
The strike employed a “double-tap” tactic, where an initial missile is followed shortly by a second strike targeting first responders and rescuers, CNN reported.
Mariam Abu Daqa (Associated Press), Mohammed Salama (Al Jazeera), Hossam al-Masri (Reuters), Moaz Abu Taha, and Ahmed Abu Aziz were the journalists killed by the Israeli strike. Reuters photographer Hatem Khaled was also injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “tragic mishap”, saying, “Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians.”
The Foreign Press Association condemned the attack, calling it one of the deadliest for international journalists since the war in Gaza began nearly two years ago, as per the BBC.
In March, Israeli forces fired on several rescue vehicles, including five ambulances, a fire truck, and a UN vehicle, in southern Rafah, killing at least 15 aid workers, including eight members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, five civil defence personnel, and one UN employee. Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have called for independent investigations into these incidents, citing serious violations of international law.
US President Donald Trump attends a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (not pictured) at the Oval Office, at the White House, in Washington, D.C., US, August 25, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Brian Snyder/File Photo)
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Aug 26) that the federal government will begin seeking the death penalty in homicide cases in Washington DC, expanding his law-and-order push and federal control over the capital.
“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington DC, we’re going to be seeking the death penalty, and that’s a very strong preventative,” Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting. “We have no choice.”
LAW-AND-ORDER PUSH
The move underscores Trump’s efforts to exert power over the Democratic-leaning capital, where violent crime has fallen from a 2023 spike but remains a flashpoint in political debate. He has already declared an emergency, deployed National Guard troops and sent federal law enforcement to back up local police.
Trump has also threatened to extend such measures to other cities, including Chicago.
Washington is unique in that it falls under the jurisdiction of Congress, though residents elect a mayor and council under the 1973 Home Rule Act. The city has abolished the death penalty for local crimes, but it remains possible for certain offences under federal law.
FEDERAL AUTHORITY
The US Attorney’s Office in Washington prosecutes both local and federal crimes, giving the Justice Department authority to pursue capital punishment. Attorney General Pam Bondi in February lifted a Biden-era pause on most federal executions.
Watch: The BBC visits golden snub-nosed monkeys at Shennongjia National Park, China
Until the 1980s people roamed the mountains of Shennongjia in central China hunting monkeys for their meat and fur.
Poor farmers were still clearing vast areas of trees, and as their environment collapsed around them, so did the local population of golden snubbed-nosed monkeys, dropping below 500 in the wild.
This was the situation when new graduate Yang Jingyuan arrived in 1991, still in his early 20s.
“The monkeys’ home was being destroyed by logging so their numbers were going down fast,” he says. “Now it’s being protected, and the monkey figures are really improving.”
These days Professor Yang is the director of the Shennongjia National Park Scientific Research Institute and probably no one knows this species better than he does.
Prof Yang, 55, has spent his entire working life trying to understand and protect this endangered sub-species of snub-nosed monkeys, which exist only in these mountains in Hubei province, and he took us into the forest to meet them.
I asked if it was true that he now understood what many of their noises meant.
“Yes,” he said. “Yeeee is telling others the area is safe. They can come over. Wu-ka means it’s dangerous. Be careful.”
And, sure enough, there he was making various noises as the monkeys came down out of the trees, holding our hands, touching us and checking out the humans.
As we sat down on the ground to put them at ease, he said that these animals have a very complex social structure.
With baby monkeys jumping into my lap and crawling over us to see what was going on, Prof Yang explained how their groups break down.
One male head of a family group might have three to five wives, plus their children. Then families come together to form a larger band that could be more than a hundred.
Bachelor males form their own groups, which at times stand guard. Females have “affairs” behind their husband’s backs, causing tension and fights break out not only when a male takes control of a family from an existing male head but when an entire “tribe” of monkeys battles with another for control of territory.
Six-year-old females know when it is time to leave their family and join another so as to prevent inbreeding and the animals – which live until around 24 years old – also know when it is time for them to die.
Near the end of their lives, we were told, they find a quiet place by themselves and go out alone. The rangers said the spots were so secluded that, over decades, they had never been able to find a monkey’s body after this had happened.
That these unique animals can now exist in this way over an area of 400 square kilometres (155 square miles) is very different to how it was.
Though the national park was created in 1982, one 49-year-old ranger who grew up in the area, Fang Jixi, said that it took many more years for struggling farmers to stop destroying this environment.
“People were very poor in these mountains and hunger was a real concern. There was no concept of protecting wild animals,” he said.
“Even after logging was banned there were still people illegally felling timber. If they didn’t cut down trees, how would they have money? There were also people secretly hunting here to survive. It was only after a long period of building awareness that the consciousness of local farmers changed.”
Part of this awareness was bringing these farmers on board to become protectors of the forest rather than wreckers of it.
“When the change occurred it was the scientists who told us you can actually come and work with us. You can have a job here to help the animals,” Mr Fang said.
Now he is part of a team that patrols the hills, keeping an eye out for poachers and, most importantly, looking for where the monkeys are so that researchers can study how and where they sleep, forage and give birth.
Finding them can be difficult because the animals can cover an area through the treetops in minutes that a human would need an hour to walk.
What’s more, these fascinating primates are not naturally so open to human interaction, especially given how dangerous such contact could have been in the past.
You can see a haboob’s wall of dust coming from a distance but by the time it reaches you, it’s too late to seek shelter – especially if you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle.
This photo provided by the City of Phoenix shows a towering cloud of dust at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (City of Phoenix via AP)
A towering wall of dust, known meteorologically as a haboob, swallowed parts of metro Phoenix Monday evening, plunging the city into near-zero visibility. The dust storm was quickly followed by severe thunderstorms that tore through the city, leaving behind downed trees, wind damage and widespread power outages. At Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, a connector bridge was shredded by 70 mph wind gusts.
The National Weather Service in Phoenix issued both dust storm and severe thunderstorm warnings as the system pushed into Maricopa County Monday evening. The weather service warned drivers of dangerously low visibility and urged people to “pull aside stay alive.”
The Arizona Department of Transportation echoed that warning, saying there was significantly reduced visibility on I-10 and I-17 due to the dust storm and flooding on roadways, urging drivers to proceed with caution.
After the storms swept through, more than 60,000 customers in Arizona were left without power, with the majority of outages concentrated in Maricopa County, according to PowerOutage.us.
For about an hour, the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport had a ground stop preventing any planes from leaving or landing as a cloud of dust seemed ready to swallow up the facility. The airport was experiencing up to 30 minute delays late Monday night while crews assessed any damage or roof leaks, airport spokesperson Gregory E. Roybal said.
In Gilbert, Arizona – about 22 miles southeast of Phoenix – there are “traffic light outages and downed trees across town,” police said, urging residents to avoid travel due to dangerous conditions.
Dust storms are nothing new in Arizona’s monsoon season, but this storm packed extra punch. A thunderstorm collapsed, and its winds blasted outward, scooping up desert soil and building it into a rolling wall of dust. These walls can climb thousands of feet high and stretch for miles, cutting off the horizon in seconds, similar to a blizzard in winter.
You can see a haboob’s wall of dust coming from a distance but by the time it reaches you, it’s too late to seek shelter – especially if you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle. It’s nearly impossible to see more than a few feet in front of you in the worst of these storms as the dust chokes out light.
The haboob in Phoenix comes after a weekend dust storm in Nevada blew through Burning Man, an annual arts gathering in Black Rock City, about 120 miles from Reno.
As attendees began arriving at the remote desert location Saturday, strong thunderstorm winds kicked up a dust plume, closing access roads and sending vendors scrambling to secure their tents.
“We had to take our sign down. We weren’t expecting that,” vendor Mike Chuda told CNN affiliate KTVN. “The wind was in such a perfect angle that it was bending our booth forward. So that was pretty wild.”
Tony Southampton has banned short-term home rentals after crabby locals complained that weekend warriors’ all-night “ragers” were keeping them up too late and making the ritzy beachside village unbearable.
The measure — passed 4-1 by the village board of trustees on Aug. 19 — sets a new two-week minimum for home rentals across the ritzy beachside locale, effectively banning weekend trips for anyone who can’t shell out for a hotel or fork over thousands of dollars typically required to hold a house for 14 days.
That means Hamptons trips — which already cost between $900 and $2,000 for a weekend stay — could now cost anything from $10,000 to $15,000 and up for a two-week rental.
“All those girls and bridesmaids weekends are out of luck now,” one local real estate broker told The Post.
Weekend trips that used to cost between $900 and $2,000 could now cost $15,000 for the required two weeks. AFP via Getty Images
But Southampton mayor Bill Manger says it’s short-term renters’ own fault for partying too hard and losing their weekend privileges.
“We have been getting complaints from people in the village that the house next door is having lots of different renters coming in every weekend, and causing a disruption to the peace and harmony,” Manger told The Post, explaining locals have been calling cops with relentless noise complaints “every weekend” for months.
“They came to me as the mayor and asked, ‘Can’t you do something about this?’” Manger said.
He looked at Southampton’s neighboring communities on Long Island’s South Fork and realized almost everywhere else had already banned weekend rentals over similar complaints, and made the proposal for the village.
“We were the only outlier so it seemed to make sense to put something in place,” he said.
Word of the new law — which covers the heart of the Southampton beach community, but not the wider township’s other villages — has been slow to disseminate across the sleepy but well-heeled enclave, and some fear it will only serve to keep people out and hurt local business owners.
“It’s over. This ends my Airbnb business. That’s it,” said 55-year-old Joel Perez, who divides his time between Long Island and Miami and rents out his Southampton home when he’s in Florida.
“Nobody can afford to be out here for two weeks. What happens to people who just want a weekend getaway?” he said. “It’s really about catering to the rich and keeping people from the middle class down and out of the Hamptons.”
And he thinks the parties will only continue — but harder.
“The people who can afford to book those whole houses and throw ragers will still do it — they’ll just rent for two weeks, throw more than one party,” he said.
An Airbnb spokesperson said the company has banned parties for the last five years, but is committed to working with Southampton leaders to make sure the village is equipped to deal with violators.
“Airbnb has had a ban on parties since 2020, and while they remain extremely rare with fewer than 0.06% of reservations on Airbnb in New York resulting in an allegation of a party in 2024,” the spokesperson said.
Zach Erdem, a Southampton restaurateur and star of HBO Max’s “Serving the Hamptons,” said he was “shocked” when the law passed.
“The rich want the Hamptons to be more exclusive. It’s been the same issue for many years, but in the end, cutting short term rentals will stop people from coming,” he said.
“They want to know how to get people to come here, but they are keeping it for only the 1% to enjoy the Hamptons. They are stabbing us all in the back,” Erdem added.
The new law comes in effect at the end of a Hamptons summer where rentals were down 30%, according to reports, which some attributed to pandemic-era buyers pumping their prices to break-even paying off their mortgages.
And some real-estate agents have even lamented that the old-fashioned long-term rental market that once sustained the Hamptons is long gone — and not coming back, no matter what laws are passed.
Despite the criticisms, some have said the new rule is a sensible step in the right direction for homeowners who are in Southampton full time.
“There are too many damn people out here. That’s the problem. There’s too many people for one day or one night. There’s no consistency,” said Paul Brennan, a longtime Hamptons real estate broker with Douglas Elliman.
“Hopefully this will prevent the practice of one or two day rentals that drive everyone crazy. They pack the houses and don’t take care of them. Landlords go crazy,” he added.
Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook late Wednesday said she would not leave her post after Trump on social media called on her to resign over an accusation from one his officials that she committed mortgage fraud.
Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook will sue President Donald Trump’s administration to try to prevent him from firing her, her lawyer said Tuesday.
The announcement makes it more likely that a high-stakes legal battle will ensue that will probably end up at the Supreme Court, and could redefine the limits of the president’s legal authority over the central bank. Increasingly at issue is the Fed’s independence from day-to-day politics, which most economists consider a key factor in keeping long-term inflation and interest rates low.
“President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook,” said Abbe Lowell, Cook’s lawyer and a longtime Washington figure who has represented prominent people from both major political parties. “His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action.”
Trump, meanwhile, underscored in remarks at the White House that his goal is to seize more power over the Fed to get it to lower interest rates. He has previously said he would only appoint people to the Fed’s board who will support lower borrowing costs.
“We’ll have a majority very shortly, so that’ll be good,” Trump said, referring to the Fed’s governing board. “Once we have a majority, housing will swing,” he added, blaming slow housing sales on high mortgage rates.
Trump has criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for months because the Fed has left its key short-term interest rate unchanged at about 4.3% — relatively high compared with its level during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was nearly zero.
But now Trump has turned his attention to the broader Federal Reserve system. The committee that sets interest rates has 12 voting members, with seven coming from the board and the other five drawn from the presidents of the 12 regional Fed banks.
The Fed exercises expansive power over the U.S. economy by adjusting a short-term interest rate that can influence broader borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans and business loans.
Also Tuesday, the Fed itself weighed in for the first time on the firing, saying it would “abide by any court decision.”
The Fed also defended its longtime independence from politics: “Congress, through the Federal Reserve Act, directs that governors serve in long, fixed terms and may be removed by the president only ‘for cause,’” the central bank said. “Long tenures and removal protections for governors serve as a vital safeguard, ensuring that monetary policy decisions are based on data, economic analysis, and the long-term interests of the American people.”
A spokesperson said the Fed has deferred any decision on Cook’s working status and added that there is no official business before the board this week.
But the Fed’s statement did not explicitly criticize Trump’s decision to fire her.
If Trump succeeds in removing Cook from the Fed’s board of governors, it would likely erode the Fed’s political independence, which enables it to take unpopular steps like raising interest rates. A less-independent Fed could leave Americans paying higher rates, because investors would demand a higher yield to own bonds to offset potentially greater inflation in the future, pushing up borrowing costs throughout the economy.
Who’s on the board?
Trump appointed two members of the board, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, in his first term and has named Steven Miran, a top White House economist, to replace Gov. Adriana Kugler, who stepped down unexpectedly Aug. 1. If Miran’s nomination is approved by the Senate and Trump is able to replace Cook, he would have a 4-3 majority on the Fed’s board.
For now, Miran would just be on the board until Kugler’s term was set to end in January. Trump said Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting that he could instead nominate Miran to complete Cook’s term, , which lasts until 2038, if he succeeds in firing her.
Legal experts say the Republican president’s claim that he can fire Cook, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022, is on shaky ground. But it’s an unprecedented move that hasn’t played out in the courts before, and the Supreme Court this year has been much more willing to let the president remove agency officials than in the past.
“It’s an illegal firing, but the president’s going to argue, ‘The Constitution lets me do it,’” said Lev Menand, a law professor at Columbia University and author of a book about the Fed. “And that argument’s worked in a few other cases so far this year.”
Menand said the Supreme Court construes the Constitution’s meaning, and “it can make new constitutional law in this case.”
Trump on Tuesday acknowledged there would likely be a court fight.
“You always have legal fights,” he said. “She seems to have had an infraction, and you can’t have an infraction,” he added of Cook.
Allegations against Cook
Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, alleged last week that Cook had claimed two primary residences — in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in Atlanta — in 2021 to get better mortgage terms. Mortgage rates are often higher on second homes or those bought to rent.
Trump said in a letter posted on his Truth Social platform late Monday that he was removing Cook effective immediately because of allegations she committed mortgage fraud.
Cook says she won’t resign
Cook said Monday night that she would not step down. “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so,” she said in an emailed statement. “I will not resign.”
The courts have allowed the Trump administration to remove commissioners at the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit System Protection Board and other independent agencies. Yet Cook’s case is different.
Those dismissals were based on the idea that the president needs no reason to remove agency heads because they exercise executive power on his behalf, the Supreme Court wrote in an unsigned order in May.
In that same order, the court suggested that Trump did not have the same freedom at the Fed, which the court called a “uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.”
A lawyer asked Katy Perry on Tuesday whether she stood to gain money or anything else from a trial in a long legal fight over a California mansion.
“Justice” was the one-word answer from the singing superstar, former “American Idol” judge and recent astronaut, part of an hour of remote testimony she gave in a Los Angeles courtroom.
In her tense, careful testimony, Perry wouldn’t concede directly that she stood to gain money if she won, but did say, “I stand to lose money if it doesn’t work in my favor.”
She spoke during the second trial in a dispute over a $15 million mansion in upscale Montecito near Santa Barbara that she and former partner Orlando Bloom bought in 2020.
The seller, 85-year-old Carl Westcott, said he was not mentally competent to make the deal and sued to undo it.
Perry’s side — technically the defendant was her business manager, Bernie Gudvi — prevailed in the first trial in 2023. Then Gudvi, representing Perry, countersued over lost rental income brought on by the legal fight and millions in maintenance the house allegedly required. That brought on the current sequel trial.
Katy Perry arrives at the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 5, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Westcott’s lawyer, Andrew J. Thomas, often tried to steer the conversation toward Bloom. Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner ruled that the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Lord of the Rings” actor does not have to testify because it would be redundant and unnecessary, even though the house is officially owned by a company he set up.
Asked if she had any role in a remodel of the house Bloom oversaw, Perry replied that she acted as “partner and adviser.”
The couple, who split up in July, have a daughter together whose fifth birthday was Tuesday.
When asked about the nature of their partnership, Perry replied, “We’re family for life.”
Perry’s attorney, Eric Rowen, objected to nearly every question by Thomas as irrelevant, including most of the queries about Bloom, which Lipner kept to a minimum.
Rowen objected especially angrily when Perry was asked if she knew that Westcott had entered a mental institution earlier in the legal fight, apparently suggesting the question was an attack for the sake of the media present.
“This is, I don’t want to say unethical, but this is simply an effort to drive a narrative to parties outside this courtroom,” Rowen said. The judge sustained his objection and the question was not allowed.
The judge and lawyers referred to Perry as “Miss Hudson.” Her legal name is Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.
She’s currently in the middle of an international tour, and has recently been tied to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It wasn’t clear where she was during Tuesday’s questioning.
Thomas asked Perry repeatedly whether she had had enough cash on hand to buy the $15 million mansion outright.
“I could have,” she eventually said, “but I wanted to do a mortgage instead.”
Perry conceded that in the previous trial, she said she intended to live in the mansion, not to rent it out. But renters including the family of actor Chris Pratt are central to this trial. There was discussion of having Pratt testify, but he was not on the final witness list.
There was one light moment at the end of Perry’s testimony when she described some dealings with Westcott and said, “I was pregnant at the time.”
She couldn’t be heard clearly and Lipner said he had heard, “It was private.”
“No, pregnant!” Perry said with a laugh.
Perry’s own lawyer declined to cross-examine her and the judge excused her.
Like the previous trial, this one has no jury, and Lipner will decide the outcome. Perry’s testimony came on the fourth day of proceedings that are expected to go on for two more days.
It’s not the first long public fight Perry has had over a property. She previously sparred in court with an order of nuns who fought to stop the sale of a convent she had bought. She prevailed in that case.
She also testified in a lawsuit that alleged she and her co-writers had stolen key elements of her hit song “Dark Horse” from a Christian musician. She lost at trial, but won on appeal.
Menopause can usher in a host of disruptive symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and sleep problems. Hormone therapy promises relief.
But many women wonder about taking it. That’s because the treatment, subject of a recent expert panel convened by the Food and Drug Administration, has long been shrouded in uncertainty.
It was once used routinely. But in 2002, research testing one type was stopped early because of concerns about increased risks of breast cancer and blood clots. Concerns lingered even though later studies showed the benefits of today’s hormone therapies outweigh the risks for many women.
“There is still a lot of confusion and a lot of fear,” said Grayson Leverenz, a 50-year-old from Durham, North Carolina, who hesitated to take it but is glad she did.
Others increasingly are also giving hormone therapy a second look. But experts continue to disagree about how to present the treatment’s pros and cons. The FDA-assembled panel stressed the benefits and suggested health warnings be removed from at least some versions — prompting dozens of experts to call for more input before making any changes.
Doctors say hormone therapy is a great option for many, but not all, menopausal women — and it’s important to understand the nuanced reality of these treatments before deciding what’s best.
How hormone therapy works
It treats symptoms that can arise when menstruation winds down and ends, causing levels of estrogen and progesterone to drop very low.
One type is low-dose vaginal estrogen therapy. Because it’s applied into the vagina, very little circulates in the blood and the risks are far lower. Doctors say it’s a good option for women whose biggest complaint is vaginal dryness.
Whole-body therapy includes pills, patches, sprays, gels or a vaginal ring that deliver doses of hormones into the bloodstream at levels high enough to have significant effects on symptoms like hot flashes. Such systemic hormones include estrogens and progestogens.
A low-dose estrogen skin patch is seen on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/File)
Jennifer Zwink, a nurse in Castle Rock, Colorado, began using an estrogen patch more than a year ago and also has an IUD, which gives her progesterone. The treatment has relieved her hot flashes, improved her sleep and eased her joint pain and bloating.
“It’s not like a 100% magic wand,” she said. “But it definitely has made a significant difference.”
The Menopause Society says hormone therapy can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease if started within 10 years of reaching menopause. It may also reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and maintain bone density for longer.
“They might have a drop in their bone density at age 60″ instead of at age 50, said Dr. MargEva Morris Cole, an OB-GYN with Duke University.
Hormone therapy carries some risks
When Leverenz was first prescribed hormone therapy last year, she kept worrying about the risks she’d heard about — then finally decided: “I can’t live like this anymore.”
With a combination of three medications, her anxiety lifted, her sleep improved, her joint pain and hot flashes went away.
“I just feel like myself again,” she said.
Doctors say many patients hesitate to try hormones, and they try to reassure them.
Women can use estrogen therapy for seven years – and estrogen-progestogen therapy for three to five years – before breast cancer risk goes up, according to the Menopause Society.
The group says both estrogen therapy and estrogen-progestogen therapy increase the risk of stroke, which goes away soon after stopping hormones. The risk of blood clots rises if you take hormones by mouth, but may be lower if you use a patch, gel or spray.
“A lot of these risks are small,” said Dr. Nanette Santoro, an OB-GYN at the University of Colorado. “And they have to be weighed against the benefit of symptom relief.”
Age, medical history and how long women stay on the hormones are also considerations. Many women take them for around five years, and those who’ve had a stroke or certain other conditions may be advised against using them at all.
Debate on changing warnings on hormone medications
Doctors are divided over whether there should be changes in “black box” health warnings on some hormone treatments. All estrogen drugs still carry boxed warnings about the higher rates of stroke, blood clots and cognitive problems among women taking the medications.
Most of the physicians at the recent expert panel meeting convened by the FDA prescribe the hormones or are involved with a pharmaceutical industry campaign opposing the warning label. A letter signed by 76 doctors and researchers argues that “removing label warnings without adequate scientific assessment puts patients at risk,” and asked the agency to hold an advisory committee meeting with a public hearing before making any changes.
In the meantime, doctors urge people to be wary of misinformation, like false claims on social media posts that hormones will prevent dementia and ensure a healthy old age.
“We can’t say that you are going to live a longer, healthier life because you took hormones,” Duke’s Cole said. “I don’t want the pendulum to go so far that people feel that it is promising health for the next 30 to 40 years.”
