A very powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka coast on Wednesday triggered tsunami warnings as far away as French Polynesia and Chile, and was followed by an eruption of the most active volcano on the peninsula.
The shallow quake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan’s eastern seaboard – devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011 – was ordered to evacuate, as were parts of Hawaii.
By the evening, Japan, Hawaii and Russia had downgraded most tsunami warnings. But authorities in French Polynesia warned residents of several of the remote Marquesas Islands to move to higher ground and expect waves as high as 2.5 metres (8 feet).
Tsunami waves began hitting the Marquesas on Wednesday but were forecast to be smaller than initially feared, local authorities said.
Some initial wave surges were reported on Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas, about 1,400 km northeast of Tahiti, and between five to 10 additional waves were expected in the coming hours, the high commission said.
Russian scientists said the quake in Kamchatka was the most powerful to hit the region since 1952. The U.S. Geological Survey said it was shallow, at a depth of 19.3 km (12 miles), and centred 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of 165,000.
“It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes,” said Yaroslav, 25, in the city.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there had been no casualties in Russia, crediting solid building construction and the smooth operation of alert systems.
In Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, tsunami waves exceeded 3 metres, with the largest up to 5 metres, Russia’s RIA news agency reported. A quake of magnitude 6.07 later struck the Kuril Islands that lie between Kamchatka and northern Japan, the German Research Center for Geosciences said.
Tsunami waves partially flooded the port and a fish processing plant in the town, sweeping vessels from moorings, regional officials and Russia’s emergency ministry said. Verified drone footage showed the town’s entire shoreline submerged, with taller buildings and some storage facilities surrounded by water.
The Klyuchevskoy volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula began erupting later, a geological monitoring service said. Located around 450 km (280 miles) north of the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Klyuchevskoy is one of the highest volcanoes in the world.
“A descent of burning hot lava is observed on the western slope. Powerful glow above the volcano, explosions,” the Russian Academy of Sciences’ United Geophysical Service said on Telegram.
WAVES IN HAWAII, JAPAN
Hawaii recorded waves of up to 1.7 metres while in Japan the largest recorded came to 1.3 metres, officials said.
An emergency services worker looks at a kindergarten damaged by an earthquake, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Krai, Russia, July 30, 2025 in this screen grab from handout video. Russian Ministry for Emergencies/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
Flights out of Honolulu airport resumed in the evening, the transportation department said.
Waves of nearly half a metre were observed as far away as California, with smaller ones reaching Canada’s province of British Columbia. But a tsunami advisory was cancelled for coastal British Columbia as well as coastal areas of south Alaska.
In French Polynesia, waves hit some islands in the early morning hours. In other parts, wave heights were expected to remain below 30 cm, not requiring evacuation or sheltering.
While the Marquesas are high-rising volcanic islands, much of French Polynesia consists of low-lying atolls.
WARNINGS ACROSS THE PACIFIC
Authorities in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, some 970 km (600 miles) off South America’s western coast, ordered precautionary evacuations to safe zones.
Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan’s Pacific coast and evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people.
Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said no injuries or damage had been reported, and there were no irregularities at any nuclear plants.
‘RING OF FIRE’
Kamchatka and Russia’s Far East sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The quake occurred on what is known as a “megathrust fault” where the denser Pacific Plate is sliding underneath the lighter North American Plate, according to scientists.
The Pacific Plate has been on the move, making the Kamchatka Peninsula off Russia’s Far East coast especially vulnerable, and bigger aftershocks could not be ruled out, they said.
More details have surfaced about Katy Perry and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s surprising dinner date.
The unlikely couple has reportedly been in contact for weeks after meeting at an event and bonding over their shared interests about making the world a better place, a source told the US Sun.
“Justin always enjoys nice company, and Katy is the kind of woman that really caught his attention,” an insider, who worked with Trudeau while he was in office, told the outlet.
More details have surfaced about Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau’s surprising dinner date. BACKGRID
“Justin has been single for a while and has enjoyed getting to know her,” the source added, referring to the politician separating from his wife, Sophie Trudeau, in 2023.
“He likes her personality, and they are two people who really enjoy chatting about different topics, and they click very well so far, as they are going to see each other again very soon.”
Perry, 40, and Justin, 53, reportedly have plans to meet up in the United States.
“Whatever happens, happens. He is a single man, so [he] is on the market and ready to start something new with a woman after a few rough moments after splitting from his wife,” the source continued.
“He is feeling that talking to her and getting to know her is very refreshing, like a breath of fresh air in his life. He was happy to connect with her so well, and that she appreciates him being a normal, respectful person who was very understanding of her recent separation from Orlando Bloom.
“He isn’t the kind of guy that would rush things, and she seems to enjoy that a lot. It’s a gentlemanly way to behave.”
A second source, who also worked closely with Justin, claimed the pair had been waiting to meet up “for a while” and that Perry agreed “very quickly.”
“Justin isn’t shy about his romantic life, and he took her on a date, and he was very, very excited to do so and kept talking about it in the last few days,” the insider said.
“He feels like a young adult again, he is very excited about the process so far, and he really enjoys [getting] to know her and to talk about many, many topics with her. Justin isn’t a guy who is easy to ‘catch’ and he has been having a lot of women trying to date him since he separated from his wife.”
Page Six has reached out to reps for both Perry and Justin for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Although Trudeau had hoped their date would be “quiet” and “private,” he and Perry were spotted dining together at Le Violon in Montreal, Canada, according to photos first obtained by TMZ.
An eyewitness told the outlet that the pair enjoyed cocktails and shared several dishes, including one with lobster, and even met with the chef and the kitchen staff.
Perry and the politician were also seen enjoying a romantic stroll in Montreal with the musician’s dog, Nugget.
According to TMZ, the two walked around together for about an hour. However, they did not show any signs of PDA.
Earlier this month, the “Hot N Cold” songstress and her then-fiancé, Orlando Bloom, confirmed their split in a joint statement after 10 years together.
Belly’s simple and chić wedding dress from Season 3 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was approved by Kim Kardashian, who once wore a version of it at Paris Fashion Week.
On July 30, fans watched as the college student, played by Lola Tung, picked out the silk gown on the sale rack of a prom dress store.
While the dress was labeled as “not fancy enough” and “plain” in the series, the Victoria Beckham-designed Floor-Length Cami Dress costs more than $1,000.
Belly’s wedding dress from Season 3 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was approved by Kim Kardashian. Prime Video
The dress was inspired by slip dresses from the 1990s, “one of Victoria’s favourite decades,” according to her website.
The Spice Girls singer, 51, designed the dress with acrepe back satin and a showstopping deep V in the back to provide a “light feeling.”
“In classic ivory, it’s an effortless piece for any occasion,” the description reads.
Beckham took to Facebook in 2023 to share a video of herself donning a pink version of the dress in her massive closet.
“I created this dress exclusively for Kim Kardashian to wear at my VB SS24 show in Paris,” she captioned the video.
“I immediately wanted it! The shape is simple, flattering and comes in a beautiful baby pink colour!! Kisses xx.”
Karashian, 44, arrived fashionably late to Beckham’s show at Paris Fashion Week in October 2023.
She turned heads as she walked into the venue in the pink slinky gown before sitting in the front row alongside Anna Wintour, Victoria’s husband David Beckham and their children, Harper, Cruz, and Brooklyn.
The Skims founder made a statement entrance in the dress, accessorizing with a diamond choker necklace and a cross on a longer chain.
Hailey Bieber and Courteney Cox have the same go-to concealer. haileybieber/TikTok; courteneycoxofficial/Instagram; Make Beaut
Not everything in Hailey Bieber’s beauty regimen is Rhode.
In her new Vogue “Beauty Secrets” video, the star spilled her “very, very simple makeup routine,” which includes viral finds like Make Beauty Skin Mimetic Concealer.
“I’m not somebody who likes to use makeup a lot in the daytime” Bieber said, adding that she opts for the lightweight concealer instead of full-coverage foundation.
While she used the Beauty Pie Pro Angled Concealer Brush to blend out the formula “in just a couple areas for brightening,” she noted she typically applies it with her fingers for a “more effortless look.”
The beauty mogul’s not the only star saving time with the skin-mimicking makeup, as Courteney Cox used it in her own “efficient” makeup routine video earlier this summer.
“This one thing is my base and concealer,” she raved of the “one-stop-shop” product, designed to provide a smooth, your-skin-but-better finish.
You needn’t be famous to reap the beauty buy’s benefits, however; Page Six’s social media team is collectively obsessed.
“This is seriously the best concealer I’ve ever used,” says Social Media Manager Brooke Matalon. “It’s so skin-like and dewy, and the glow actually lasts all day without looking greasy or oily. I honestly don’t know how I did my makeup before this.”
@pagesix
Never have I ever tried a Hailey-approved product I didn’t like
♬ Flashed Junk Mind – 2025 – Milky Chance & ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Meanwhile, Senior Commerce Social Media Manager Michelle Moezam says her makeup routine is “forever changed” since testing it out.
“When I join Zoom calls, I get compliments about the beat — and in person, people will say my skin looks so smooth,” she adds. “The lightweight feeling is the best part.”
Andy Cohen is giving Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson’s budding romance his stamp of approval.
The Bravo executive, notably, was “dear friend[s]” with the actor’s late wife, Natasha Richardson — and thinks Anderson is “just like” her.
While attending the “Naked Gun” premiere party Monday, Cohen told Neeson, “She is an independent woman just like Tash was. She loves to cook. She has her own thing going on. She has two boys.”
Pamela Anderson is “just like” Liam Neeson’s late wife, Natasha Richardson, according to Andy Cohen. Getty Images for SiriusXM
The “Radio Andy” host, 57, insisted to listeners Wednesday that Anderson, 58, and Neeson, 73, “just work.”
He explained, “She is a formidable human being, Pamela Anderson. She really is. What she’s been through and how she kind of reclaimed herself and redefined herself [is impressive].”
Co-host John Hill agreed that the duo are a “good match.”
Cohen added, “I and all of the friends in this circle are very much stanning whatever this is. Shipping.”
The “Watch What Happens Live” co-host noted that, “sweetie, it’s been 16 years” since Richardson died at age 45 in a tragic skiing accident.
The Broadway star and Neeson were married for more than a decade before Richardson’s March 2009 passing.
During their time together, the former couple welcomed sons Micheál, 30, and Daniel, 28.
Anderson, for her part, is the mother of sons Brandon, 29, and Dylan, 27, with her ex-husband Tommy Lee.
The “Baywatch” alum and Neeson both brought their boys to the New York City premiere of their cop comedy on Monday.
THE mysterious “missing minute” from the Jeffrey Epstein jail tape has been found after conspiracy theorists raged over how the vile billionaire died.
The FBI has a version of the surveillance footage filmed near the convicted paedo’s prison block on the night of his death – and it isn’t missing any seconds.
Ghislaine Maxwell giving Jeffrey Epstein a foot rub on his private jetCredit: The Mega Agency
Around 11 hours of “full raw” CCTV footage released by the Department of Justice (DoJ) revealed Epstein’s final moments inside the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City on August 9 and 10 in 2019.
It intended to show the vile billionaire had died by suicide as conspiracy theories raged over his death.
But forensic analysis showed the video was edited numerous times over several hours – with a minute missing.
The time code on the screen had jumped forward just before it struck midnight.
When attorney General Pam Bondi was questioned about the video a few weeks ago, she claimed the Bureau of Prisons told her it was an antiquated process that occurred every night when the recordings automatically reset.
Now government sources say the FBI, Bureau of Prisons, and DoJ inspector general all have a copy of a video that contains the bombshell “missing minute,” CBS News reports.
It currently remains unclear what the minute shows or why it was missing from the video released by the DoJ, the broadcaster added.
The FBI and the DoJ declined to comment – meanwhile the Bureau of Prisons said it “had no additional information to provide”.
The missing minute sent conspiracy theorists into a spiral as they believe Epstein was murdered to protect his powerful elite clients and pals.
He was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he died.
CCTV released a few weeks ago from inside the prison showed a grey-haired Epstein handcuffed in an orange jump suit being led to his cell by a guard at about 7.49pm.
The pair moved down a small flight of stairs on the left of the frame and walk to the right across the common area as they head to the cell.
Footage didn’t show Epstein’s cell door but it would capture anyone walking to it, the DoJ said.
Other than the guard leaving, no one walked across the common area towards Epstein’s cell or away from it.
At approximately 10.39pm, a guard appeared to walk in the direction of Epstein’s cell and then reappeared within view of the camera at 10.41pm.
This is believed to be the last time anyone entered the area of Epstein’s cell before the next morning.
Guards could then be seen walking around the common area at around 6.30am on the 10th as they deliver breakfast.
At approximately 6.33am, more guards enter the common area and walk towards the area of Epstein’s cell – presumably after he was found dead in his cell.
The disgraced financier was found hanged in jail on the 10th, but speculation has been rife that others were involved.
FBI deputy director Dan Bongino pledged to release the footage after it had been a Donald Trump campaign promise.
Bongino wants to end all debate by releasing proof that no one entered or left the cell before the suicide.
The FBI has now concluded Epstein died by suicide and that he had no “client list” used to blackmail powerful figures, Axios reports.
Investigators found “no credible evidence … that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals” and no “evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties”.
The video also supports a medical examiner’s findings that Epstein died by suicide.
Esptein pal Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and related offences.
She’ll now be the only Epstein associate to face prison as the FBI said no more people would be charged.
Prince Andrew, 64, paid millions to Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in an out-of-court settlement three years ago, while denying sexual assault accusations.
He stayed at Epstein’s New York home, and was accused of taking part in an “underage orgy” on Epstein’s Caribbean island.
In 2020, the FBI asked the Home Office for help to quiz Andrew but that investigation was paused last year.
Attorney general Pam Bondi released hundreds of pages of information connected to Epstein in March, promising it would disclose “a lot of names” and flight logs that would “make you sick”.
But the much-awaited release of flight logs and more was overhyped by Bondi and fell flat.
Elon Musk has also accused Trump of being in the files after the pair’s relationship broke apart.
Musk provided no evidence and later deleted the post saying he went “too far”.
Depraved Epstein was found unresponsive by guards in his cell who quickly performed CPR before he was taken to hospital.
He was pronounced dead shortly after with it ruled as suicide by hanging – which was later challenged by his own lawyers.
The jail had been told Epstein should have a cellmate, and that a guard must check on him every 30 minutes.
But on the night he died, his cellmate was transferred and not replaced and he was not checked on as often as required.
Two guards fell asleep at their desks – and later falsified their records.
Meanwhile, two cameras in front of Epstein’s cell malfunctioned that night – while another’s footage was “unusable”.
Protocol was also broken by removing Epstein’s body from his cell and failing to photograph it as it was found.
DEVASTATING details have come to light about the midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight that killed 67 people in January.
New evidence from the National Transportation Safety Board’s six-month probe into the deadly crash included surveillance footage that left audience members in tears at a hearing on Wednesday.
Family members of victims crying at the National Transportation Safety Board investigative hearing on July 30, 2025Credit: Reuters
This week, NTSB began three days of hearings to help determine what caused the collision near Washington’s Reagan National Airport on January 29.
The agency released thousands of pages of documents about the incidents suggesting the Army helicopter pilots never heard an air traffic controller’s command to pass behind the plane, the NTSB said.
NTSB also said there were major “discrepancies” in the altitude readouts on the Black Hawk helicopter, leading the crew to think they were flying lower than they actually were over the Potomac River.
At the beginning of the 10-hour hearing, officials showed an 11-minute animation showing the minutes leading up to the crash.
They also displayed new video from the end of the runway showing the crash, pausing to allow family members at the hearing the option to leave the room or look away from the haunting clip.
Families of the crash victims sitting in the audience broke down sobbing as officials played the newly released footage.
Some of the family members in attendance wore pictures of their loved ones on buttons or in lanyards around their necks.
The crash killed 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines plane and three soldiers on the helicopter.
Transcripts of audio from the cockpit and air traffic control tower revealed what was said inside the aircraft before the crash.
About 15 seconds before the collision, the air traffic controller asked the Black Hawk if it could see the passenger plane.
Three seconds later, the controller told the helicopter to pass behind the passenger plane.
However, the Black Hawk crew pressed its microphone at the same time as the controller’s instruction and they didn’t hear the message, according to the transcript.
In the helicopter, the instructor told the pilot to change course, but it was too late.
Less than a second later, sounds of the crash were captured in the recordings as the plane fell into the icy river.
The crew members in the Black Hawk had problems understanding air traffic control transmissions, according to cockpit recordings.
Investigators also said the crew pointed out the bright lights of the Washington DC area during their flight.
The hearing also revealed more information about Captain Rebecca Lobach, one of the Black Hawk pilots.
Investigators said in 2022, Lobach failed a night vision goggle exam.
However, she passed other night vision goggle examinations since failing once.
During the three days of hearings, the NTSB will likely question the Army, PSA Airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration and more.
In this image taken from a video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers inspect a kindergarten damaged by an earthquake in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan and Hawaii and across the Pacific. No substantial damage has been reported so far, but authorities warned people away from shorelines and said the risk could last more than a day.
Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the 8.8 magnitude quake’s epicenter flooded as residents fled inland, and frothy, white waves washed up to the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Hawaii’s capital, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the shoreline.
People went to evacuation centers in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan’s nuclear plants were reported Wednesday.
Russian authorities said several people were injured, without giving a figure. In Japan, at least one person was injured.
A tsunami height of 3-4 meters (10 to 13 feet) was recorded in Kamchatka, 60 centimeters (2 feet) on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, and up to 1.4 feet (under 30 centimeters) above tide levels were observed in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
Hawaii and Oregon warn residents of potential damage
The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska
“A tsunami is not just one wave,” he said. “It’s a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour — as fast as a jet airplane — in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that’s where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.”
“In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they’re going to be moving back and forth for quite a while,” which is why some communities may feel effects longer, he said.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, which is between Japan and Hawaii, measured waves from peak to trough of 6 feet (1.8 meters). He said waves hitting Hawaii could be bigger or smaller and it was too early to tell how large they would be. A tsunami of that size would be akin to a 3-foot (90-centimeter) wave riding on top of surf, he said.
“This is a longitudinal wave with great force driving through the shoreline and into land,” he said at a news conference.
Green said Black Hawk helicopters have been activated and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities need to rescue people. “But please do not put yourself in harm’s way,” he said.
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said on Facebook that small tsunami waves were expected along the coast starting around 11:40 p.m. local time, with wave heights between 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters). It urged people to stay away from beaches, harbors and marinas and to remain in a safe location away from the coast until the advisory is lifted.
“This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water,” the department said.
Much of the West Coast, spanning California, Washington state, and the Canadian province of British Columbia, was also under a tsunami advisory.
A tsunami of less than 30 centimeters (under 1 foot) was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The province’s emergency preparedness agency said waves were expected to reach remote Langara Island around 10:05 p.m. Tuesday and Tofino around 11:30 p.m. The agency said “multiple waves over time” were expected.
Russian regions report limited damage
The quake at 8:25 a.m. Japan time had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, Japanese and U.S. seismologists said. The U.S. Geological Survey later updated its strength to 8.8 magnitude and a depth of 20.7 kilometers (13 miles).
The quake was centered about 119 kilometers (74 miles) east-southeast from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.
Severokurilsk Mayor Alexander Ovsyannikov said the port in the city was flooded by tsunami waves, washing fishing boats into the sea. He said that no major damage was recorded.
Power supplies have been shut and the authorities were checking the power network after the flooding.
Among the world’s strongest recorded quakes
The earthquake appeared to be the strongest anywhere in the world since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.
The tsunami alert disrupted transportation in Japan, with ferries, trains and airports in the affected area suspending or delaying some operations.
A tsunami of 60 centimeters (2 feet) was recorded at Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Several areas reported smaller waves including 20 centimeters (8 inches) in Tokyo Bay five hours after the quake.
In Japan’s northern coastal town of Matsushima, dozens of residents took refuge at an evacuation center, where water bottles were distributed and an air conditioner was running. One person told NHK she came to the facility without hesitation based on the lesson from the 2011 tsunami.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi warned evacuees that they may not be able to return home by the end of the day, as the tsunami waves could remain high.
Japanese nuclear power plants reported no abnormalities. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant damaged by the 2011 tsunami said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter on higher ground at the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure safety.
Philippine authorities advised people to stay away from the beach and coastal areas. “It may not be the largest of waves, but these can continue for hours and expose people swimming in the waters to danger,” Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told The Associated Press.
Mexico’s navy warned that tsunami waves will start reaching the northern coast in Ensenada, near California, at around 02:22 a.m. Wednesday local time, and waves could progress along the Pacific coast to Chiapas state, around 07:15 a.m. local time.
First granddaughter and golf sensation Kai Trump teased her grandfather over his preferred caffeinated beverage in a video promoting her NIL deal with Accelerator Active Energy.
In the ad, the 18-year-old rising high school senior and University of Miami golf commit slaps a wicked drive off a tee and then makes her way to the cart where a crispy looking can of Diet Coke — President Trump’s go-to drink — and a can of the energy drink sit.
“Sorry grandpa,” Kai Trump said while choosing to sip from the Accelerator Active Energy drink.
Kai Trump, 18, landed her first NIL sponsorship deal while still a rising high school senior. YouTube/Accelerator Active Energy
Kai Trump announced her NIL deal with Accelerator earlier this month.
The energy drink brand also has sponsorship deals with college gymnast and social media influencer Livvy Dune and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and Superbowl winning Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
“It’s pretty cool, especially being partners with such great athletes and being up there with them,” Kai Trump told Fox Business about the deal.
The daughter of first son Donald Trump Jr. became a breakout star of the Republican National Convention last summer where she delivered a well-prepared speech to throngs of adoring GOPers.
Commenting on his daughter’s popularity after the speech, Donald Trump Jr. said to Fox News last year, “Get away, you little b-stards, and stay away.”
Earlier this year, the teen opened up about life with a Secret Service detail.
“It’s tough because you’re in high school and you want to have your privacy,” the golf phenom said in a video posted to her YouTube page.
England’s triumphant squad had misgivings about how popular their Euro 2025 parade would be, but they need not have worried as 65,000 fans joined their celebrations in London – as well as members of the Royal Family.
The Lionesses held an open-top bus parade along The Mall after becoming back-to-back European champions with a dramatic win over Spain on Sunday.
Fans lined the route before gathering around a stage in front of the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace, where some of the players were interviewed by former Lioness Alex Scott.
“I’ve been crying all the way down The Mall,” said captain Leah Williamson.
“This is unbelievable, probably one of the best things we’ve been a part of.”
The 28-year-old Arsenal defender added: “We’re making history every single step. Stay with us, this story is not done yet.”
Chloe Kelly, who scored England’s winning goal at 2022 and the decisive penalty in Sunday’s shootout, said: “Pressure, what pressure?”
The 27-year-old Arsenal forward described how special the team’s support has been at home and at the Euros in Switzerland.
She added: “[It is] so good to stand side by side with every single one of these girls throughout the whole tournament, and the staff that you don’t see behind the scenes. It’s incredible.”
Chloe Kelly (third from left) scored the winning penalty in Sunday’s shootout
Princess Beatrice of York attended the parade and there was a surprise for England coach Sarina Wiegman as her favourite singer Burna Boy joined the squad on stage.
The Dutchwoman then sang and danced along as the Nigerian sang his hit For My Hand.
“Yeah, Sarina’s got rhythm,” Washington Spirit defender Esme Morgan told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“She absolutely loves Burna Boy. I can’t believe it. Her face when they brought Burna Boy out was a picture. None of us could believe it to be honest and, yeah, she was busting out some moves and singing away, so that was a special moment.”
We were like ‘what if there’s not enough people’ – Morgan
The Football Association (FA) said at least 65,000 people attended the parade and Morgan added: “A few of us said the other day ‘we hope the parade is not the full length of The Mall because there might not be enough people to fill it’.
“We were like ‘what if that happens?’ – but we showed up today and it was absolutely packed, I can’t believe it. You don’t realise the scale of how many people watch and support us, and yeah, we feel so lucky.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It was funny, the players kept asking us ‘do you think people will really come?’
“And we were like ‘yeah, they definitely will come’. We’d seen crowds yesterday coming to meet them at the airport so we were really confident, but the British public are just incredible and really did us proud today.”
The England squad flew back to Southend airport on Monday before attending a reception at Downing Street.
As their celebrations continued on The Mall, Heather Small took to the stage to sing Proud – a tournament anthem for the Lionesses, who played it in their dressing room before and after games in Switzerland.
“I’ve never had a day like this, never ever,” Chelsea defender Niamh Charles, who grew up on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If I think back to the younger me that came to visit Buckingham Palace, I never would have thought that I would be stood here now.
“Me and my family did a weekend down here, we went around all of the sights, and we actually have pictures of me posing here, so it is crazy to think this is the reality of women’s football now and what we have done.”
Describing what she saw from the open-top bus, she added: “There were so many people but I just wanted to look at individual faces. I saw older people, younger people, people from every different walk of life. They were just so happy to be there and it was so lovely to be able to share this with them.”
The Lionesses now hope to go one better at the 2027 World Cup, having lost to Spain in the 2023 final.
Starbucks says it will phase out its mobile order and pickup-only outlets because they “lack warmth”, as the world’s biggest coffee chain continues to shake-up its operations.
The company has around 90 shops in the US that have no seating for customers – an approach popular with some of its rivals.
The move will not affect the firm’s mobile ordering service, which accounts for almost a third of transactions, the BBC understands.
Starbucks boss Brian Niccol made the comments after the company’s earnings for the three months to the end of June showed that US same-store sales had fallen by 2% – the sixth quarterly decline in a row.
For the same period the company also reported that net income dropped by 47% to $558m (£418m) – worse than Wall Street expectations.
“We found this format to be overly transactional and lacking the warmth and human connection that defines our brand,” Mr Niccol told investors on Tuesday.
The same level of convenience can be provided by its traditional cafes through mobile ordering, added Mr Niccol, who was appointed the firm’s chief executive officer last year.
Instead, the company will prioritise “welcoming coffeehouses with great seats” and focus on delivering drinks in four minutes or less in its cafes and drive-throughs.
The BBC understands that some of the current pickup-only outlets will be converted to include seating.
Starbucks opened its first pickup-only outlet, which was designed to make collecting orders and delivery easier, in New York in 2019.
Mr Niccol is leading a “Back to Starbucks” initiative, which aims to provide better experiences for customers and boost the company’s financial performance.
At least 1,000 of its cafes in the US will be revamped by the end of next year, with a new look and plans to replace thousands of seats that were removed, said Mr Niccol.
In April, Mr Niccol said the firm will hire more baristas and scale back plans to roll out automation.
Britain said on Tuesday it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in Gaza, where starvation is spreading, and reaches a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war with Hamas.
The warning, which drew a harsh Israeli rebuke, came after a hunger monitor said a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Palestinian authorities said more than 60,000 Palestinians were now confirmed killed by Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.
The hunger alert and the new death toll are grim milestones in the current conflict that began in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking an offensive that has flattened much of the enclave and ignited hostilities across the Middle East.
The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the starvation crisis in Gaza could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s warning heightens pressure on Israel amid an international outcry over its conduct of the war. France announced last week it would recognise Palestinian statehood in September, a move that enraged the Israeli government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X that Starmer’s decision “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims,” adding that “A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said he did not discuss Britain’s plans on Palestinian statehood during talks with Starmer in Scotland on Monday, when he told reporters he did “not mind” if Britain made such a move.
But on Tuesday he said aboard Air Force One that he did not think Hamas “should be rewarded” with recognition of Palestinian independence.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described Starmer’s decision as “bold,” according to Palestinian state news agency WAFA.
Starmer told his cabinet that Britain would recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution,” his government said.
The move, if carried through, would be mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long aimed to establish that state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.
It makes Israel more isolated on the international stage as a growing number of countries call for it to allow unfettered aid into Gaza, where it controls all entry and exit points to the besieged coastal territory.
However, Trump’s administration – Israel’s closest and most influential ally – has made clear it has no intention of joining others in recognising Palestinian statehood anytime soon. Since returning to office in January, Trump has been vague about whether or not he would support an eventual Palestinian state.
Starmer held separate phone calls with Netanyahu and Abbas on Tuesday before making his announcement.
Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 28. REUTERS/Khamis Al-Rifi Purchase Licensing Rights
EVIDENCE OF STARVATION, MALNUTRITION, DISEASE
With the international furore over Gaza’s ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid since Israel began humanitarian pauses in warfare on Sunday.
“Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” the IPC said, adding that “famine thresholds” have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza.
It said it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as “in famine”.
Gaza health authorities have been reporting more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total stands at 147, among them 88 children, most of whom died in the last few weeks.
Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world, with Israel’s strongest ally Trump declaring that many people were starving. He promised to set up new “food centres”.
Israel has denied pursuing a policy of starvation. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that the situation in Gaza was “tough” but there were lies about starvation there.
DEADLIEST CONFLICT
The Gazan casualty figures, which are often cited by the U.N. and have previously been described as reliable by the World Health Organisation, underline the war as the deadliest involving Israel since its establishment in 1948.
Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, when militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage – Israel’s deadliest ever day. Since Israel launched ground operations in Gaza in October 2023, 454 soldiers have been killed.
The new Palestinian toll does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Thousands more bodies are believed to be buried under rubble, meaning the true toll is likely to be significantly higher, Palestinian officials and rescue workers say.
Israeli airstrikes overnight killed at least 30 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, Gaza health authorities said. Doctors at Al-Awda Hospital said at least 14 women and 12 children were among the dead.
Growers and researchers in the driest inhabited continent have dramatically increased crop yields through new agricultural techniques, despite intensifying environmental challenges. Innovations in water-use efficiency, soil re-engineering and seed technology have helped feed a rising global population.
In a newly sown wheat field, Curtis Liebeck scoops up a fistful of sandy soil and lets it pour through his fingers. The light-brown dirt bears little resemblance to the dark, clumpy earth of rainier nations.
The Liebeck farm, 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Perth in Western Australia, gets half the rain of the wheatbelts of central Kansas or northern France. Growing-season rainfall across the state’s crop lands has declined by about one-fifth over three decades.
That should make farming harder. But Liebeck’s wheat yield has doubled since 2015.
Liebeck, 32, is part of a revolution in farm management that has enabled Australia to produce around 15 million metric tons more wheat annually than in the 1980s, despite hotter, drier conditions. The increase is equivalent to around 7% of all wheat shipped around the planet each year and more than the annual harvest of Britain.
Australia’s gains in wheat-farm productivity have exceeded those in the United States, Canada and Europe, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, and continue to rise while those of other developed markets slow or reverse.
The ability of Australia’s farmers to produce more wheat for a growing global population owes largely to a cluster of innovations since the 1980s that changed the seeds farmers plant, how they plant them, and how they cultivate the soil, many growers and researchers say. These advances have been turbocharged by Australia’s system of applied research, and by a relentless quest for efficiency among farmers who receive minimal subsidies.
Curtis Liebeck holds a puppy while his father, Ken, and his wife, Tess, look on from a pickup truck, at his farm near Merredin, Western Australia. Liebeck’s wheat yield has soared over the past decade, despite hotter and drier conditions. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
This account of how Australia’s wheat growers defied the climate odds is based on interviews with more than 20 farmers and researchers, a review of more than a dozen academic papers and an examination of decades of farm and weather data. Reuters visited four farms, a seed-breeding company and two government research facilities.
Australia isn’t the biggest wheat producer, and its fields aren’t the most fruitful. But it is important for two reasons. Its modest population means its additional production feeds other countries. And it is the driest inhabited continent, where increasing climate volatility might have rendered some agriculture unviable. Yet it is among the world’s top wheat exporters.
Australia’s success has influenced research in other nations that have dry crop lands, including the U.S. and Canada, five scientists told Reuters. Some Australian practices, to be sure, such as soil re-engineering, haven’t been replicated as widely, sometimes because ground conditions are less suitable. But the country’s focus on closing the gap between theoretical maximum crop yields and real-world outcomes has spurred global efforts to improve productivity over the past 15 years, coinciding with intensifying climate change.
Liebeck’s farm in 2023 received its lowest rainfall in half a century, yet it produced 1 ton of wheat per hectare — to the amazement of his 66-year-old father, Ken.
“I asked dad what it would have been like in his day and he said, ‘Absolute disaster,’” Liebeck said.
The elder Liebeck told Reuters he would have produced just 400 kg a hectare in such conditions around the turn of the millennium.
BEACH SAND
Farming in Australia has always been precarious. The weather swings between drought, heat, fire and flood. The soil is short of nutrients.
Western Australia, the top wheat-exporting region, has seen the biggest decline in average rainfall of Australia’s cropping areas over the past three decades, official weather data show. Rainfall patterns have shifted, with more falling in summer, when fields are fallow, and less in winter, when crops are growing.
The state also has some of the poorest soils.
“Imagine beach sand,” said Tress Walmsley, CEO of Perth-based seed-breeding company InterGrain, which develops wheat varieties that can better cope with Australian conditions. “These soils are nutrient-depleted, often toxic and water-repellent. And at the end of each season, the crop runs out of water.”
Thirst for water provided the spark for many of the changes in Australian agriculture. In 1984, scientists Reg French and Jeff Schultz calculated that in optimum conditions, after evaporation, Australia’s farmers should be able to produce 20 kilograms of wheat per hectare for every millimeter of rain during the April-to-October growing season — about four times what they were achieving.
The discovery allowed producers to plot on a graph what they had grown and what they might have grown, said John Kirkegaard, a plant scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian government’s national science agency. This turned the focus of growers and researchers to closing the yield gap, and they began benchmarking water-use efficiency to extract more crop per drop.
A key step was switching to no-till agriculture. Constant plowing to control weeds damaged soil and exposed it to evaporation, reducing the amount of water stored for crops.
No-till methods, using herbicides instead of plowing, grew out of 1930s dust-bowl America. Australian adoption jumped from roughly 5% in the early 1980s to about 80%, according to the Grains Research and Development Corp. In Western Australia, it’s more than 90%.
One drawback was that over time, farm equipment driven over untilled fields compacted the deeper levels of the soil, hindering water infiltration and root growth. To address that, farmers began to restructure soils, spreading lime to reduce acidity, then employing other kinds of heavy machinery.
Liebeck points to his deep ripper, a massive, bright-orange steel frame with 10 metal claws that tear through the soil at up to 84 centimeters deep. It generates such resistance that his 540-horsepower tractor can haul it only at walking pace.
The ripper, and another device called a spader, a rotating cylinder with protruding shovel heads, break up compacted layers of earth. While plowing, ripping and spading are all tillage methods, no-till farming refers to eschewing the traditional practice of plowing to kill weeds and prepare fields for planting each year. Ripping and spading are less-frequent but bolder interventions, often performed at much greater depths. They change the structure and constituents of the soil, churning unproductive layers into a more-absorbent mix that better holds water and nutrients.
Hauling the ripper through a field can improve his wheat yield by between 36% and 50%, Liebeck said. The machine cost A$220,000 (US$143,396). “A bit dear for a glorified shovel,” he said, but it “digs up profit.”
Rippers and spaders are used elsewhere, but rarely as intensively as in Australia, according to farmers and researchers. In wetter areas such as Europe, rippers are harder to pull through heavy soil that is typically plowed.
Two-thirds of Western Australia’s roughly 4,000 growers had deep-ripped, spaded or inverted their soil by 2023, state government-commissioned research found, up from 52% in 2019.
Efforts to improve Australian soil echo practices in Europe and North America to drain land and reclaim it from the sea, said Kirkegaard. “But the sorts of strategies in Australia that are now making previously poor farming land into good farming land are probably unique,” he said.
Other innovations helped growers curb disease. They introduced new crop rotations, including canola, an oil seed also known as rapeseed, and lupins, a legume used for animal feed. Canola area shot from 50,000 hectares in Australia in 1989 to around 3.5 million hectares today, agriculture ministry data show.
Farmers began sowing two to four weeks earlier, sometimes in dry ground, so plants would flower at optimal times, Kirkegaard said. Sowing now starts around mid-April, giving wheat several months to grow during the southern winter and spring, when water remains available, so that it can mature before the summer heat arrives toward the end of the year.
TAKE-OFF
Productivity took off. Western Australian farmers in the early 1980s grew 3.3 kg of wheat per hectare for every millimeter of growing-season rain, a third below the national average, government data show. In 2024, they achieved 9.3 kg per millimeter, just one-fifth shy of the 11.5 kg nationally.
Those improvements helped Australia double its wheat exports in the last four decades to well over 20 million tons a year. Most goes to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where populations have grown rapidly.
Rising production has kept a lid on prices. A bushel of wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade, the global benchmark, averaged about $3.50 during the 1980s. The world population has soared by 3.5 billion people since then but a Chicago bushel costs around $5.50, an increase far below the rate of inflation.
A serious threat to Australian wheat supply would cause prices to rise considerably, said Dennis Voznesenski, an agricultural analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The country accounts for a similar proportion of global exports as Ukraine did before Russia’s invasion, he noted. Wheat prices rose by about 60% when the war disrupted production and exports.
There is room for further productivity gains, farmers and researchers say.
Advances in seed breeding and farm management have lifted maximum theoretical yields to around 25 kg per millimeter, which should rise to 30 kg and perhaps beyond, said Kirkegaard.
Researchers and breeders are testing wheat varieties whose coleoptiles – the protective sheath that surrounds the shoot – can push up from a soil depth of 10 to 12 centimeters rather than the usual 2 to 4 cm, allowing seeds to be planted into subsoil moisture, according to Greg Rebetzke, a CSIRO scientist. Field trials show long coleoptiles should increase yields by up to 20%, and several varieties should be available commercially in Australia within five years, he said.
“People are now looking at some of the drought technologies we’ve developed and asking if they’ll be useful in their countries,” Rebetzke said, identifying Canada, India, Bangladesh and sub-Saharan Africa as sources of interest. “The dry environment we have is very much the future of some countries that are wetter now.”
Government scientists in Western Australia are experimenting with further re-engineering of soil, adding ingredients such as clay, compost and gypsum to increase the earth’s capacity to hold water and produce wheat, said Gaus Azam, the researcher leading the project.
Ty Fulwood, a grower in Grass Valley, east of Perth, showed Reuters the upshot of those efforts. “They are literally trying to create the perfect soil in 10-centimeter-depth increments,” he said, standing in one of his fields surrounded by test strips of re-engineered earth, where varying amounts of clay had been added to the top half-meter of soil to identify the best growth-enhancing mix.
It’s expensive, Fulwood said, but if the promised doubling of yields is demonstrated, farmers and researchers will put money into it.
“We should always be cautious because we are disturbing the natural soil. But the benefits outweigh the risks.”
Adaptation has limits, to be sure. Wheat doesn’t thrive in hot conditions, which accelerate evaporation and growth phases. Rainfall is not only diminishing but is becoming less reliable.
Plant scientist Zvi Hochman, in a 2017 paper, found hotter, drier conditions had reduced Australia’s maximum achievable wheat yield by 27% between 1990 and 2015.
“With continued effort we can move from achieving 55% of potential yields to about 80%, but going beyond that in a variable climate is likely to be uneconomic,” Hochman told Reuters.
And there are downsides to the new ways. Greater use of herbicides can harm the environment and encourage weed strains that are resistant to the chemicals, scientific studies show. Australian farmers are using more synthetic nitrogen as fertilizer — albeit less per hectare than many others, according to the U.N. — which is manufactured using natural gas, a contributor to atmospheric carbon emissions. And they are intervening on a massive scale in the earth.
“We should always be cautious because we are disturbing the natural soil,” said Azam, the researcher. “But the benefits outweigh the risks.”
OTHER NATIONS
Challenging soil and weather conditions keep Australian yields low by global standards. Last year’s 2.6 tons per hectare lagged behind the U.S. (3.5 tons), China (5.9 tons), and Britain (7.3 tons), USDA data show.
Some developing nations, including China and India, have made faster progress than Australia in improving wheat yields since the 1980s, according to the USDA. But productivity growth in many advanced economies has been slower, which global researchers attribute in part to soil degradation and restrictions on fertilizers and pesticides.
Farmers and scientists credit Australia’s system of applied research and low subsidies for helping to set it apart.
Household products made by Procter & Gamble Co are seen on shelves at a Dollar Tree in Newburgh, New York, U.S., May 14, 2023. REUTERS/Jessica DiNapoli/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. President Donald Trump is getting his tariffs. Companies are making it clear how they intend to deal with it – passing them on to American consumers.
Throughout the spring, big retailers and consumer product makers warned that levies on imported goods would squeeze their operations, forcing them to choose between lower earnings and passing on higher costs to customers.
In the case of Procter & Gamble (PG.N), and others, it is both of those things.
On Tuesday, the packaging giant, which makes household basics spanning from Bounty paper towel to Tide detergent, issued a sour outlook for 2025 and sent a message to big retailers like Walmart (WMT.N) that it would have to raise prices on some U.S. goods from next week.
This challenge facing companies in coming quarters will likely feed through to everyday consumers. P&G said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products in the U.S. to help offset the cost of new tariffs.
Price hikes are in the mid-single digits across categories, a spokesperson for the company said.
While U.S. stock indexes have soared to record highs this year, built on massive investment in technology shares, many consumer bellwethers have struggled.
Since Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, P&G shares have declined 19%; Nestle (NESN.S), is down 20%; Kimberly-Clark (KMB.O), has lost 11%, and PepsiCo (PEP.O), is off nearly 7%, while the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX), stock index has gained more than 13%.
Consumer goods, food and drink companies have struggled with lackluster sales since the pandemic, as shoppers have balked at increasingly expensive name-brand packaged food. Nestle said last week that consumers in North America remained wary of paying more at the cash register.
More price hikes will deepen investor worries about how big brands are navigating the combined challenge of thrifty consumers and hefty costs created by Trump’s trade war.
“You’re going to see companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Best Buy forced to pass price increases to consumers,” said Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic and executive education fellow at Harvard Business School.
“Main Street has yet to see the fallout from increased tariffs – and they’re going to go higher.”
Between July 16 and 25, companies in the Reuters global tariff tracker said they expected to lose a combined $7.1 billion to $8.3 billion for the full year.
GM (GM.N), Ford (F.N), and other carmakers have absorbed the cost of tariffs – totaling billions of dollars – so far.
Many companies shipped more goods and raw materials into the U.S. before tariffs hit. Economists and analysts reckon that hoarding has helped some delay hiking prices until later in the year and explains why tariffs have not yet shown up in U.S. inflation data.
Andrew Wilson, International Chamber of Commerce deputy secretary general, estimates inflation will be felt once companies have run down inventory, but that might not be until the fourth quarter or first quarter of next year.
Others like Ray Ban-maker EssilorLuxottica have already hiked prices.
Swiss watch and jewelry maker Swatch (UHR.S), increased prices by about 5% after Trump announced tariffs in April with “zero impact” on sales, CEO Nick Hayek told Reuters recently.
FILE PHOTO: Battery cells with the logo of LG Energy Solution are displayed at the company headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, April 23, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/ File Photo
South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) has signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply Tesla with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The batteries will be supplied from LGES’s U.S. factory, the person said on condition of anonymity because the details were not public.
LGES said earlier on Wednesday that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP batteries over three years globally, without identifying the customer.
The announcement by the company, whose major customers include Tesla and General Motors, did not say whether the LFP batteries would be used in vehicles or energy storage systems.
“In accordance with our agreement, we are unable to disclose the customer’s identity due to confidentiality obligations,” LGES told Reuters. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deal comes amid a scramble by countries and companies globally to strike tariff agreements with Washington and after South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and Tesla this week announced a $16.5 billion chip supply deal.
The LFP battery contract lasts from August 2027 to July 2030.
LGES said it included an option to extend the deal period by up to seven years and to increase supply volumes depending on discussions with its customer.
Combs’ lawyer argued that conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn are dangerous, noting that others convicted of similar prostitution-related offenses were typically released before sentencing.
FILE – Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of “The Four: Battle For Stardom” at the CBS Radford Studio Center, May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking a judge to free him on a US$50 million (S$64 million) bond while he awaits sentencing in October after a jury found him not guilty of the most serious federal charges he faced earlier this month.
In a court filing Tuesday (Jul 29), Combs’ lawyer argued that conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn are dangerous, noting that others convicted of similar prostitution-related offenses were typically released before sentencing.
“Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct,” Marc Agnifilo said. “In fact, he may be the only person currently in a United States jail for being any sort of john, and certainly the only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend.”
A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors have previously insisted he remains a flight risk.
Combs, 55, faces up to a decade in prison on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, for sexual encounters. A conviction on racketeering conspiracy or sex trafficking could have put one of hip-hop’s celebrated figures in prison for life.
Immediately after he was acquitted on Jul 2, Agnifilo had asked that Combs be released on bond.
But Judge Arun Subramanian denied it, saying Combs at the time had not met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community”.
Indonesia and Türkiye signed the deal on July 26, 2025 on the sidelines of the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul. (Photo: Indonesia Defence Ministry)
Indonesia has signed a contract to buy 48 KAAN fighter jets from Türkiye, the Indonesian defence ministry said on Tuesday (Jul 29), sealing the latest purchase by the Southeast Asian nation aimed at modernising its ageing military hardware.
In order to strengthen its air force, Jakarta also ordered 42 French Rafale jets worth US$8.1 billion in 2022. It is also considering ordering China’s J-10 fighter jets and continues talks to purchase the US-made F-15EX jets.
Indonesia and Türkiye “signed an implementation contract” last Saturday on the sidelines of the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul, defence ministry spokesperson Frega Wenas Inkriwang said in a statement.
He did not provide details of the contract value or delivery dates.
KAAN is Türkiye’s first national combat aircraft and it completed its first flight in February last year, but serial production is not expected to begin until 2028.
Türkiye’s defence ministry called the jet a fifth-generation aircraft and said it will be powered by two General Electric F-110 engines, which are also used in the fourth-generation Lockheed Martin F-16 jets.
Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeedin witnessed the agreement signing, Frega said, adding the contract signing reaffirms the commitment of both governments to strengthen joint technology development and expand Indonesia’s defence industry capacity.
The divisions now are a stark contrast with times of peace, when the lives of Thais and Cambodians along the border were very much intertwined, locals tell CNA.
Nathana Aekthananonkul prepares eggs for Thai troops in Prasat, Thailand on Jul 29, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Jack Board)
SURIN, Thailand/ODDAR MEANCHEY, Cambodia: It is a rare sight in Thailand to see a 7-Eleven with its doors locked up.
But on the main highway through Surin province, the ubiquitous convenience store was one of many that remained closed on Tuesday (Jul 29) even after the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia came into force.
The Chong Chom border crossing, a major trade route, also remained closed.
Artillery fire may have fallen silent, but life is yet to return to normal on both sides of the disputed border between Thailand and Cambodia, where deadly fighting has seen at least 38 people killed and forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate since last Thursday.
Among the hastily abandoned market stalls, shops and small restaurant in Chong Chom, Teerawat Saendang cast a lonely figure sitting at the counter of his grocery store.
The 65-year-old returned on Tuesday to check on his business after sheltering with relatives in a safe area in neighbouring Buriram province.
“I have been away for a full four days, so I was worried about my belongings — many were left outside. I will go back (to the safe area) around 4 or 5 pm. I don’t dare to stay,” he said.
For residents who chose to stay put, however, it was community spirit that spurred them to carry on with business as usual.
At a market in the Thai town of Prasat, some 30km north, small-goods seller Yuttana Akarapoowadol said: “I want to help displaced people get food. If I close, there will be no food for them.”
Fellow shop owner Nathana Aekthananonkul has also kept her shop open to provide food and essentials like meat, eggs and underwear to soldiers on the frontline.
“We see how much the soldiers are struggling,” she said.
“Whether living on the frontline or being away from their homes and loved ones, to do this duty, they have already sacrificed,” she added. “If we abandon them, it would be selfish.”
In Cambodia, locals showed the same solidarity with their countrymen and soldiers on the frontline.
Nammuy Heng, chief executive of DJI Agriculture Drone, is one of the volunteers at a relief camp in Oddar Meanchey who have helped gather two tonnes of food for the evacuees and military personnel there.
“One reason is because I really want to encourage my military … I want to tell them that they are not alone,” said Nammuy.
“The second thing is that I really want to share the love (with) the people.”
For evacuee Ouk Pov, it is the second time she has had to flee her home due to fighting between both countries – the first was in 2011, when troops clashed over the Preah Vihear temple.
“Since we’re near the border, our village leader told us to evacuate. It’s a hot zone for bombing. Back in 2011, a bomb fell near my house — there was a big fire and shattered glass flew into our home,” Ouk said.
“This time, no bombs landed directly near our house but bullets flew so low they hit and damaged our roof.”
The divisions now are a stark contrast with times of relative peace, when the lives of Thais and Cambodians along the border were very much intertwined, locals told CNA.
Justin Bieber admitted he can be self-centered in a reflective new social media post.
“Thanking Jesus for his patience with me this morning,” he wrote via X Tuesday. “I can be extremely selfish and impatient yet Jesus always has his arms open toward me.”
Alongside several photos of the “Yummy” singer enjoying time out in nature, he added, “Let’s have a good day, let’s go outside Get in nature.”
The trio of pics showed Bieber, 31, descending stairs down a tree-lined path to a body of water. He wore a T-shirt and shorts, and accessorized with a pair of hot pink sunglasses and hiking boots.
Let’s have a good day, let’s go outside
Get in nature
Thanking Jesus for his patience with me this morning
I can be extremely selfish and impatient yet Jesus always has his arms open toward me 🤗🤗🤗 pic.twitter.com/oU8UITHcyU
Justin Bieber admitted to being “extremely selfish” in a new X post.
“Thanking Jesus for his patience with me this morning,” the singer, seen here with Hailey in May, wrote. Kishan Mistry
Social media users took to the comments thread with supportive messages for the “Baby” crooner.
“This is the justin bieber i stan,” wrote one person, while another remarked, “Imagine walking through a forest and seeing Justin Bieber.”
“Stop being so hard on yourself, you’re literally a human, sir!!” wrote a third, while a fan account gushed, “We love you, thank you for everything and thank you for Swag! We, the fans, are super happy and excited about this album it gets better with each listen!”
The pop star’s candid post comes two weeks after he admitted to marriage struggles with wife Hailey, 28, via his new album “Swag.”
“Girl, we better stop before we say some s–t / We’ve been testing our patience / I think we better off if we just take a break / And remember what grace is,” he sings in “Walking Away.”
“Baby, I ain’t walking away. You were my diamond / Gave you a ring / I made you a promise. I told you, ‘I’d change’ / It’s just human nature / These growing pains / And baby, I ain’t walking away.”
Despite putting on a united front in family photos for the album’s long-awaited surprise release, a source told Page Six earlier in July that Justin “doesn’t particularly handle [fame] well.”
“Imagine being 14 and famous and people either love you for no reason just because you’re who you are, or they hate you? There’s not a lot of in between,” the insider divulged.
“A lot of people wouldn’t deal well with that to begin with. It breaks a lot of people. I’m concerned about him.”
JUSTIN Trudeau and Katy Perry were spotted enjoying a night out in Canada after the singer split with Orlando Bloom earlier this year, sparking romance rumors between the pair.
Perry, who was in Canada for her tour, was photographed dining with the former Canadian Prime Minister on Monday night.
Trudeau just stepped down as Canada’s Prime MinisterCredit: Getty
The two seemed to be in deep conversation with each other at Le Violon in Montreal.
Perry, 40, has just separated from longtime beau Orlando Bloom this summer after nine years together, while Trudeau announced the separation from wife Sophie after 18 years of marriage in 2023.
The restaurant’s chef, Danny Smiles, told TMZ, however, that it seemed like a dinner between friends.
The report said lobster and cocktails were on the menu for the pair.
The two went to the kitchen afterward to thank the staff, according to the outlet, and were nice throughout.
The chef even divulged that Trudeau, 53, picked up the tab.
Before the dinner, the two were spotted walking together with Perry’s dog, TMZ reported.
The pair have both had a whirlwind year, from the pop star going on a space trip and touring to Trudeau stepping down as Canada’s PM.
Perry had been engaged to Bloom, 48, since 2019, and welcomed a daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom a year later.
Rumors had swirled that things had gone sour between the pair for months, with The Sun reporting in June that Bloom did not think Perry’s Blue Origin space trip “was a good idea.”
“He always thought it was a stupid idea and she wouldn’t get anything positive out of it,” the source said.
A close source told The Sun that Perry had told friends in January that the “relationship was as good as done.”
Weeks ago, representatives for the couple told E! News that the pair have been “shifting their relationship over the past many months to focus on co-parenting.”
“They will continue to be seen together as a family, as their shared priority is—and always will be—raising their daughter with love, stability and mutual respect.”
Right after the breakup news, Perry teared up on stage while performing in Australia.
“Thank you Australia for always being there for me,” she said, fighting back tears in her eyes.
In June, Bloom was spotted with star Sydney Sweeney in Venice after the two attended the A-list studded Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez wedding.
The actress had also announced her split from fiancé Jonathan Davino earlier this year.
The two were together for 7 years.
Trudeau announced his separation from his wife, Sophie, 48, in 2023 after “many meaningful and difficult conversations,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.
The two married in 2005, and have three children together.
In January, he resigned as party leader after a controversial decade in power.
In 2019, photos emerged of Trudeau in brownface at a party in 2001, sparking massive outrage.
Ukrainians over the age of 60 will be allowed to enlist in the military following the enactment of a law signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian officials also called a Russian strike on a prison a war crime.
Each recruit will face a two-month trial period to assess their suitabilityImage: Ukrainian Presidency/Anadolu/picture alliance
Three killed in Russian strike on Ukraine army training unit
At least three Ukrainian soldiers were killed, and 18 others were wounded, in a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian army training ground on Tuesday.
In a statement on Facebook, Ukraine’s Ground Forces said Russia “launched a missile strike on the territory of one of the training units of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
“Despite the security measures taken, unfortunately it was not possible to completely avoid losses among the personnel,” the army added.
An investigation into the incident has been opened to “find out all the circumstances and causes of the loss of personnel,” the statement added.
“If it is found that the actions or inaction of officials led to the death and injury of military personnel, the perpetrators will be brought to justice,” the military said.
It was not clear which training facility was struck.
This is not the first time a Ukrainian army training unit has been attacked by Russian missiles.
In June, the then-commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Mykhailo Drapaty, resigned after 12 soldiers were killed and more than 60 others were wounded when Russian missiles hit a training ground in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Trump says Russia to face sanctions in 10 days if it does not move to end Ukraine war
US President Donald Trump said that unless Moscow made progress toward ending the war in Ukraine in the next 10 days, he would begin enforcing tariffs and other actions against Russia.
The statement came a day after he shortened his original 50-day deadline for action from Russia to “10 or 12 days,” and was after he had not received any response from Moscow.
Earlier Tuesday, the Kremlin said it had “taken note” of the new deadline (see entry below).
Trump also said he was not worried about the potential impact of Russian sanctions on the oil market or prices, saying the US would boost domestic oil production to offset any impact.
Russian billionaire fails to overturn UK sanctions
Billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler on Tuesday lost his appeal against sanctions imposed on him by the UK over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The ruling at the UK’s Supreme Court also makes it difficult for similar challenges to succeed.
Russian-born Shvidler, who is a UK and US citizen, was sanctioned over his connection to former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, as well as his previous role as a director of London-listed Russian steel producer Evraz.
Shvidler appealed to the Supreme Court. His lawyers argued that others with greater involvement in business of importance to Russia were not sanctioned, citing BP’s previous joint venture with Rosneft, a Russian integrated energy company focused on the exploration, production, refining, and distribution of oil and gas.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal by a four-to-one majority in a ruling that Shvidler said “brings me back to the USSR.”
With the decision, the top court maintains its 100% record of rulings defending Russian sanctions.
Poland: Jailed Colombian man set fires on orders from Russia
Polish authorities said a jailed Colombian man started two fires in Poland on behalf of Russia last year.
The 27-year-old man stands accused of setting fire to two warehouses in Warsaw and Radom in 2024, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Warsaw said.
The fires were quickly extinguished, and no one was injured in either case.
The Colombian man had previously been trained by a person with links to Russian secret services, according to the Interior Ministry.
The public prosecutor’s office is now investigating the man for working for a foreign secret service and for terrorism.
TERRIFYING videos have emerged showing roads being turned into rivers after horror floods “not seen in a hundred years” battered China.
At least 38 people have been killed and more than 80,000 residents were forced to evacuate after the torrential downpours hit parts of the country, including the capital Beijing.
A drone view shows partially submerged village houses and other buildings after heavy rainfall flooded the areaCredit: Reuters
Swaths of northern China were lashed by torrential downpours that sparked landslides and flooding, state media said on Tuesday.
Footage shows a powerful gush of water flooding the streets.
Murky water submerged homes, cars and roads – even highways.
Uprooted trees lay in piles in the town of Taishitun, about 60 miles northeast of central Beijing.
Weather authorities have issued their second-highest rainstorm warning for the capital and neighbouring Hebei and Tianjin – as well as 10 other provinces, state news agency Xinhua reports.
The rains are expected to last till Wednesday, it added.
The heavy rainstorms have so far killed at least 38 people in Beijing.
And more than 80,000 people have been evacuated in the Chinese capital alone, local state-run outlet Beijing Daily said on social media.
The death toll was highest in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre, it said.
Locals have said that the “rain was unusually heavy, it’s not normally like this.”
One resident of Beijing described the floods as something seen “once in a hundred years”.
Nearby, spillways gushed with torrents of water leading out of the Miyun Reservoir, which authorities said has reached its highest levels since its construction in 1959.
Huairou district in the north of the city and Fangshan in the southwest were also badly affected, state media said.
Dozens of roads have been closed and over 130 villages have lost electricity, Beijing Daily said.
“Please pay attention to weather forecasts and warnings and do not go to risk areas unless necessary,” the outlet said.
More than 10,000 people also evacuated their homes in the neighbouring port city of Tianjin, which saw major flash floods, according to Global Times.
And in Hebei – just around the capital – a landslide in a village near the city of Chengde killed eight people, with four still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday.
On social media, users shared anxious accounts of being unable to reach family members who lived in Chengde’s mountainous Xinglong county.
Local authorities have issued flash flood warnings through Tuesday evening.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged authorities late Monday to plan for worst-case scenarios and rush the relocation of residents of flood-threatened areas.
Beijing Daily said local officials had “made all-out efforts to search and rescue missing persons… and made every effort to reduce casualties”.
The government has allocated 350 million yuan ($49million) for disaster relief in nine regions hit by heavy rains.
A separate 200 million yuan has been set aside for the capital, the broadcaster said.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience heavy rain while others bake in searing heat.
Khloé Kardashian threw her son, Tatum Thompson, an over-the-top “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”-themed party for his 3rd birthday.
The Good American co-founder took to her Instagram Stories Monday to give an inside look at the bash — dubbed “Tatum’s Clubhouse.
She flaunted the entryway of her home, which featured a massive multicolored balloon arch and cardboard cutouts of characters Mickey Mouse and Pluto.
The “Kardashians” star took to her Instagram Stories to show off the décor and festivities. Khloe Kardashian/Instagram
At the front door, a person dressed up as a Chip ‘N Dale character greeted guests, including Kardashian’s 7-year-old daughter, True Thompson.
Inside, the “Kardashians” star, 41, showed off Mickey Mouse-shaped backdrops, including one that read, “Tatum Turns 3.”
A person dressed up as Mickey Mouse was seen enthusiastically dancing with the birthday boy, who wore a tan shirt and Disney-themed jeans.
Donald Duck and Daisy Duck brought the fun to the backyard, as they were seen dancing and posing with Tatum.
Another duo dressed up as Goofy and Pluto also busted a few moves.
Balloons and cutouts of Disney characters, including Goofy, also filled the backyard.
Kardashian went all out for the party favors and recruited Stoney Clover Lane to customize Disney-themed bags for guests.
There was also a candy station for attendees to stock up on goodies.
Festivities at the event included a sensory station with trays filled with a Play-Doh-like compound and mini Disney figures, a slime station and a station to make beaded bracelets or necklaces.
Guests indulged in a variety of finger foods, such as chicken tenders, fries and a charcuterie board, labeled “Minnie’s Picnic Bread Basket.”
Kardashian shared a snap of Tatum’s cake, which was the shape of Mickey Mouse’s clubhouse as seen in the five-season series, which aired from 2006 to 2016.
The TV personality also celebrated her ex-boyfriend Tristan Thompson’s brother Amari Thompson’s 19th birthday, revealing a Cinderella’s castle-shaped cake.
“We have two cakes because we are celebrating Amari’s birthday and Tatum’s birthday,” she said in a clip.
Prince Harry has reportedly agreed to share his official schedule with the royal family as a peace offering to his dad, King Charles III, and brother Prince William.
The olive branch would help avoid conflicts between Harry and Meghan Markle’s events and royal family engagements, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.
The proposal is allegedly a way of shutting down claims that the Sussexes are trying to steal the spotlight from the British royals.
Prince Harry has extended another olive branch to make peace with his dad, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William. Getty Images
The move came days after Harry’s trip to Angola dominated headlines and buried Charles’ wife Queen Camilla’s 78th birthday portrait reveal.
Harry’s transparency could potentially pave the way for a face-to-face meeting between him and his estranged dad being scheduled into their busy itineraries, especially considering peace talks have allegedly been held between the two camps.
“Before that meeting between their aides in London, conflicts of interest or clashes of publicity were relished and even perhaps encouraged by the Sussexes,” an insider claimed to the outlet, adding, “Now, Harry has shifted into a new way of thinking. The tone is now all about ‘deconflicting’ with his family.”
The source explained that the Sussex household has offered to “draw up a ‘grid’ of his activities and share them with Buckingham Palace.”
In doing so, Kensington Palace would also be looped in on the plans, therefore keeping William and Kate Middleton informed.
“Harry still doesn’t like being controlled by the Royal machinery, and that won’t change,” the insider said. “However, if the Royal Family have full sight of his movements they can at least plan accordingly.”
The source called Harry’s peace offering a “significant gesture.”
Page Six has reached out to Harry’s rep for comment.
Harry, 40, has been on the outs with his father, 76, and older brother, 43, since he and Markle, also 43, resigned from their royal duties in 2020. They ultimately moved to Montecito, Calif., where they live with their two kids: Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.
No economy rises or falls for just one reason, even a shock as big as Donald Trump’s trade policy, says Ruchir Sharma for the Financial Times.
Members of civic groups shout slogans during a rally against Trump’s tariffs policy in Seoul, South Korea, Jun 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
At the beginning of the year, the world was in striking agreement on one point: If Donald Trump went ahead with tariffs, it would strengthen the dollar and trigger stagflation.
Chief executives, investors and commentators all said the same. Economists estimated that every percentage point increase in the tariff rate would shave 0.1 per cent off US growth and add 0.1 per cent to inflation. But so far, the consequences have been far less disruptive than just about anyone expected.
Some analysts still think that’s because Trump’s threats have been mostly posturing. But the effective US tariff rate has already risen from 2.5 per cent to 15 per cent. Tariff revenue is rolling in at an annual rate above US$300 billion, roughly four times the pace this time last year.
Many economists had assumed that, by lowering imports, tariffs would strengthen the dollar almost automatically, as an accounting identity. Instead, it suffered its worst fall over the first half of a year since the early 1970s.
This unexpected turn is now attributed to the fact that the dollar started the year historically overvalued. Many foreigners were heavily exposed to dollar assets. Of late, they have been hedging those risks and investing more outside the US. Many countries are increasingly attractive places to park money, in part because tariff threats inspired them to push economic reform and cut trade deals with non-US partners.
WHY STAGFLATION HAS YET TO MATERIALISE
The bigger mystery is why the stagflationary impact of tariffs has yet to materialise in the aggregate data. Is the US really enjoying a free lunch, taking in US$300 billion a year in tariff revenues with none of the expected heartburn?
By some estimates, foreign exporters are indeed absorbing 20 per cent of the costs – a much larger share than they did in response to tariffs in Trump’s first term. The remaining 80 per cent, however, is still getting paid in roughly equal shares by US corporations and consumers.
The likely answer is that the negative economic effect of tariffs is being countered by other forces, including the mania for artificial intelligence and more government stimulus.
Since January, estimates of what the big tech companies will spend this year on building out AI infrastructure have risen from US$60 billion to US$350 billion. Smaller businesses are scrambling to catch the wave too, further boosting growth. And all this excitement is neutralising the fear that trade policy uncertainty would dampen animal spirits and freeze new capex.
AI-driven bullishness is also lifting growth by keeping financial conditions loose, even with higher interest rates. According to a new index from the Federal Reserve, those conditions would be neutral, not loose, were it not for the stock market, which has continued rising this year due largely to AI stocks.
Meanwhile, the promise of tax relief makes it easier for US corporations to absorb a larger than expected share of the tariff costs, rather than pass it all on to consumers. Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is expected to save US businesses around US$100 billion this year and more than that in 2026, mainly in tax breaks.
ECONOMIES AREN’T SHAPED BY JUST ONE FACTOR
That is not to say tariffs have no negative economic effect. The costs are in fact starting to show up in higher prices for major household appliances, sporting goods and toys.
Yet the overall inflation rate has been held in check by falling rents and prices for other kinds of goods, including used cars and energy. And those prices are declining for reasons unrelated to tariffs; used-car prices are still retreating from highs created by supply disruptions during the pandemic.
So economists were not entirely wrong about the tariffs. And stagflation may yet materialise, particularly if the average effective rate continues to climb. But so far even a much higher rate has not been enough to overwhelm the larger forces sustaining growth and containing inflation.
In a way what we are seeing is a replay of 2023. That year, too, many expected a big shock (then mainly from Fed rate rises) to dramatically slow US growth, only to find the impact offset by the AI spending boom and the US government’s seemingly bottomless capacity to keep doling out fiscal support.
A TV screen at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul shows a file image of North Korea’s missile launch, Jul 19, 2023. (Photo: AP/Ahn Young-joon)
North Korea said on Tuesday (Jul 29) the United States must accept that reality has changed since the countries’ summit meetings in the past, and no future dialogue would end its nuclear programme, state media KCNA reported.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who is believed to speak for his brother, said she conceded that the personal relationship between Kim and US President Donald Trump “is not bad”.
But if Washington intended to use a personal relationship as a way to end the North’s nuclear weapons programme, the effort would only be the subject of “mockery”, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by KCNA.
“If the US fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-US meeting will remain as a ‘hope’ of the US side,” she said. DPRK is short for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea’s capabilities as a nuclear weapons state and the geopolitical environment have radically changed since Kim and Trump held talks three times during the US president’s first term, she said.
“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state … will be thoroughly rejected,” she said.
Asked about the North Korean statement, a White House official said Trump was still committed to the goal he had for the three summit meetings he held with Kim in his first term.
“The president retains those objectives and remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearised North Korea,” the White House official told Reuters.
The militant “Islamic State” group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Catholic church in eastern Congo, leaving more than 40 people dead. The attack put an end to months-long calm in the region.
According to reports, houses and shops surrounding the church were also set ablaze by the rebelsImage: Olivier Okande/AP Photo/picture alliance
At least 43 people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a Catholic church was attacked on Sunday.
Officials initially reported that Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels had carried out the attack in which terrorists raided the church located in the northeastern town of Komanda as worshippers gathered for prayer.
Later on Monday, the self-named “Islamic State” group (IS) announced on the messaging app Telegram that it had been behind the deadly incident.
What do we know about the attack on the Catholic church?
Nine children were among those killed, according to MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country.
According to reports, houses and shops surrounding the church were also set ablaze by the rebels.
“These targeted attacks on defenseless civilians, especially in places of worship, are not only revolting but also contrary to all norms of human rights and international humanitarian law,” the mission’s deputy chief, Vivian van de Perre, said in a statement.
Congo military denounces attack
Sunday’s attack marked the end of a months-long period of calm in the region of Ituri, bordering Uganda.
In February, 23 people had died in an attack by the ADF in the province’s Mambasa territory.
The Congolese military condemned what it described as a “large-scale massacre” on Sunday.
It said the ADF had decided to take “revenge on defenseless peaceful populations to spread terror.”
Eastern Congo is considered one of the world’s most dangerous regions.
Nearly 130 different armed groups are said to be active across the country, many of which are focused on controlling the region’s vast and valuable reserves of natural resources like coltan, cobalt, gold and diamonds.
Hostilities earlier this year between Congolese forces and the M23 rebel group ended in a truce on July 19.
More than 20 provincial-level administrations in China now offer childcare subsidies. But analysts are skeptical that they will be able to reverse the declining population or spur spending.
China’s population has declined for three consecutive yearsImage: CFOTO/picture alliance
The Chinese government will offer parents subsidies of 3,600 yuan ($500, €429) per child under the age of three per year, Beijing’s state media said Monday.
China’s population has declined for three consecutive years, the world’s second most populous nation — after India — is facing an emerging demographic crisis.
The number of births in 2024 — 9.54 million — was half as many as in 2016, the year that ended its one-child policy that was in place for more than three decades.
Marriage rates in China have also hit a record low. Young couples put off having babies due to the high cost of raising children and career concerns.
Provinces push to raise birth rates
More than 20 provincial-level administrations in China now offer childcare subsidies, according to official data.
In March, Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia in northern China, started giving families money to have more children. Couples with three or more children can get up to 100,000 yuan for each new baby.
In Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province, local authorities give families who have a third child 500 yuan per month until the child turns three.
In order to create a “fertility-friendly society”, China’s southwestern Sichuan province is proposing to increase marriage leave from 5 to 25 days, and more than double the current 60-day maternity leave to 150 days.
A positive step, but limited impact
Analysts said the subsidies are a positive step, but warned they won’t be enough on their own to reverse China’s population decline or lift its sluggish domestic spending.
Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, told Reuters that the new subsidy showed the government had recognized the “serious challenge” that low fertility poses to the economy.
Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said the policy marked a “major milestone” in terms of direct handouts to households and could lay the groundwork for more fiscal transfers in the future.
But he also said the sums were too small to have a “near-term impact on the birth rate or consumption.”
“For young couples who just got married and already have a baby, it might actually encourage them to consider having a second child,” Wang Xue, a mother to a nine-year-old son from Beijing, told AFP.
DONALD Trump has slashed the 50-day deadline for Vladimir Putin to cut a peace deal down to just the end of next week.
Trump has slammed the tyrant – who has not taken Trump’s peace efforts seriously – saying he was “very disappointed” with him during a press conference with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland today.
Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer met and spoke on Monday in ScotlandCredit: AFP
Trump said Putin’s new deadline had been reduced down to “10 to 12” days from today, which would be August 6 to 8.
The President is clearly fed up with Vlad’s unwillingness to cut a peace deal and his nightly blitzes that target and kill civilians.
He said: “I’m disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed in him.
“So we’re going to have to look and I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number.”
He later clarified saying: “I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There’s no reason in waiting, we just don’t see any progress being made.”
Trump said that the US would do secondary sanctions on Russia – slapping sanctions on those who buy oil from Moscow.
But that could all be avoided if Putin cuts a peace deal – which Trump thinks could still happen.
The new deadline will be announced tonight or tomorrow, with Trump saying “there’s no reason to wait”.
He said: “It [peace] should happen fast, so many people are dying.”
Trump also said he is not so interested in speaking to Putin anymore – due to the tyrant consistently bombing Ukraine after peace talks.
The deadline was set to end on September 5, but is now set to end a month earlier.
The Moscow stock market quickly dropped 1.2 per cent at the prospect of massive US sanctions on the economy.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said that the “language of ultimatums, blackmail, and threats” is unacceptable to Moscow and that it views the threat of new sanctions as mundane.
A fortnight ago, Trump vowed to slap brutal 100 percent tariffs on Russia if Moscow did not reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days.
He also agreed to send US weapons – compromising of “everything” in their arsenal – to Nato so they can distribute them to Kyiv.
The meeting with Mark Rutte marked a shift in US policy more towards backing Ukraine after Vlad did not take peace seriously.
Trump has made getting peace in Ukraine a priority and has talked to Putin directly as he has tried to get him to cut a deal.
But the tyrant has not moved away from his maximalist demands and will only sign a deal that leaves Ukraine defenceless.
Vlad has spent months talking up the prospect of peace, but appears to have alienated Trump after launching huge barrages at Ukrainian civilians.
The Kremlin responded to the deadline at the time saying: “We of course want to understand what is behind this statement – 50 days.
“It used to be 24 hours, it used to be 100 days, we have been through all of this and we really want to understand what motivates the President of the United States.”
Trump’s deadline slashing comes after Putin launched his latest blitz on Ukraine with Poland scrambling jets in response.
Eight people, including a two-year-old girl, were injured in the strikes with shrapnel wounds after one bomb hit an apartment building in the capital.
Volodymyr Zelenksy addressed the latest blitz saying “our sky defenders intercepted several hundred Russian attack drones”.
One person is fighting for their life in a critical condition, while three others were hospitalised.
Heavy rains hit northern China over the weekend and intensified around Beijing on Monday. President Xi Jinping has ordered an “all-out” search and rescue effort.
Rescue workers assist stranded residents following heavy rainfall in Miyun district of BeijingImage: Florence Lo/REUTERS
At least 30 people have died in the outskirts of Beijing after intense rainstorms battered China’s north, state media reported on Tuesday.
“The latest round of heavy rainstorms has left 30 people dead in Beijing as of midnight Monday,” state news agency Xinhua said.
Over 80,000 people have been evacuated from the Chinese capital, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
28 deaths were reported in the hilly district of Miyun and two in Yanqing, both of which are on the outskirts of the sprawling city, far from the downtown.
Torrential rain causes floods and landslides in northern China
Intense rainfall lashed northern China over the weekend, including in the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong. The rains intensified around Beijing on Monday.
The Huairou district in the capital’s north and Fangshan in the southwest were also badly impacted.
Roads and communication infrastructure were damaged, while over 130 villages were left without power.
Across deserts, oceans and mountain ranges, a new kind of holiday is gaining ground – where pushing yourself to the limit is the whole point.
We are swimming 3km from Cape Pelegrin, a headland on the north-eastern corner of Croatia’s Hvar island, across an open water channel to the island of Palmižana. The water is choppy, Palmižana just a distant headland above the waves. When we reach the other side there is a further 5km to go – tracing the indented coastline of the Pakleni Islands, past hidden coves and quiet pine-fringed bays. But I am not looking at the scenery, I am focussed on the pink tow floats of the swimmers ahead.
In peak summer, this archipelago is filled with day-trippers from Split, lounging on boats and floating in the turquoise shallows. But in early May, the beaches are empty, the water is cool and the only sound is the rhythmic splash of arms breaking the surface. I’m here to take part in UltraSwim 33.3, a four-day, point-to-point adventure across Croatia’s sun-splashed southern coastline, covering 33.3km – the equivalent distance of an English Channel crossing. UltraSwim is part of a growing trend in travel: endurance-based holidays where the goal isn’t relaxation but transformation.
“I wanted to create something that’s a cross between a race, a challenge and an adventure holiday,” said founder Mark Turner. “There’s a generation – people aged 40 to 60 – who still want that challenge, but also want to stay in a nice hotel, eat well, maybe bring their partner along and explore the region. The Channel is an iconic swim, but the experience itself isn’t that nice. What I’ve tried to create is the same sense of achievement, but in clearer waters with incredible surroundings – and a glass of wine at the end.”
UltraSwim is just one example of a growing wave of endurance-based travel experiences that are redefining what it means to take a break from work. Rather than lounging on a beach or exploring a new city, more and more travellers are opting to push their limits – whether that’s a 171k ultramarathon around Mont Blanc, running 250km across the Moroccan desert or cross-country skiing 220km through Finland’s Arctic Circle.
Alison King, a 56-year-old landscape architect from London, is one of them.
“I decided to enter the Ultra 33.3 swim in Croatia, because I was hungry for more life after two decades bringing up my two children and being tied [down] by schools and routine,” she told me.
King, who had never considered herself particularly athletic, was initially daunted by the 12km swim on the longest day. “I liked swimming but I’d never done team or competitive sports. At first, I felt like an imposter. But I absolutely smashed it. I finished strong, calm and elated. It was scary at times, but the joy of being out there in the world, connecting with others and to the ocean – that’s something I’ll carry with me. It wasn’t just a holiday. It was a reset.”
That sense of transformation is common in ultra-endurance circles. Across disciplines, participants often talk about their experience in near-spiritual terms – not despite the pain and effort, but because of it.
“I’d describe it as the best and worst week of my life, with the highest of highs but the lowest of lows all rolled in to one,” says Gemma Morris, a 41-year-old private jet flight attendant from West Sussex who completed the Marathon des Sables, a 250km ultramarathon across the Moroccan Sahara. “You’re running huge distances in brutal heat, sleeping rough, living on the bare minimum. But there is something incredibly magical about that landscape – the sunrises, the silence, the starry skies with no light pollution. The solitude gives you time to think, to be present with yourself. Most of all, it makes you appreciate the smallest things.”
As endurance events boom worldwide, these excursions are no longer niche pursuits. UltraSwim expects to attract nearly 600 participants from 38 nationalities in 2025, with ambitions to expand to six to eight events and more than 1,000 swimmers within three years. The UTMB World Series, a global circuit of mountain ultramarathons, now hosts 200,000 runners across 50 sold-out events annually. In cycling, the Race Across France has grown from 300 participants in 2021 to 1,400 this year, spanning distances from 300km to 2,500km. And swimrun events, a hybrid of trail running and open-water swimming pioneered in Sweden, are rapidly multiplying worldwide.
And while ultra sporting events push the limits of human endurance, they also deliver significant economic, social and cultural benefits to the countries that host them.
“A typical event with 250 people might generate €50,000 in food and accommodation spend,” said Michael Lemmel, co-founder of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series, which began in the Stockholm Archipelago. “But more than that, they bring a different kind of visitor; someone who’s more connected to nature, to outdoor experiences, not just the party scene.”
Hvar, once known mostly for its hedonistic summer vibe, is starting to lean into this new identity. In addition to UltraSwim, the island now hosts cycling camps, trail running events and long-distance swims.
“Endurance events help extend the tourist season and attract more engaged visitors,” said Iva Belaj Šantić, director of the Hvar Town Tourist Board. “But they also enrich the life of the local community. Growing up on an island can mean limited access to activities. These events bring visibility and inspiration – especially for our youth. The reason a visitor comes is just as important as what they leave behind.”
Paula Reid, an adventure psychologist who has completed multiple polar expeditions and ocean crossings and helps others prepare for similar challenges, believes there’s a biological explanation for this growing appetite for ultra-sport holidays. “These holidays offer a kind of evolutionary reset,” she explained. “We evolved to hunt and gather over long distances. For many people, life has become far too easy. It’s physically undemanding. But we are biologically built for discomfort, challenge and adversity. We need it to grow.”
A person walks pass a Nvidia logo at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Nvidia (NVDA.O), placed orders for 300,000 H20 chipsets with contract manufacturer TSMC (2330.TW), last week, two sources said, with one of them adding that strong Chinese demand had led the U.S. firm to change its mind about just relying on its existing stockpile.
The Trump administration this month allowed Nvidia to resume sales of H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) to China, reversing an effective ban imposed in April designed to keep advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands due to national security concerns.
Nvidia developed the H20 specifically for the Chinese market after U.S. export restrictions on its other AI chipsets were imposed in late 2023. The H20 does not have as much computing power as Nvidia’s H100 or its new Blackwell series sold in markets outside China.
The new orders with Taiwan’s TMSC would add to existing inventory of 600,000 to 700,000 H20 chips, according to the sources who were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified.
For comparison purposes, Nvidia sold around 1 million H20 chips in 2024, according to U.S. research firm SemiAnalysis.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during a trip to Beijing this month that the level of H20 orders it received would determine whether production would begin again, adding that any restart to the supply chain would take nine months.
The Information reported after Huang’s trip that Nvidia had told customers it had limited H20 stocks available and it had no immediate plans to restart wafer production for the GPU.
Nvidia needs to obtain export licenses from the U.S. government to ship the H20 chips. It said in mid-July it had been assured by authorities that it would get them soon.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has yet to approve those licenses, one of the sources and a third source said.
Nvidia on Monday declined to comment on the new orders or the status of its license applications. TSMC declined to comment. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nvidia has asked Chinese companies interested in purchasing Nvidia H20 chips to submit new documentation including order volume forecasts from clients, said one of the sources and a fourth source.
KEY PRODUCT IN US-SINO TRADE WAR
The Trump administration said the resumption of H20 sales was part of negotiations with China over rare earth magnets – elements essential for many industries and which Beijing had limited exports of as trade war tensions escalated.
The decision drew bipartisan condemnation from U.S. legislators who are worried that giving China access to the H20 will impede U.S. efforts to maintain its lead in AI technology.
But Nvidia and others argue that it is important to retain Chinese interest in its chips – which work with Nvidia’s software tools – so that developers do not completely switch over to offerings from rivals like Huawei.
Before the April ban, Chinese technology giants including Tencent (0700.HK), ByteDance and Alibaba (9988.HK), substantially increased H20 orders as they deployed DeepSeek’s cost-effective AI models as well as their own models.
A soldier from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) puts on his shoes as he and his comrade cross a stream towards the front line in Laiza, Kachin state, January 29, 2013. REUTERS/David Johnson/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Trump administration has heard competing proposals that would significantly alter longstanding U.S. policy toward Myanmar, with the aim of diverting its vast supplies of rare earth minerals away from strategic rival China, four people with direct knowledge of the discussions said.
Nothing has been decided and experts say there are huge logistical obstacles, but if the ideas are ever acted upon, Washington may need to strike a deal with the ethnic rebels controlling most of Myanmar’s rich deposits of heavy rare earths.
Among the proposals are one advocating talks with Myanmar’s ruling junta to get a peace deal with the Kachin Independence Army rebels and another calling for the U.S. to instead work directly with the KIA without engaging the junta. Washington has avoided direct talks with the country’s military leaders following their overthrow of the country’s democratically elected government in 2021.
The ideas have been proposed to administration officials by a U.S. business lobbyist, a former adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, in indirect talks with the KIA and some outside experts, the sources said.
The conversations have not previously been reported.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion. So-called heavy rare earths are used to build fighter jets and other high-performance weaponry. The U.S. produces very small amounts of heavy rare earths and is reliant on imports.
Securing supplies of the minerals is a major focus of the Trump administration in its strategic competition with China, which is responsible for nearly 90% of global processing capacity, according to the International Energy Agency.
Engaging the junta would be a sharp departure for the United States, given U.S. sanctions on the military leaders and the violence committed against the Rohingya minority that Washington calls genocide and crimes against humanity.
Last week, the Trump administration lifted sanctions designations on several junta allies, but U.S. officials said this does not indicate any broader shift in U.S. policy toward Myanmar.
The ideas pitched to the U.S. administration also include easing U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened 40% tariffs on the country, pulling back sanctions against the junta and its allies, working with India to process some heavy rare earths exported from Myanmar, and appointing a special envoy to execute these tasks, people familiar with the matter said.
Some of these suggestions were discussed in a July 17 meeting in Vice President JD Vance’s offices that included Adam Castillo, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar who runs a security firm in the country, a person close to Vance’s office said. Among those present were advisers to Vance on Asian affairs and trade. Vance himself did not attend, the source said.
Castillo told Reuters he suggested to U.S. officials that the United States could play a peace-broker role in Myanmar and urged Washington to take a page out of China’s playbook by first brokering a bilateral self-governance deal between the Myanmar military and the KIA.
Myanmar’s ruling junta and the KIA did not respond to a request for comment.
While Vance’s office declined to comment on Castillo’s visit to the White House, one person familiar with the situation said the Trump administration has been reviewing policy on Myanmar, also known as Burma, since Trump’s January inauguration and had weighed direct discussions with the junta over trade and tariffs.
The White House declined to comment.
REVIEWING MYANMAR POLICY
The White House discussions were described as exploratory and in early stages by people familiar with them, who added the talks may result in no shift in strategy at all by Trump, given the administration’s wariness about intervening in foreign conflicts and in Myanmar’s complex crisis.
“The officials took this meeting as a courtesy to the American business community and to support President Trump’s efforts to balance the U.S. $579 (million) trade deficit with Burma,” a senior administration official said when asked about the July 17 meeting.
Castillo, who describes Myanmar’s rare earth deposits as China’s “golden goose,” said he told U.S. officials that key ethnic armed groups – particularly the KIA – were tired of being exploited by China and wanted to work with the United States.
Mines in Myanmar’s Kachin region are major producers of heavy rare earths that are exported to China for processing.
He said he had repeatedly urged officials in Washington to pursue a deal with the KIA that includes cooperation with U.S. partners in the Quad grouping – specifically India – for resource processing and eventual heavy rare earths supply to the United States. The so-called Quad grouping brings together the United States with India, as well as Australia and Japan.
India’s Ministry of Mines did not respond to an email seeking comment.
An Indian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was unaware of whether the Trump administration had communicated any such plan to India but stressed that such a move would take several years to materialize because it would require infrastructure to be built for processing rare earths.
Another pitch to the White House was more in line with the Myanmar policy Trump inherited from former President Joe Biden.
Sean Turnell, an Australian economist and former adviser to Suu Kyi, whose government the junta toppled in 2021, said his rare earths proposal was to encourage the Trump administration to continue supporting Myanmar’s democratic forces.
In a visit to Washington earlier this year, Turnell said he met with officials from the State Department, the White House National Security Council and Congress, and urged continued support for the country’s opposition.
“One of the pitches was that the U.S. could access rare earths via KIA etc,” he said, adding that the group wants to diversify away from China.
There have also been multiple discussions between U.S. officials and the Kachin rebel group on rare earths through interlocutors in recent months, said a person with knowledge of the talks, which have not previously been reported.
OBSTACLES
In the years since the coup, Myanmar has been ravaged by civil war and the junta and its allies have been pushed out of much of the country’s borderlands, including the rare earths mining belt currently under control of the KIA.
A rare earths industry source said that U.S. officials had reached out around three months ago, following the Kachin takeover of the Chipwe-Pangwa mining belt, to ask for an overview of the Kachin rare earths mining industry.
The person added that any new, major rare earths supply chain, which would require moving the minerals out of remote and mountainous Kachin State into India and onward, may not be feasible.
Swedish author Bertil Lintner, a leading expert on Kachin State, said the idea of the United States obtaining rare earths from Myanmar from under the nose of China seemed “totally crazy” given the unforgiving mountainous terrain and primitive logistics.
“If they want to transport the rare earths from these mines, which are all on the Chinese border, to India, there’s only one road,” Lintner said. “And the Chinese would certainly step in and stop it.”
For its part, the junta appears eager to engage with Washington after years of isolation.
The man, who later fatally shot himself, was believed to have acted alone.
New York Police Department officers work near the scene of a reported shooter situation in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US on Jul 28, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
A gunman armed with an assault-style rifle killed four people inside a Manhattan skyscraper that houses the headquarters of the NFL and offices of several major financial firms and then shot himself dead, New York City officials said on Monday (Jul 28).
One of the four victims slain in the gun violence was a 36-year-old New York Police Department officer who immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh. Mayor Eric Adams described the officer, who had been on the force for about three and a half years, as a “true blue” hero.
Authorities offered few details about the three other victims killed by the suspect – two men and a woman. A third male was gravely wounded by the gunfire and was “fighting for his life” in a nearby hospital, the mayor said.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the gunman, identified as Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old Las Vegas resident with a history of mental illness, had driven cross-country to New York in recent days.
The gunman was believed to have acted alone, and investigators had yet to determine a possible motive for the shooting, Tisch told reporters at a late-night news briefing.
“Pure evil came to the heart of our city and struck innocent people and one of our police officers who were protecting those people,” Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said at the press conference.
The slain policeman, Didarul Islam, a father of two whose wife is pregnant with a third child, was working at the time as part of an NYPD program that allows its uniformed patrol officers to be assigned as security detail in commercial establishments.
The shooting spree in the evening rush hour began in the lobby of the Park Avenue tower in Midtown Manhattan, then shifted to the upper-story offices of a management company as the suspect took the elevator to the 33rd floor. The bloodshed came to an end when the gunman fatally shot himself in the chest, Tisch told reporters.
A photo of the suspect that CNN said was shared by police showing a gunman walking into the building carrying a rifle was published by a number of major news media outlets. Preliminary checks of the suspect’s background did not show a significant criminal history, the report added, citing officials.
The skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue houses offices of a number of financial institutions, including Blackstone and KPMG, along with the NFL headquarters.
A large police presence converged on the area around the tower, according to Reuters journalists near the scene.
“I just saw a lot of commotion and cops and people screaming,” said Russ McGee, a 31-year-old sports bettor who was working out in a gym adjacent to the skyscraper, told Reuters in an interview near the scene.
Kyle Marshall, 38, was working at a Morgan Stanley office in a nearby Park building when his mother texted him, alerting him to an active-shooter incident, and asked if he was OK. “Then she texted me the address, and I was, like, ‘Oh my God. That’s right next door to my building’,” he said.
Harvard University could pay as much as $500M in a deal with the Trump administration following months of tense back-and-forths over billions in stripped federal funding and research grants, two sources familiar with the negotiations told The Post.
Last week, Trump said the Ivy League school “wants to settle” after seeing Columbia’s funding restored in exchange for paying a $200 million fine to settle civil rights violations.
Harvard faculty and staff hold signs from inside Harvard Yard during a press conference by faculty supporters of the Harvard Out of Palestine coalition outside Harvard Yard. Boston Globe via Getty Images
The administration had clawed back $2.6 billion in federal funding earlier this year, saying the university had discriminated against Jewish faculty, students and staff by not protecting them from antisemitism on campus.
The specific terms in the ongoing negotiations were not immediately made clear by either side, nor was a precise timeline given. However, Trump said in June that the government could forge a deal with Harvard “over the next week or so.”
Harvard is still pursuing its lawsuit against the administration over the loss of federal research funds, which it claims could lead to damaged careers and the shuttering of labs on the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus.
However, Education Secretary Linda McMahon expressed confidence in a future settlement.
“We’re hoping that Harvard will come to the table,” McMahon told NewsNation’s “Morning in America” on Thursday. “We’re already seeing other universities that are taking these measures before investigation or before our coming in to talk to them.”
Harvard’s $53 billion endowment is more than three times the size of Columbia’s $14.8 billion war chest.
Trump has confided in some that he believes Harvard should have to pay more to settle than Columbia, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Under the terms of Colulmbia’s settlement with the Trump administration, the university regained access to $400 million in grants and other federal funding in exchange for paying the $200 million fine; appointing an independent monitor; placing disciplinary issues under the purview of the provost’s office; submitting semi-annual reports on its compliance with Title VI, VII and IX anti-discrimination rules to the federal government; and implementing merit-based hiring and admissions requirements.
Columbia also agreed to pay out more than $20 million to Jewish employees who were discriminated against.
Harvard University officials were reportedly put off by Columbia’s agreement to appoint an independent monitor, viewing it as potential threat to academic freedom and a possible redline in any settlement agreement, according to the New York Times.
In its lawsuit against the Trump administration, Harvard has argued that the revoking of its federal grants violates the university’s First Amendment rights – a line of argument that Boston US District Judge Allison Burroughs seemed inclined to agree with during a hearing earlier this month.
Baseball Hall of Fame infielder Ryne Sandberg has died at the age of 65, the Cubs announced Monday evening.
Sandberg was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2024, and had been battling the disease since.
He spent 15 of his 16 MLB seasons with the Cubs, and he earned All-Star nods in 10 consecutive seasons, from 1984-93.
Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg throws the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday, April 4, 2025. MLB Photos via Getty Images
He also earned nine consecutive Gold Gloves and seven Silver Sluggers, and won the National League MVP in 1984.
“Ryne Sandberg was a legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise and a beloved figure throughout Major League Baseball,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic. Ryne earned 10 consecutive All-Star selections, nine straight Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and 1984 National League MVP honors.
“Ryne remained active in the game he loved as an ambassador for the Cubs, a manager for the Phillies and in the Minor Leagues, and a frequent participant at the Hall of Fame. His many friends across the game were in his corner as he courageously fought cancer in recent years. We will continue to support the important work of Stand Up To Cancer in Ryne’s memory.
A heartbreaking video shows the final moments of a Wisconsin teen’s life that was allegedly taken by an illegal immigrant drunk driver as his family gave their final goodbye before his organs were donated.
Tearful family and friends surrounded the lifeless body of 19-year-old Brady Heiling as doctors wheeled him on a stretcher through a hospital hallway, according to a video posted by his mother, Jen Heiling. Draped across the front of the gurney was a sign that read “DONATE LIFE,” a nod to his organ donation.
“Brady Allen Heiling you are soooooo LOVED!…” his mother wrote in the emotional post.
Loved ones bid the teen, who was hooked up to a breathing machine, farewell as they leaned onto his chest and cried out.
Brady Heiling’s family says goodbye to the beloved teen. Jen Heiling/Facebook
Heiling, along with his “love” Hallie Helgeson, 18, tragically died after an illegal immigrant drunk driver hit them while driving the wrong way on an interstate outside Madison, officials said.
Honduran national Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila, 30, was drunk and driving her SUV the wrong direction on a highway outside Madison when she allegedly struck a vehicle and killed the two teens on July 20, according to police.
Helgeson, who was a passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene, while Heiling, who was behind the wheel, clung to life for five days after he was airlifted from the wreck. He fought through multiple unsuccessful surgeries before succumbing to his injuries.
“Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling had their whole lives ahead of them—and they would still be alive today if it weren’t for Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila—a criminal illegal alien from Honduras,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“We are weak, weary and heart broken and need to rest,” Jen Heiling posted online following her son’s tragic death.
She said she hopes her son’s harvested organs can save more lives, according to the West Central Tribune.
The devastating crash wasn’t Martinez-Avila’s first time getting in trouble behind the wheel.
She already had a drunk driving conviction from November 2020 and has had several other traffic violations since then for driving without a license, speeding, following too closely and inattentive driving, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Martinez-Avila’s rap sheet required her to have a special device in her car that blocks it from starting if she has alcohol in her system, according to the local news outlet.
However, she did not have it installed during the fatal collision.
DHS railed against the sanctuary policies in Dane County, where Madison is located.
A young boy sits amidst rubble in Gaza, waiting for water. ZUMAPRESS.com
The plight of Gazan civilians lacking enough food has made headlines, but make no mistake: Whatever hunger exists in Gaza is Hamas’ fault — and the way to address it is to end Hamas. And thus, the war.
Claims of “mass starvation,” of course, are utter baloney. They’re based by all sorts of falsehoods, including, most recently, lurid, upsetting photos of supposedly sick, malnourished kids, whose protruding bones make them look like Nazi concentration-camp prisoners.
Numerous publications published one particularly disturbing photo, of a boy named Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, to show the effects of “widespread hunger.”
Only it turns out the boy is not malnourished but has a genetic disease; uncropped pictures show his well-fed brother nearby.
It’s likely many Gazans have trouble getting enough food for their families day-to-day. But relying on any information out of Gaza about food supplies is a dangerous business.
Reports of “mass starvation” there have been circulating from early in the war. In May the BBC reported that “14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours,” yet that turned out to be a willful misreading of a projection by the United Nations (itself an unreliable source).
Meanwhile, Israel is permitting truckloads of aid into Gaza, and facilitating air drops. This week it even paused military action for 10 hours a day to allow for humanitarian aid.
Remember, though, that food shortages in Gaza have largely been orchestrated by Hamas, which steals international aid for its own members and to resell to finance its war efforts.
And this morally perverse group actually wants its people to starve, so the world will blame Israel and pressure it to halt its attacks on . . . Hamas.
That strategy has been succeeding, which is why Hamas has refused to surrender or even agree to a cease-fire.
Just this weekend, for example, French premier Macron fecklessly “recognized” Palestine as a state.
That just rewards Hamas further, and encourages it to keep the war going. Expect only more suffering for Gazans.
At least President Donald Trump is wise to the game: Last week, he pulled US negotiators back from cease-fire talks, saying Hamas “didn’t want to make a deal,” but rather “wanted to die.”
Spot on: The group is nothing more than a power-hungry death cult that gloats over the “martyrdom” of innocent people it hides behind. It built hundreds of miles of tunnels for its soldiers but not one shelter for its people.
Terrifying photos show Blackstone employees barricading their office door with piles of furniture as gunman Shane Tamura rampaged through the Midtown building that houses their headquarters Monday night.
Workers in business attire were seen stacking dozens of gray couches up against their office door inside 345 Park Avenue — which also houses the NFL headquarters — until the furniture barricade reached the ceiling, according to the photos obtained by ABC7.
This is how the employees in the Blackstone building barricaded themselves inside their offices while the shooter was active. pic.twitter.com/M7pMyWP9zJ
Panicked workers even began pulling apart wood desks to add more furniture to the barrier, the pics provided by a Blackstone employee showed.
A police officer and at least four other people were shot and killed — and several others injured — by Tamura, who stormed into the swanky skyscraper where the NFL also has its headquarters.
The 27-year-old maniac barged into the 44-story building armed with a Palmetto State Armory AR-15 and opened fire at around 6:30 p.m. during the evening rush, law enforcement sources told The Post.
Suspected shooter Shane Tamura is seen moments before the shooting. Obtained by NY Post
International criminal gangs have exploited instability in Sahel countries to build flourishing drug and human trafficking networks, while Russian promises of bringing order have so far failed.
In June 2025, Ghanaian officers destroyed confiscated cocaine on court orders from AccraImage: Francis Kokoroko/REUTERS
The bus station in Agadez is very busy. The Nigerien desert city is one of the most important regional hubs. Here, on the northern edge of the Sahel, trade routes between West Africa and the Maghreb have converged for centuries.
And the boundaries between legally traded goods and smuggled goods have always been blurred. In particular the smuggling of people from sub-Saharan Africa who set off for Europe without papers is – at least unofficially – considered the city’s main source of income.
Bamadou also wanted to make his way to Europe with the help of smugglers. However, the young man from Guinea gave up after a short time. He is now stranded in Agadez and warns other migrants about the increasingly brutal criminal gangs in the desert.
“Sometimes they come with baseball bats and just start beating people. Several people even died in a migrant convoy in March. Three Senegalese, two South Americans and from Guinea,” he tells DW.
New policy leads to smuggling boom
In 2015, under pressure from the European Union, Niger’s government passed a far-reaching anti-smuggling law, sent heavily armed patrols into the desert, and arrested hundreds of smugglers within a few months.
But following the military coup in 2023, the new rulers abolished the law.
“The new military leadership went through with it just one day after signing a new military agreement with Russia,” says Ulf Laessing, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s regional program in neighboring Mali. Laessing believes Russian influence was behind the move.
The effects of the new Nigerien policy were swift: Just a few weeks after the law was abolished, the smuggling business in Agadez was back in full swing according to the mayor – and is still growing.
Partners in Moscow rather than Brussels
The picture is similar among Niger’s neighbors. In Burkina Faso and Mali, new military governments moved closer to Moscow than Brussels. Over the same time, the regional smuggling industry saw rapid expansion in these countries, particularly in the drugs sector.
For example, authorities in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger seized about 13 kilograms (28.7 pounds) of drugs per year between 2015 and 2020. By 2022, the figure exploded to around 1.5 tonnes ― an increase of more than 11,000%, according to reports from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Cocaine glut in the desert
The latest data from 2024 shows over a tonne of cocaine was seized during a single check on the border between Senegal and Mali.
“An absolute record,” says Amado Philip de Andres from the UNODC in Dakar, Senegal. According to de Andres, the Sahel’s location has long made it a strategic place of interest for drug smugglers.
The region lies between producers in Latin America and consumers in Europe, which has seen soaring demand for the drug. Criminal networks have historically exploited political instability in the Sahel, but de Andres says smuggling activities have recently reached a new dimension in terms of quality.
“We are seeing increasingly sophisticated technologies. There are underwater vehicles that have half a tonne of drugs on board,” he tells DW.
Most of the time, the cocaine travels towards Europe through the Sahel overland along routes controlled by rapidly growing local drug networks.
“The really big fish in the cocaine business still come from Latin America. But the middle level is now increasingly coming from West and Central Africa,” de Andres adds.
The criminal networks have now acquired significant financial power in the Sahel and are laundering their dirty money in major projects throughout the region.
System of corruption and military toughness
This comes against a backdrop of corrupt officials and security forces, particularly at the local level. As a result of Europe’s dwindling influence, programs to combat corruption and good governance in the Sahel have expired or been put on hold in recent years.
“Drug trafficking is giving criminal groups more and more influence over border officials and politicians with leadership positions at local level,” says de Andres.
Russian promises of military force to ensure more order in the Sahel and combat criminal networks are falling far short of expectations.
“You have to bear in mind that France alone had more than 5,000 soldiers here. Even they couldn’t pacify the region. The Russians have perhaps 1,500 in Mali and another 400 in Burkina Faso and Niger,” Laessing tells DW.
Instead, according to Laessing, the presence of the Russian mercenary outfit Africa Corps has had the opposite effect.
“A brutality is attributed to them that has fueled the conflicts even further,” he says.
On the road to narco-terrorism?
The dynamics between smugglers and jihadists are also changing due to the success of the drug networks.
The term “narco-terrorism” is increasingly used in the Sahel. According to the latest Global Terrorism Index, almost half of all victims of terrorism across the world come from the region.
Initially, the jihadists tended to be indirect beneficiaries of the drug trade, charging customs duties for trucks or taking money to escort convoys.
Now, observers say, some terrorist groups are trying to enter the lucrative business directly. In other regions, the Afghan Taliban have long been active in the opium trade and the Islamic State (IS) in Syria also produced synthetic drugs on a large scale.
Imran Khan has lashed out at Army chief Asim Munir, saying the general was disgracing the military and sacrificing national interest to maintain his hold on power.
Despite solitary confinement and a campaign of legal and media suppression, Imran Khan remains Pakistan’s most popular political figure. (AP)
Imran Khan, Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister, lashed out at Army chief Asim Munir, saying that the general was disgracing the military and sacrificing national interest to maintain his hold on power.
In a recent post on social media, Khan said, “The country is being run under Munir’s law, and the ISI is giving it protection… He is prepared to sacrifice every national interest to maintain his hold on power. This army chief is disgracing the military just as Yahya Khan once did.”
Khan invoked the legacy of former army chief General Yahya Khan, whose regime led to the Bangladesh Liberation War and the birth of Bangladesh, as he ramps up criticism against the current government. His comments come ahead of his party’s campaign against the “puppet government”, starting next month.
“At this time, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, and the President are all unconstitutional. A sham constitutional court was created, which reduced our seats in parliament,” Khan, who has been in jail for two years in multiple cases, added.
In an unprecedented move, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s seats were simply handed over to others. The constitutional courts, which are meant to deliver justice, are now filled with Munir’s minions, Khan alleged.
The former PM also accused Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja of perpetrating a historic electoral fraud.
“A judge of the Islamabad High Court is not hearing my appeals for seven months because he, too, receives instructions from Munir. At this time, Munir’s law prevails in our country, as if he owns Pakistan,” he said.
Khan stated that the judiciary, state institutions, and democracy are being eroded. “Military courts have been declared legal, an act that is essentially a vote of no confidence by the judiciary against itself. My wife, Bushra Bibi, is being used as a weapon to break me, but let me make this clear: I would rather die than accept Munir’s monarchy,” he added.
He said that a nation is doomed when incompetent individuals are “forcibly imposed upon institutions”. Talking about the torture inflicted on him, Khan said he was kept in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day and denied books, newspapers, and television.
Khan said he has told his sons to take the matter to international courts based on fundamental human rights.
With the political leaders of francophone Africa increasingly turning their backs on their former colonial rulers, French corporations have been forced to rethink doing business with Africa without Paris’ support.
France’s colonial past in Africa is increasingly hampering the development of economic ties with the continentImage: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images
The disruption is now in full swing, with more and more African countries, particularly in the Sahel region of northern and western Africa, rejecting the so-called Francafrique policy by their former colonial power, France.
The term refers to a complex and controversial network of political, economic, social and military ties between France and its former African colonies, describing a kind of special relationship characterized by ongoing French influence in these nations.
Often described as neocolonial, France’s Africa policy is under massive political and popular pressure, and the fight against it is openly challenging Paris’ military, diplomatic and economic footprint in Africa.
The Sahel region stretches from the Sahara Desert in the north to the savannas in the south, encompassing several countries, including Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Chad.
Antoine Glaser is a French journalist and former director of Paris-based magazine Africa Intelligence — a leading publication focused on Africa with editions in English and French.
He said French companies with operations in the region enjoyed “preferential treatment,” especially during the Cold War era due to the Francafrique policy.
“They thought they were at home in Africa,” he told DW, and ignored more recent realities such as the fact that Africa has “gone global and France didn’t see China coming.”
One such stark reality, he added, is Chinese companies now have a 25% market share in French-speaking Africa, while France’s share has tumbled to “between 6% and 7%.”
Moreover, French multinational nuclear fuel cycle corporation Orano announced last September that it would suspend production at its Arlit uranium mine in northern Niger due to financial difficulties faced by its Nigerien subsidiary, Somair.
The decision came as border closures between Niger and Benin, triggered by the July 2023 coup, had blocked all uranium exports, Orano said in a statement, adding: “In spite of efforts to find alternative possibilities to export the uranium produced by Somair and to relaunch commercial activities, all the proposals made to the Nigerien authorities have remained unanswered.”
In June 2024, Orano also lost its mining license for the Imouraren uranium deposit due to a decision by the military government, which revoked the license following a period of tensions and ultimatum.
Situated about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Agadez — the largest town in central Niger — the Imouraren mine holds one of the world’s largest uranium deposits. Mining was launched by French nuclear group Areva, rebranded as Orano in 2018, which mothballed the mine in 2015 due to unfavorable market conditions.
Since then, tensions have illustrated the fragility of a system in which military and diplomatic presence supported economic interests.
Paris seeking new relationships
Beyond the uranium sector, France’s whole model of influence is being destabilized, affecting sectors like infrastructure, telecommunication, energy and public works — all symbols of France’s presence that are now being regularly challenged.
In February 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron presented a new strategy, entitled “Our Future The Africa-France Partnership,” and offering new forms of partnerships.
Unveiled by Macron ahead of his tour of Central Africa, the strategy advocates abandoning old paradigms and puts a new emphasis on economic and trade relations rather than focusing on security issues. The central idea of this new model is based on a transition from “a logic of aid to a logic of solidarity investments and partnerships,” and is meant to be a “symbiotic relationship” beneficial to all parties.
What France used to consider as its “backyard” for a long time is disappearing amid wider change in the Sahel region.
In addition, Africa as a whole is no longer France’s exclusive business playground. Countries like Turkey, Russia, China and even Germany are advancing their positions, forcing French companies to readjust their business policy if they are to survive in an increasingly competitive environment.
A French corporate consultant, speaking on condition of anonymity, told DW that in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the real French presence was “already marginal before recent tensions” with their colonial motherland.
In the mining industry, he said, the main players are now often from Australia or Canada, like Toronto-based mining giant Barrick Mining Corporation. “The perception that France is omnipresent is stronger than the reality,” he said.
He also noted that behind “official posturing,” a strategy was becoming clearer: “Maintain a presence, but through more indirect means.”
French companies would now seek to maintain market share “without provoking rejection” by launching joint ventures, local partnerships or the creation of project companies under local law.
“There is now a dynamic in which these companies are adapting through cooperating more with local partners, setting up shared structures. It’s a way of staying active while avoiding head-on visibility,” he added.
Competition growing in Africa
Yves Ekoue Amaizo, the director at the Afrocentricity Think Tank, thinks the gradual withdrawal of French companies also opens the door to new alliances, because African countries would now have “the capacity and the partners to replace these companies.”
“China, Turkey and other immediate players are already involved. But this means accepting new, often opaque conditions, and managing a context of risks [such as] political instability, terrorism and legal uncertainties,” he told DW.
While withdrawal seems inevitable for some French multinational corporations, others are still betting on rebalancing their business strategies.
According to a report in the offshore industry magazine Offshore Technology, energy giant TotalEnergies, for example, is trying to find a new footing in English- and Portuguese-speaking countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Namibia and Angola.
Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim will host peace talks between Thailand and Cambodia in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, even as border clashes continued on Sunday with both sides blaming each other.
Thailand and Cambodia have announced peace talks but continued to exchange fire on SundayImage: STR/AFP
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will meet in Malaysia on Monday in an attempt to negotiate an end to four days of deadly border clashes, officials confirmed on Sunday.
The talks between acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Kuala Lumpur will be mediated by Malaysian premier Anwar Ibrahim in his capacity as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“They have asked me to try and negotiate a peace settlement,” said Anwar on Sunday. “I’m discussing the parameters, the conditions, but what is important is [an] immediate ceasefire.”
A Thai government spokesman confirmed Phumtham’s participation in the talks in order “to discuss peace efforts in the region.”
Cambodia’s Hun Manet said earlier Sunday that his country had agreed to pursue an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”
At least 34 people have been killed and around 200,000 displaced in fighting between the two South-East Asian neighbors over contested border temples this week, with artillery exchanges continuing on Sunday.
Trump calls for peace talks, threatens tariffs
US President Donald Trump claimed credit for the planned peace talks, saying on Sunday ahead of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnbery, Scotland:
“I spoke to both of the prime ministers and I think, by the time I got off, I think they want to settle now.”
Previously, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on the two countries if they failed to stop fighting and agree to trade deals.
“After speaking to both Parties, Ceasefire, Peace, and Prosperity seems to be a natural,” he wrote on social media on Saturday after speaking to both heads of government. “We … do not want to make any Deal, with either Country, if they are fighting. I am trying to simplify a complex situation!”
Thailand-Cambodia clashes continue on Sunday
The two sides continued to exchange artillery fire on Sunday, with a Cambodian Defense Ministry spokeswoman saying Thai forces began attacking areas around the village of Samraong at 4.50 a.m. local time (2150 GMT on Saturday), followed by a “large-scale incursion” involving tanks and ground troops in several areas.
“Such actions undermine all efforts toward peaceful resolution and expose Thailand’s clear intent to escalate rather than de-escalate the conflict,” she said.
But a Thai army spokesman said Cambodian forces began firing artillery around 4.00 a.m. and accused them of firing shells into civilian homes in Thailand’s eastern Surin province.
“Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith and repeatedly violating the basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law,” Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said, confirming the death of a Thai soldier.
A regional passenger train derailed in southern Germany, killing at least three people and injuring dozens of others. DW has the latest.
Rescue operations on the derailed train continued through the nightImage: Thomas Warnack/dpa/picture alliance
German carmaker Audi’s profit drops 37.5%
Profits at German carmaker Audi have fallen by 37.5% in the first half of the year, the company says.
The business cited US tariffs, restructuring costs and weak business in China as reasons for the decline.
Post-tax earnings totaled €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion), marking the third year-on-year decline in a row for the brand.
In 2022, the Ingolstadt-based firm — also responsible for Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati — posted €4.4 billion in profits for the same period.
Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, has also cut its full-year forecast, projecting turnover to fall by €2.5 billion to between €65 billion and €70 billion, along with a significantly lower return on sales.
The outlook does not yet reflect the EU–US trade agreement announced a day earlier, which will introduce a 15% tariff on imports.
Audi said it is still evaluating the deal, with CFO Jürgen Rittersberger noting that key details remain unclear.
However, he said the agreement is welcome in principle as it offers planning certainty.
Germany’s finance minister heads to Lithuania for Baltic talks
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil is headed for Lithuania, with high-level meetings and two military visits scheduled.
After arriving in Vilnius, Klingbeil is on Tuesday set to meet Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the finance ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Klingbeil, who also serves as vice chancellor, will also visit the Bundeswehr’s new Lithuania-based brigade, currently being set up as part of Germany’s defense commitments.
A stop at the NATO multinational battle group in the country, which is led by Germany, is also on the agenda.
Merz welcomes EU-US tariff deal, car industry wary
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has welcomed the trade agreement between the European Union and the US that will see a 15% tariff on EU goods entering the US.
However, a car industry group says the tariffs as part of a new deal place a heavy burden on Germany’s auto makers.
Overflowing sewer could have caused train to derail, officials say
An overflowing sewer may have caused the fatal train derailment in southwestern Germany, local police and prosecutors said on Monday.
“It is believed that heavy rain in the area of the accident caused a sewage shaft to overflow,” a joint statement from Ulm police and Ravensburg prosecutors said.
“The water triggered a landslide on the embankment next to the tracks, which in turn caused the derailment. There are currently no indications of external influence,” it added.
As per the statement, a probe to determine the cause of the accident was still ongoing.
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy has been attacked by a 13ft shark who ripped off part of his leg.
The child was playing with a group of 10 friends in shark infested waters when the beast grabbed hold of his body.
A seven-year-old boy has been attacked by a 13ft shark who ripped off part of his legCredit: Getty
Horrified witnesses recalled seeing the boy jump from a fisherman’s dock in Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva moments before being attacked.
The child was snagged on his right forearm, left hand and had one of his calves ripped off.
He was quickly treated at the scene before being rushed to a local hospital in French Polynesia.
Doctors decided his injuries were so severe that he was airlifted to the larger Taaone Hospital shortly after arriving.
A firefighter who helped the child said: “I’m 35 years old and this is the first time I’ve seen this. These were long and deep wounds.
“It’s probably related to the fish carcasses that fishermen throw in this area. There are many sharks, such as blacktips, hammerheads, and lemon sharks.”
Another shark attack victim was left with similar wounds after her calf was torn off in a Fourth of July mauling.
Tabatha Sullivent was one of four people injured in a shark attack on South Padre Island off the southern coast of Texas.
POLICE have revealed the identity of the suspect in the knife attack at a Walmart store in Michigan.
Bradford Gille, 42, is accused of a stabbing rampage that left 11 people injured on Saturday afternoon in Traverse City.
Suspect Bradford Gille in a photo provided by Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s OfficeCredit: AP
Police said they will be seeking to file terrorism charges against him as well as 11 counts of assault with intent to murder.
Gille, from Afton, allegedly arrived at the store and started randomly slashing and stabbing at shoppers using a pocket knife.
It was the life-saving and heroic actions of bystanders that helped quickly get him into police custody, authorities said.
“I cannot commend everyone that was involved enough,” Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said.
“When you stop and look from the time of call to the time of actual custody, the individual was detained within one minute.
“That is remarkable. When you look at it in that mitigated Lord knows how many additional victims.”
Further information has been released about those injured in the attack who are being treated at the Munson Medical Center.
Shea said that they were a mix of men and women ranging from the ages of 21 and 84.
One of those injured was a store employee, Shea confirmed.
The attack began near the checkout counter with people being targeted at random – victims were “not predetermined” Shea said.
From the hospital, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tom Schermerhorn told reporters that the majority of victims are in a fair condition.
One was treated and has already been released and two are in a serious condition, he said.
“Over the past 12 hours, we’ve seen encouraging signs of recovery among our patients,” the hospital said in an update.
‘SLASHED AT THROATS’
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses have described how the horror unfolded.
Delivery driver Steven Carter was loading his truck with customer groceries in the parking lot when he saw a man slash at a woman’s throat with a knife.
“At first, it was disbelief. I thought maybe it was like a terror attack,” he said.
“And then it was dear, disbelief, shock.”
He called the response of bystanders “amazing” saying that the attacker was soon surrounded by a group of heroic shoppers.
Around six people including one armed with a gun confronted the man telling him to “drop the knife,” Carter recalled.
He told them “I don’t care, I don’t care,” while backing away from the group until he was tackled to the ground.
“It was just amazing. And it all happened fast. Like he was totally subdued on the ground by the time police arrived,” Carter said.
Tiffany DeFell, 36, who was also in the parking lot at the time of the attack said, “It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out.”
“This is something you see out of the movies. It’s not what you expect to see where you’re living.”
No motive for the attack has been given as the investigation continues.
The authorities have told the public they believe the suspect acted alone and there is no further danger.
Meanwhile, Walmart has given no update on when the store will reopen but has called such violence “unacceptable”.
THREE bodies have been recovered after a plane crashed into the sea off the coast of California.
The private plane plummeted into the water in Pacific Grove at around 10:40pm on Saturday night.
The twin-engine Beech 95-B55 Baron with three people aboard took off from the San Carlos airport at 10:11 p.m. and was last seen at 10:37 p.m. near Monterey, according to flight tracking data from FlightAware.com.
It is believed to have ran into trouble shortly after take off with data from the Aviation Safety Network showing that it “crashed into the sea during a night-time approach to Monterey Airport.”
“On approach the aircraft entered a descending left-hand turn. During the turn the aircraft climbed again before entering a high-speed descent until it crashed into the sea about 22:38 hours,” per the aviation outlet.
Steve Eugene Clatterbuck, 60, James Vincent, 36, and Jamie Lee Tabscott, 44, have been identified as the victims by Monterey County cops.
Emergency crews responded late on Saturday evening after witnesses reported hearing an aircraft engine revving and a splash in the water, per KSBW TV.
People on shore reported seeing debris wash up from the crashed plane, including an oxygen tank and chunks of metal.
Coast Guard boat and helicopter crews were launched to search for the victims, with assistance from local law enforcement and fire agencies.
The first victim was tragically discovered recovered on Sunday morning, according to KION.
After a huge search mission, two other bodies were found in the afternoon, the Coast Guard told KSBW.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
Responders received a lost radar alert as well a flurry of 911 calls from horrified locals who reported concerning sounds from ocean near Asilomar.
On Facebook, one local said: “I’m dog sitting for my daughter in Pacific Grove. I’m laying in bed around 10PM and I hear a low flying airplane overhead.
“I’m wondering to myself ‘it sounds like it might hit her house’. Then I hear a sudden splat and it goes silent.”
Another told KION News that a loud noise woke him up and it “sounded like a plane doing stunts over my roof – I thought I was dreaming”.
Flight data appears to show that the aircraft did a loop above homes in Pacific Grove before back-tracking on itself to go back towards the sea – a possible last-minute maneuver by the pilot to save lives.
Emergency officials believe the aircraft plummeted into the sea between 200 meters and a quarter of a mile off the coastline.
It is not yet known what caused the crash but the National Transportation Safety Board will start to assess the debris for possible answers.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Pacific Grove Police Department and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office for an update.
THIS is the moment more than 150 terrified passengers scrambled to evacuate a flight after a “possible landing gear incident” started a fire.
Dramatic footage shows smoke billowing from the American Airlines plane as it stood on the runway at Denver International Airport.
The incident happened on Saturday afternoonCredit: Twitter/@highlymigratoryfishing
The incident happened on Saturday afternoon as the Boeing 737 MAX 8 suffered a “maintenance issue” as it was due to take off for Miami.
Panicked passengers were filmed fleeing the smoking plane on its inflatable slides as smoke continued to engulf the scene.
Video footage shows people escaping the jet as the terrifying ordeal unfolded.
“Flight 2023, you got a lot of smoke,” an air traffic controller tells the pilot in cockpit audio from Live ATC, 9News has reported.
“There was some flames. Looks like the smoke is dying down a bit,” they add.
But then the controller says: “You are actually on fire.”
According to CNN, the 173 passengers and six crew members were spooked when they heard a loud bang and spotted flames.
They were then evacuated from the flight.
The problem was sparked by a mix of of blown tires and the plane’s deceleration during braking, according to the airline.
Denver Fire Department rushed out to extinguish the blaze.
An American Airlines spokesperson said: “All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team.
“We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for their experience.”
One person was taken to hospital with minor injuries and five were evaluated at the scene, CNN has reported.
The incident is reported to have caused widespread panic among the plane’s terrified passengers.
Shay Armistead, 17, told the broadcaster that the incident was “kind of traumatizing”.
“The plane started vibrating and shaking really bad,” she said.
“We started tilting to the left side of the runway, and then we heard the sound of the wind from them lifting up the brakes of the plane and slamming on them really hard.”
The evacuation process took around 10 to 15 minutes, she added.
It comes after a flight from Hollywood Burbank Airport was forced “nose dive” on its way to Las Vegas – causing passengers to fly out of their seats.
BANK of America is set to award Americans $300 in free cash if they are quick to take action.
By following two simple steps before the July deadline, customers will automatically receive the cash bonus in their accounts.
However, the offer is only available for a few more days as it expires on July 31 so there is not much time left.
The second largest bank in the country is awarding the cash bonus to new customers who sign up to the Bank of America Advantage Plus banking.
It is an online-only offer that can only be redeemed through the bank’s promotions page.
First you should open up a new eligible Bank of America personal checking account via the promotions page by the July 31 deadline.
It is worth noting that the BoA Advantage SafeBalance banking for Family Banking accounts are not eligible.
But the following three accounts are:
Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking
Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking
Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking
More eligibility information can be found online but the bank warns: “You are not eligible for this offer if you were an owner or co-owner of a Bank of America personal checking account within the last twelve (12) months.”
Use the following offer code when opening the account to take part in the promotion: AFC300CIS.
The second step is to meet the deposit requirements including Qualifying Direct Deposits that total at least $2,000 within 90 days of the account being opened.
These direct deposits should come from regular monthly income like your salary or benefits.
Once all requirements have been met, Bank of America will automatically start to process your cash bonus.
“Bank of America will attempt to pay bonus within 60 days,” it states on the promotions page.
This is 60 days from meeting the requirements not from the date of the account being open.
“The new eligible personal checking account must be open and in good standing up to and including the date any earned bonus is paid,” BoA adds.
There is a $12 monthly fee for the Advantage Plus Banking checking account but this can be waived.
US BANK $400 BONUS
Meanwhile, US Bank is also offering a cash bonus if action is taken by July 31.
With this offer, Americans can get up to $400 by opening a US Bank Smartly Checking account via the promotions page.
Again, in order to get the cash you must fulfil all of the account requirements within 90 days of opening.
Appropriately enough for a man who was once famed for his drug use, Ozzy Osbourne went out on a high.
Sources close to the Osbourne family tell Page Six that Prince of Darkness had the best possible exit, thanks to his final concert just days before his death.
The rock god had been battling chronic conditions for decades, but, we’re told, had been noticably flagging in recent months.
The Back To The Beginning show was just 17 days before his death. Ozzy Osbourne/Instagram
But insiders say Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning show on July 5 made him a much younger man for his last days of his life.
“It energized him — it filled him with life,” a longtime pal of the metal monarch said of the show, “He’d really been slowing down, and then after the show he was really back to be being himself. It’s a beautiful ending.”
The show at Aston Park Stadium — which was the first time the original Sabbath lineup had played together since 2005 — was just a couple of miles from where the band formed in 1969.
Osbourne, who had been battling Parkinson’s among other illnesses since the early 2000s, sat in a special black-and-purple throne for the performance, but sang hits including “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man,” and “Paranoid” from his chair.
Osbourne, who had been battling Parkinson’s among other illnesses since the early 2000s, sat in a special black-and-purple throne for the performance, but sang hits including “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man,” and “Paranoid” from his chair.
Kris Jenner and her longtime boyfriend, Corey Gamble, appeared to have an argument while attending Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” show in Las Vegas Saturday.
Jenner was snapped walking away from Gamble in the VIP section after what an eyewitness described as a “visibly tense” exchange. The eyewitness said her daughter Khloé Kardashian appeared to try to “reassure” a “frustrated” Gamble afterward with calming hand motions.
Jenner’s rep didn’t immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble had a “visibly tense” exchange while attending Beyoncé’s final “Cowboy Carter” show in Las Vegas Saturday. / SplashNews.com
The Kardashian matriarch attended the concert with Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Tyler Perry, King’s daughter, Kirby Bumpus, Gamble and Kardashian.
Aside from the apparent tense moment with Gamble, she clearly had a great time in videos she posted on Instagram.
“WOW! Such an incredible night in Vegas at the final night of @beyonce’s spectacular Cowboy Carter tour!! And such magic to see Destiny’s Child @destinyschild and of course the iconic @jayz!! 🤩🤩,” she captioned a montage of concert highlights, including the epic Destiny’s Child reunion.
She also shared a video of the group holding hands and dancing to Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em,” though Gamble was not present in the video.
Jenner, 69, and Gamble, 44, were snapped in another tense exchange last month while leaving Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding in Venice, Italy.
Lip reader Nicola Hickling claimed to the Daily Mail that the conversation was regarding Jenner’s adamant demand to ride alone in a water taxi instead of sharing the transportation with other guests.
Hickling claimed Gamble told one of the porters, “We’re happy to travel on our own. It’s what Kris would like to do.”
The comment seemed to prompt an annoyed Jenner to get involved.
A man wearing a sailors’ cap and striped vest takes a selfie photo in front of a warship during celebrations of Russia’s Navy Day in Kronstadt outside Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 27, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov Purchase Licensing Rights
Ukrainian drones targeted St. Petersburg on Sunday, Russian authorities said, forcing the airport to close for five hours as Vladimir Putin marked Russia’s Navy Day in the city, despite the earlier cancellation of its naval parade due to security concerns.
St. Petersburg usually holds a large-scale, televised navy parade on Navy Day, which features a flotilla of warships and military vessels sailing down the Neva River and is attended by Putin.
Last year, Russia suspected a Ukrainian plan to attack the city’s parade, according to state television.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Sunday that this year’s parade had been cancelled for security reasons, following first reports of its cancellation in early July.
Putin arrived at the city’s historic naval headquarters on Sunday by patrol speed boat, from where he followed drills involving more than 150 vessels and 15,000 military personnel in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and Baltic and Caspian Seas.
“Today we are marking this holiday in a working setting, we are inspecting the combat readiness of the fleet,” Putin said in a video address.
The Russian Defence Ministry said air defence units downed a total of 291 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones on Sunday, below a record 524 drones downed in attacks on May 7, ahead of Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region surrounding St. Petersburg, said that over ten drones were downed over the area, and falling debris injured a woman. At 0840 GMT on Sunday Drozdenko said that the attack was repelled.
St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport was closed during the attack, with 57 flights delayed and 22 diverted to other airports, according to a statement. Pulkovo resumed operations later on Sunday.
Israel on Sunday announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world.
Israel has been facing growing international criticism, which the government rejects, over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have broken off with no deal in sight.
U.S. President Donald Trump, on a visit to Scotland, said Israel would have to make a decision on its next steps in Gaza, and said he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas.
Military activity will stop daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in Gaza City, to the north.
The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. starting from Sunday.
The United Nations food aid agency needs quick approvals by Israel for its trucks to move into Gaza if it is to take advantage of Israel’s planned humanitarian pauses in fighting, a senior World Food Programme official said on Sunday.
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Sunday that some movement restrictions appeared to have been eased by Israel in Gaza on Sunday after Israel decided to “support a one-week scale-up of aid.”
Initial reports indicate that more than 100 truckloads of aid were collected from crossings to be transported into Gaza, Fletcher said in a statement.
“This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis,” he said.
In their first airdrop in months, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into Gaza on Sunday, a Jordanian official said, but added that it was not a substitute for delivery by land.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes.
Work on a UAE project to run a new pipeline that will supply water from a desalination facility in neighbouring Egypt to around 600,000 Gazans along the coast would also begin in a few days, the Israeli military said.
Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
The ministry reported six new deaths over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition and hunger since the war began in 2023 to 133, including 87 children.
On Saturday, a 5-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital, health workers said.
“Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead,” said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, as the baby’s father held their daughter’s body wrapped in a white shroud.
A Palestinian carries a bag with aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa Purchase Licensing Rights
The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food to southern Gaza on Sunday. Some had been looted in the area of Khan Younis after entering Gaza, residents said.
Aid groups said last week there was mass hunger among Gaza’s 2.2 million people, and international alarm over the humanitarian situation has increased.
A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week said Israel’s denial of aid was unacceptable.
The military’s spokesperson said Israel was committed to international law and monitors the humanitarian situation daily. Brigadier General Effie Defrin said there was no starvation in Gaza, but appeared to acknowledge conditions were critical.
“When we start approaching a problematic line (threshold) then the IDF works to let in humanitarian aid,” he said. “That’s what happened over the weekend.”
Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds, and reopened aid with new restrictions in May.
Israel says it has been allowing in aid but must prevent it from being diverted by militants and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza’s people.
HOPE, UNCERTAINTY
Many Gazans expressed some relief at Sunday’s announcement, but said fighting must end.
“People are happy that large amounts of food aid will come into Gaza,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a business owner. “We hope today marks a first step in ending this war that burned everything up.”
Health officials at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in central Gaza said Israeli firing killed at least 17 people waiting for aid trucks. Israel’s military said it fired warning shots at suspects endangering troops and was unaware of any casualties.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whether it is fighting or negotiating a ceasefire and vowed to press on with the campaign until “complete victory”.
The U.S. struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods – half the threatened rate – and averting a bigger trade war between the two allies that account for almost a third of global trade.
U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal at Trump’s luxury golf course in western Scotland after an hour-long meeting that pushed the hard-fought deal over the line, following months of negotiations.
“I think this is the biggest deal ever made,” Trump told reporters, lauding EU plans to invest some $600 billion in the United States and dramatically increase its purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment.
Trump said the deal, which tops a $550 billion deal signed with Japan last week, would expand ties between the trans-Atlantic powers after years of what he called unfair treatment of U.S. exporters.
Von der Leyen, describing Trump as a tough negotiator, said the 15% tariff applied “across the board”, later telling reporters it was “the best we could get.”
“We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it’s a big deal. It’s a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability,” she said.
The agreement mirrors key parts of the framework accord reached by the U.S. with Japan, but like that deal, it leaves many questions open, including tariff rates on spirits, a highly charged topic for many on both sides of the Atlantic.
The deal, which Trump said calls for $750 billion of EU purchases of U.S. energy in coming years and “hundreds of billions of dollars” of arms purchases, likely spells good news for a host of EU companies, including Airbus (AIR.PA), Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE), and Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), if all the details hold.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, saying it averted a trade conflict that would have hit Germany’s export-driven economy and its large auto sector hard. German carmakers, VW, Mercedes and BMW were some of the hardest hit by the 27.5% U.S. tariff on car and parts imports now in place.
The baseline 15% tariff will still be seen by many in Europe as too high, compared with Europe’s initial hopes to secure a zero-for-zero tariff deal.
Bernd Lange, the German Social Democrat who heads the European Parliament’s trade committee, said the tariffs were imbalanced and the hefty EU investment earmarked for the U.S. would likely come at the bloc’s own expense.
Trump retains the ability to increase the tariffs in the future if European countries do not live up to their investment commitments, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters on Sunday evening.
The euro rose around 0.2% against the dollar, sterling and yen within an hour of the deal’s being announced.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 27, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Purchase Licensing Rights
Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, said Sunday’s accord was “merely a high-level, political agreement” that could not replace a carefully hammered out trade deal: “This, in turn, creates the risk of different interpretations along the way, as seen immediately after the conclusion of the U.S.-Japan deal.”
While the tariff applies to most goods, including semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, there are exceptions.
The U.S. will keep in place a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum. Von der Leyen suggested the tariff could be replaced with a quota system; a senior administration official said EU leaders had asked that the two sides continue to talk about the issue.
Von der Leyen said there would be no tariffs from either side on aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials.
“We will keep working to add more products to this list,” von der Leyen said, adding that spirits were still under discussion.
A U.S. official said the tariff rate on commercial aircraft would remain at zero for now, and the parties would decide together what to do after a U.S. review is completed, adding there is a “reasonably good chance” they could agree to a lower tariff than 15%. No timing was given for when that probe would be completed.
The deal will be sold as a triumph for Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, and has already reached similar framework accords with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has not hit its goal of “90 deals in 90 days.”
U.S. officials said the EU had agreed to lower non-tariff barriers for automobiles and some agricultural products, though EU officials suggested the details of those standards were still under discussion.
“Remember, their economy is $20 trillion … they are five times bigger than Japan,” a senior U.S. official told reporters during a briefing. “So the opportunity of opening their market is enormous for our farmers, our fishermen, our ranchers, all our industrial products, all our businesses.”
Trump has periodically railed against the EU, saying it was “formed to screw the United States” on trade. He has fumed for years about the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
A horrifically emaciated Palestinian child held up by news outlets as the face of starvation in Gaza actually suffers from genetic and other disorders, which much of the coverage glossed over, according to critics.
The heart-rending photo of Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq made the rounds on outlets including the New York Times, NBC News, The Guardian, BBC and others as evidence that Israel’s war against Hamas has led to the starvation of children in the Palestinian enclave.
But pro-Israel group HonestReporting first spotted something the outlets either didn’t notice or outright ignored: the boy’s older brother, Joud, standing in the background looking like he was in much better condition.
Palestinian child Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq being held by his mother in Gaza City on July 21, 2025. Photo by Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini/Anadolu via Getty Images
In a video segment, CNN said Muhammad’s own mother revealed that he suffers from a “muscle disorder” for which he receives specialized nutrition and physical therapy, saying he was “happy” and able to “sit upright” when they were provided.
Pro-Israel journalist David Collier said little Muhammad has “cerebral palsy, hypoxemia, and was born with a serious genetic disorder,” citing a May 2025 medical report from Gaza.
In viral photos, taken on July 22 by Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency, Muhammad’s spine protrudes from his tiny back as his mother cradles him in her arms.
The BBC interviewed the image’s photographer, Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim al-Arini, who suggested the photo was representative of the widespread starvation that has taken hold in the Gaza Strip.
The Guardian captioned a photo of Muhammad as “facing life-threatening malnutrition,” while the
UK’s Daily Express described it as “a horrifying image encapsulating the ‘maelstrom of human misery’ gripping Gaza.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry says it has allowed around 4,500 aid trucks into Gaza since lifting a blockade in May, and that 700 more are waiting to be picked up by the UN.
A UN report earlier this month asserted that that 9% of children screened at health clinics across Gaza are suffering from severe malnutrition — a sharp rise from the 6% found in June.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry claims that 20 children have died from malnutrition related causes in the last three weeks.
The United Nations has also accused Israel of choking the flow of aid and making Israeli and US-backed aid efforts dangerous for civilians.
The city health department has launched an investigation after a cluster of Legionnaire’s disease cases were identified in Harlem over the weekend — with officials urging New Yorkers to take precautions.
Five cases of the potentially fatal pneumonia-like illness were diagnosed in the Manhattan neighborhood in recent days, although no deaths have been reported, the department said.
“Any New Yorkers with flu-like symptoms should contact a health care provider as soon as possible,” Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Toni Eyssallenne said in a statement.
“Legionnaire’s disease can be effectively treated if diagnosed early,” Eyssallenne said. “But New Yorkers at higher risk, like adults aged 50 and older, those who smoke or have chronic lung conditions should be especially mindful of their symptoms and seek care as soon as symptoms begin.”
Legionella pneumophila bacteria existing in potable water biofilms revealed in the scanning electron microscopic. Getty Images
Although potentially lethal if not treated in time, Legionnaire’s disease is not contagious and can be treated with antibiotics if caught in time, the department said.
The disease is typically transferred through water supplies contaminated with Legionella bacteria that can pop up in plumbing systems, and can find favorable conditions in cooling towers, whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers and condensers in large air conditioning systems, health officials said.
Last month officials in Sydney, Australia reported a death from a Legionnaire’s case there.
Four years after a stricken cargo ship caused the largest plastic spill ever recorded, volunteers on Sri Lanka’s beaches are still sifting kilograms of tiny, toxic plastic pellets from the sand.
Billions of plastic nurdles, as they are called, are thought to have washed up after the X-Press Pearl disaster in 2021, along with tonnes of engine fuel, acid, caustic soda, lead, copper slag, lithium batteries and epoxy resin – all toxic to aquatic life.
The immediate damage was obvious: the nurdles inundated the shoreline, turning it white, while dead turtles, dolphins and fish began washing up.
But scientists are now flagging fears the damage to the environment could be much more enduring than previously thought.
Sri Lankan Navy soldiers work to remove nurdles and other debris on a beach in Colombo after the X-Press Pearl disaster. Photo: May 2021
So far, hundreds of millions of nurdles may have been cleared away – but the remaining, lentil-sized microplastic granules have become increasingly difficult to find as they disappear deeper into the sand.
Worse, those pieces of plastic now appear to be becoming even more toxic, new research suggests.
“They seem to be accumulating pollution from the ocean,” said David Megson, of Manchester Metropolitan University. “Like a lovely big chemical sponge.”
Nurdles are the raw materials that are melted to make plastic products and it is not unusual for large amounts to be transported in the global plastic supply chain.
The problems onboard the X-Press Pearl started soon after setting sail from Dubai Port bound for Port Klang in Malaysia, when the crew noticed that a container carrying nitric acid was leaking, corroding the metal box. But they were denied permission to unload the smoking, leaking container at ports in Qatar and India.
The container had been leaking acid at a rate of about a litre an hour for at least eight days when it sailed into Sri Lankan waters late at night on 19 May 2021.
It had requested emergency berthing – but by the morning the Singapore-flagged vessel was alight.
Despite firefighting efforts from the crew, the Sri Lankan authorities and salvors, the fire spread throughout the ship.
Two weeks later, it sank, spilling its cargo and fuel into the sea around nine nautical miles off the country’s south-west coast, between the capital Colombo and Negombo to the north.
What happened next “was just like out of a war movie”, says Muditha Katuwawala, an environmentalist and founder of the Pearl Protectors, a local NGO that volunteered to help the clean-up operation, which was run largely by Sri Lankan state authorities with funding from the ship’s owners.
“We started seeing turtles getting washed up with similar sorts of traits… the skin had burn marks [and] was peeling off. The nose and eyes were red and puffed up, and we saw dolphins washing up and… their skin was peeling off and red,” Mr Katuwawala said.
The nurdles on the beaches were “like snow,” he says, adding that “it was horrifying”.
The clean-up began in earnest. At the start, Mr Katuwawala and his fellow volunteers “were collecting like 300-400 kilos of nurdles” each day.
Over time, it dropped to three to four kilograms in a couple of hours.
“The nurdles were getting more dispersed, it was harder to see them as they got buried in the sand over time.”
It was decided the cost-benefit ratio was no longer worth the effort of mobilising volunteers. The groups stood down, leaving the task to state-organised local clean-up groups.
At the same time, scientists were getting concerned about the possibility the plastic pellets – already harmful to animals which eat them accidentally – may be getting more toxic, contaminated from the spill, or from other pollution sources.
Over the ensuing years, they have collected samples which could help trace the effect over time.
In November 2024, the BBC and Watershed Investigations sent more than 20 of those samples to a team of forensic chemists specialising in environmental pollution from Manchester Metropolitan University.
They found the most heavily contaminated nurdles were those burnt in the fire, which leach metals toxic to aquatic life, like arsenic, lead, cadmium, copper, cobalt and nickel.
The team also found the pellets “still going round appear to be sucking up more pollution from the environment” and were becoming “more toxic”, according to Mr Megson.
“They will be ingested [and] will pass pollution on to marine organisms,” he says.
Tests carried out on fish caught near the site of the disaster – as well as the nearby Negombo lagoon – found some contained the same pollutants that were present in the ship’s cargo and on the nurdles.
Some of the fish contained levels of hazardous metals – some of which were found in the disaster – which exceeded safe limits.
Researchers say the disaster cannot be discounted as the source of contamination, although it also can’t be directly proven to be the source, as it’s not known if these fish ate nurdles, how many they ingested, or if the pollution came from other sources.
“But placed on top of everything else that is in that system, there’s a really good likelihood that it’s causing harm to the environment and also potentially harm to people and humans that are eating and relying on that marine ecosystem for a source of their food,” Mr Megson adds.
Local fishermen do draw the link to the disaster.
“There’s no fish since then. We’ve never had the same amount of fish that we used to catch,” fisherman Jude Sulanta explains.
“Our lives have turned upside down. From the stretch where the ship sank up until here you don’t get many new, young fish at all.”
The ship’s owner, X-Press Feeders Ltd, says to date it has worked diligently to ensure the best response to the disaster and spent more than $130m (£96m) to remove the wreck and debris at sea.
It says it has also paid more than $20m to the Sri Lankan government for clean-up operations on the coast and to compensate fishermen.
It says, however, that the Sri Lankan government has assumed responsibility for all shoreside clean-up activities and it is disappointed by the delays in that process and the ongoing impacts this is having.
The Sri Lankan government says the amount paid by the ship’s owner – which was capped by an interim UK maritime court order – is not enough to cover the long-term damage, and it is pursuing legal action to overturn the cap and secure further compensation.
On Thursday, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered the company to pay $1bn as an initial payment to cover long-term economic and environmental damage it says the country suffered as a result of the disaster – but the cap remains in place. The Supreme Court doesn’t have jurisdiction over Singapore, where X-Press Feeders Ltd has its headquarters.
X-Press Feeders said it was extremely disappointed with the judgment and that they are reviewing it with their legal advisers, insurers and other relevant stakeholders to best assess their next course of action.
Prof Prashanthi Guneeardena – an environmental economist at University of Sri Jayawardenapura who chaired an expert committee of scientists to assess the damage – puts the cost of the disaster at closer to more than $6bn, taking into account things like the loss of wildlife, as well as impact on tourism, fishing and harm to local residents from the toxic cloud released when the ship burned.
“Large quantities of dioxin and furan have been added to the atmosphere and these are carcinogens. And then we have calculated it may kill about 70 people in our country,” says Prof Guneeardena.
The ship owner rejects this assessment.
It quotes the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), an organisation which is funded by the shipping industry to assess marine spills. It says the report was “unparticularised, inaccurate, and lacked credible scientific basis”.
The ship owner has also said itself and its crew have “followed the internationally accepted procedures in dealing with the acid leak, while maintaining all safety and emergency protocols”.
Colombo Port Authority has also denied any responsibility, saying it did not know of the issues until the ship arrived in its waters.
A view of an excavated site in Keeladi where archaeologists have found evidence of industrial activity
The Keeladi village in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state has unearthed archeological finds that have sparked a political and historical battle.
Amid coconut groves, a series of 15ft (4.5m) deep trenches reveal ancient artefacts buried in layers of soil – fragments of terracotta pots, and traces of long-lost brick structures.
Experts from the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology estimate the artefacts to be 2,000 to 2,500 years old, with the oldest dating back to around 580 BCE. They say these findings challenge and reshape existing narratives about early civilisation in the Indian subcontinent.
With politicians, historians, and epigraphists weighing in, Keeladi has moved beyond archaeology, becoming a symbol of state pride and identity amid competing historical narratives.
Yet history enthusiasts say it remains one of modern India’s most compelling and accessible discoveries – offering a rare opportunity to deepen our understanding of a shared past.
Keeladi, a village 12km (7 miles) from Madurai on the banks of the Vaigai river, was one of 100 sites shortlisted for excavation by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishnan in 2013.
He selected a 100-acre site there because of its proximity to ancient Madurai and the earlier discovery of red-and-black pottery ware by a schoolteacher in 1975.
Since 2014, 10 excavation rounds at Keeladi have uncovered over 15,000 artefacts – burial urns, coins, beads, terracotta pipes and more – from just four of the 100 marked acres. Many are now displayed in a nearby museum.
Ajay Kumar, leading the state archaeology team at Keeladi, says the key finds are elaborate brick structures and water systems – evidence of a 2,500-year-old urban settlement.
“This was a literate, urban society where people had separate spaces for habitation, burial practices and industrial work,” Mr Kumar says, noting it’s the first large, well-defined ancient urban settlement found in southern India.
Since the Indus Valley Civilisation’s discovery in the early 1900s, most efforts to trace civilisation’s origins in the subcontinent have focused on northern and central India.
So, the Keeladi finds have sparked excitement across Tamil Nadu and beyond.
William Daniel, a teacher from neighbouring Kerala, said the discoveries made him feel proud about his heritage.
“It gives people from the south [of India] something to feel proud about, that our civilisation is just as ancient and important as the one in the north [of India],” he says.
The politics surrounding Keeladi reflects a deep-rooted north-south divide – underscoring how understanding the present requires grappling with the past.
India’s first major civilisation – the Indus Valley – emerged in the north and central regions between 3300 and 1300 BCE. After its decline, a second urban phase, the Vedic period, rose in the Gangetic plains, lasting until the 6th Century BCE.
This phase saw major cities, powerful kingdoms and the rise of Vedic culture – a foundation for Hinduism. As a result, urbanisation in ancient India is often viewed as a northern phenomenon, with a dominant narrative that the northern Aryans “civilised” the Dravidian south.
This is especially evident in the mainstream understanding of the spread of literacy.
It is believed that the Ashokan Brahmi script – found on Mauryan king Ashoka’s rock edicts in northern and central India, dating back to the 3rd Century BCE – is the predecessor of most scripts in South and Southeast Asia.
Epigraphists like Iravatham Mahadevan and Y Subbarayalu have long held the view that the Tamil Brahmi script – the Tamil language spoken in Tamil Nadu and written in the Brahmi script – was an offshoot of the Ashokan Brahmi script.
But now, archaeologists from the Tamil Nadu state department say that the excavations at Keeladi are challenging this narrative.
“We have found graffiti in the Tamil Brahmi script dating back to the 6th Century BCE, which shows that it is older than the Ashokan Brahmi script. We believe that both scripts developed independently and, perhaps, emerged from the Indus Valley script,” Mr Kumar says.
Epigraphist S Rajavelu, former professor of marine archaeology at the Tamil University, agrees with Mr Kumar and says other excavation sites in the state too have unearthed graffiti in the Tamil Brahmi script dating back to the 5th and 4th Century BCE.
But some experts say that more research and evidence are needed to conclusively prove the antiquity of the Tamil Brahmi script.
Another claim by the state department of archaeology that has ruffled feathers is that the graffiti found on artefacts in Keeladi is similar to that found in the Indus Valley sites.
“People from the Indus Valley may have migrated to the south, leading to a period of urbanisation taking place in Keeladi at the same time it was taking place in the Gangetic plains,” Mr Kumar says, adding that further excavations are needed to fully grasp the settlement’s scale.
But Ajit Kumar, a professor of archaeology at Nalanda University in Bihar, says that this wouldn’t have been possible.
“Considering the rudimentary state of travel back then, people from the Indus Valley would not have been able to migrate to the south in such large numbers to set up civilisation,” he says. He believes the finds in Keeladi can be likened to a small “settlement”.
While archaeologists debate the findings, politicians are already drawing links between Keeladi and the Indus Valley – some even claim the two existed at the same time or that the Indus Valley was part of an early southern Indian, or Dravidian, civilisation.
The controversy over ASI archaeologist Mr Ramakrishnan’s transfer – who led the Keeladi excavations – has intensified the site’s political tensions.
In 2017, after two excavation rounds, the ASI transferred Mr Ramakrishnan, citing protocol. The Tamil Nadu government accused the federal agency of deliberately hindering the digs to undermine Tamil pride.
The ASI’s request in 2023 for Mr Ramakrishnan to revise his Keeladi report – citing a lack of scientific rigour – has intensified the controversy. He refused, insisting his findings followed standard archaeological methods.
In June, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin called the federal government’s refusal to publish Mr Ramakrishnan’s report an “onslaught on Tamil culture and pride”. State minister Thangam Thennarasu accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led federal government of deliberately suppressing information to erase Tamilian history.
India’s Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has now clarified that Mr Ramakrishnan’s report has not been rejected by the ASI but is “under review,” with expert feedback yet to be finalised.
The US Department of State has unveiled massive changes to its nonimmigrant visa interview waiver program, which will take effect in September
The USCIS has made changes to its visa interview waiver program(Unsplash)
The US Department of State has unveiled massive changes to its nonimmigrant visa interview waiver program, set to take effect on September 2, 2025, as announced in the latest US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) press release. This update reverses the February 18, 2025, policy, tightening eligibility and generally requiring in-person interviews for most applicants, including those under 14 and over 79, with exceptions for specific visa categories and renewals.
The shift aims to enhance security but has sparked concerns among travelers about increased processing times and accessibility, the Department of State states.
New visa interview waiver guidelines
Under the new guidelines, most nonimmigrant visa applicants will face mandatory consular interviews, except for those under visa categories such as A-1, A-2, C-3 (excluding attendants of officials), G-1 through G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, and TECRO E-1, as well as holders of diplomatic or official visas.
Exception
A key exception applies to individuals renewing a full-validity B-1, B-2, B1/B2 visa, or Mexican Border Crossing Card/Foil, provided the renewal occurs within 12 months of the previous visa’s expiration, the applicant was at least 18 at issuance, and they apply from their country of nationality or residence.
However, these applicants must have no prior visa refusals (unless overturned or waived) and no apparent ineligibility, giving consular officers broad discretion to mandate interviews case-by-case basis.
The policy shift follows heightened scrutiny of immigration processes amid global security concerns, with the State Department emphasizing flexibility for officers to address individual risks.
“Consular officers may still require in-person interviews on a case-by-case basis or because of local conditions. We encourage applicants to check embassy and consulate websites for more detailed information about visa application requirements and procedures, and to learn more about the embassy or consulate’s operating status and services,” the USCIS said in its release published earlier this week.
Lawyer’s verdict
Soon after USCIS made the visa interview waiver announcement, Houston-based immigration attorney Steven Brown alerted applicants about ‘longer waits’.
TRAVIS KELCE is in “great shape” going into the new season.
That’s the verdict of Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
Andy Reid reckons the tight end looks almost half his ageCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Chiefs’ All-Pro tight end is looking to help the franchise bounce back to win the Super Bowl this season after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in February.
And Reid believes the 35-year-old has had a productive off-season to that end.
He told reporters: “He’s svelte right now.
“He looks like he’s 20. He’s doing a good job. He’s in great shape.
“And I’m not sure he didn’t come in first during the whole conditioning thing, he was right up front.
“You can see he’s been working out.
“You saw him yesterday on the long run where he had the burst.
“He’s done a nice job. He’s worked hard to get to this spot.”
Kelce admitted he was looking to lose weight for this offseason when speaking to reporters last month.
He said: “Each year is different man, you gotta rebuild it.
VLADIMIR Putin has again refused to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky as he ordered his troops to unleash another deadly blitz on civilians.
At least six Ukrainians were killed in the horror Russian strikes which targeted a high rise building and left a shopping mall up in flames.
Vladimir Putin has unleashed another deadly blitz on civilians with a fire raging in the Dnipropetrovsk region overnightCredit: East2West
The sickening strikes hit a Novodvoryansky residential complex in Dnipro city, killing one man and injuring a woman in a huge explosion.
Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv was struck with aerial bombs, drones and missiles in three hours of hell.
Kamianske was also invaded by a swarm of 35 drones with the Epicentre shopping centre being impacted and sending civilians fleeing.
Ukraine struck back with a long-range kamikaze drone dramatically exploding into the strategic Signal plant in Russia’s Stavropol region.
The terrifying night of strikes came just after Zelensky issued a challenge to Putin urging him to finally discuss a peace deal in person.
It would be the first meeting of the pair since Russia’s illegal invasion in 2022.
US President Donald Trump even told reporters on Friday that the pair would definitely meet soon.
He said: “It’s going to happen, but it should have happened 3 months ago.”
But the Kremlin was quick to dismiss both Western leaders as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov officially said a meeting won’t take place unless a peace deal is ready to be finalised.
This isn’t likely to happen until the end of August at the earliest, he added.
Peskov said: “A summit meeting [involving Putin] can and should put an end to the settlement and formalise the modalities and agreements that are to be worked out in the course of expert work.
“It is impossible to do the opposite. Is it possible to complete such a complex process in 30 days? Obviously, it is unlikely.”
Any hopes for a breakthrough continue to appear bleak as warned the enemies remain “diametrically opposed” last week.
Zelensky has previously proposed a four-way summit which also involves the US and Turkey.
The US has also said an unconditional, 30-day ceasefire could be put in place to help pave the way for a long-standing deal.
Moscow has rejected both proposals.
Many experts believe that a scheming Putin is holding out as long as he can so his forces can seize more land in Ukraine.
Vlad can then go to the negotiating table in a stronger position.
Despite his refusal to stop the bloodshed, pressure is still mounting on the tyrant to end the war in Ukraine.
President Trump issued a blistering 50-day ultimatum to Russia earlier this month saying he must agree to a ceasefire of face crippling sanctions.
He vented his frustration with Putin, declaring he was “disappointed” but “not done” with the Russian tyrant.
There are now growing fears that Putin is preparing for an even deadlier chapter in his war.
According to German Major General Christian Freuding, Moscow is plotting a mass drone assault involving 2,000 Shahed drones, in a bid to overwhelm Ukraine’s already strained air defences.
A ROYAL Caribbean crew member stabbed his female colleague before jumping overboard to his death, police say.
The body of a 35-year-old South African man was recovered from the water just minutes after he is said to have attacked a 28-year-old woman.
Both crew members were working on the luxury Icon of the Seas cruise late on Thursday night when a ‘personal dispute’ erupted onboardCredit: Alamy
Both crew members were working on the luxury Icon of the Seas cruise late on Thursday night when a “personal dispute” erupted onboard.
The man repeatedly stabbed the woman, also from South Africa, shortly before 7:30pm, the Royal Bahamas Police Force told NBC News.
He then tried to flee the ship by jumping overboard into the waters off the coast of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.
Panicked passengers, who were unaware of the initial attack, desperately tried to help save the man by throwing life rings into the water, reports say.
He was found dead just 30 minutes later by onboard medical staff.
According to reports, the cruise ship immediately slowed down and turned back after the first alarm was sounded.
Data shows the ship’s course change northeast of San Salvador Island, roughly 200 miles east of Nassau.
Decks were cordoned off while rescue efforts got underway.
Pictures show the recovery team just moments after finding the South African and dragging him from the water onto a speedboat.
The woman was later found with multiple stab wounds to her upper body, according to police.
She was given urgent help and is now in a stable condition.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: “One of the crew members was injured, was attended to by the onboard medical team, and she is now in stable condition.
“Unfortunately, the other crew member is deceased after he went overboard and was recovered in a search and rescue operation.”
The cause of the horror incident was “a personal dispute,” they added.
Investigations are still ongoing to piece together the deadly events.
An autopsy to determine the man’s exact cause of death is yet to be completed, according to police.
Neither of the crew members have been identified.
The Icon of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship standing at 1,196ft long and 219ft wide.
It has 20 decks and employs 2,350 international crew members.
It comes after a a Brit tourist died on a cruise ship travelling through a popular Greek island.
BRIT tourists have been suffering seizures, foaming at the mouth and left permanently scarred after inhaling toxic drugs on the streets of Ibiza.
Armed with industrial-sized canisters of nitrous oxide, determined dealers roam the infamous San Antonio party strip – targeting Brits as “easy prey”.
Tourists laden with balloons on the notorious San Antonio party stripCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But the Class C drug can cause a range of health issues – and in some cases can even be fatal.
In the UK, the gas is most commonly sold in small canisters which deliver a single dose – enough to fill one balloon.
But dealers in San Antonio are armed with huge canisters that pump out up to 80 hits – and come in boxes of six.
At the going rate of five euros a balloon, the street value of a six-pack of canisters is around £2,000 – and they’re strewn across the town.
When The Sun visited the notorious strip, our reporter was hounded and followed down the street by dealers.
Katie Mae, a bartender at Irish pub Shenanigans on the town’s main strip, said laughing gas is “the worst of them all”.
The 21-year-old told The Sun: “I’ll lecture anyone I see taking it – I’ve seen the worst things from laughing gas.
“I’ve seen young lads having seizures on the street and foaming at the mouths, but their friends are high so do nothing to help.
“One girl I saw inhaled gas straight from the canister, and it froze one side of her face.
“It was all cut up and she would have been scarred for life.”
After working on the strip for three seasons, Katie said: “The consequences aren’t talked about anywhere near enough.
“People don’t take it seriously as a drug – but it’s one of the worst.”
One British bar worker living in San Antonio told us she used to sell laughing gas here, but stopped after one of her customers “nearly died”.
The Brit said she got “freaked out” when a young lad fell backwards and smashed his head on the road in the midst of a balloon high.
She told us: “I used to sell laughing gas for about a year-and-a-half because it was easy money.
“You’d sell each balloon for five euros and buy the canisters for cheap. There’s loads of shops around here that sell them.
“But as soon as that happened I stopped. It really freaked me out.
“And the gas is not good stuff – it freezes your insides.”
Another Brit staff member at the bar described the situation as an “epidemic”.
The streets around San Antonio’s so-called West End, which includes the main strip and most of the bars, are littered with brightly-coloured rubber confetti.
Angelica Giraldo, a shopworker at Xanadu Supermarket near the strip, said the mess left behind by party-goers has ruined certain areas.
She said: “Lots of the tourists who come to San Antonio seem just to want to take drugs and to party rather than enjoy the island.
“I don’t really see the other stuff – but the rubbish from the balloons is very clear. You see them all over the road, it’s very ugly.”
Angelica, 40, has lived in Ibiza all her life and noticed a sharp rise in laughing gas in recent years.
She said: “It is everywhere now. And it causes lots of accidents.
“People take it while driving, but it makes them go crazy and they crash. This happens a lot.”
Selling the gas for recreational use is illegal in Spain – but that doesn’t stop a crew of drug dealers openly pushing it every night.
Walking around the West End, tourists are hounded constantly by – and see youngsters as an easy sell.
The dealers loiter amongst the outdoor bar seating and persistently hassle drinkers to encourage them to buy balloons – and many do.
Bartender Katie claimed the dealers have an app to alert each other if police are patrolling a certain area.
On one occasion, The Sun saw Civil Guards officers walking down the strip with a confiscated canister, and another cop was seen searching a young man for drugs.
The Sun approached cops on the street – but they all refused to talk about the issue.
While laughing gas is the most obvious drug in San Antonio due to the brightly-coloured balloons, almost any party drug you can think of is readily available.
Walking along the sea-front, dealers call out “hey, dude, yo, what do you need?” to almost every passerby.
Anything other than a stern refusal sees them opening up a pouch stuffed full of drugs, and flashing you bags of coloured powders or pills.
Ricardo, who runs Jungle Bistró Ibiza in the old town district with his wife, said he is glad that most of the anti-social behaviour is limited to San Antonio’s West End.
And he said it is “easy” for the dealers to sell to young Brits.
The restaurant manager said: “A lot of them are British, they come to San Antonio just for the parties.
“It is easy to sell to them. I don’t want any of that over in this part of town. We mainly have families around here”
San Antonio Town Council said: “The process is also underway to incorporate ten new officers into the Local Police force, increasing its staff from 59 to 69.
“This will ensure a more effective service tailored to the municipality’s current needs.
“A new position of intrusion and community coexistence officer has also been created, and a private security service will be put out to tender with the aim of reducing vandalism and uncivil behaviour in selected areas.
A Cambodian military convoy drives towards the border city of Samrong in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia on Jul 26, 2025. (Photo: AP/Anton L. Delgado)
Thailand and Cambodia said that they were open to ceasefire talks, following a late-night intervention by US President Donald Trump.
Hun Manet said on Sunday (Jul 27) that his foreign minister would talk to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate with the Thais, but warned Bangkok against reneging on any agreement.
Meanwhile, Thailand said late Saturday it agrees in principle to entering a ceasefire with Cambodia and beginning a “bilateral dialogue” aimed at ending the nations’ deadliest fighting in more than a decade.
The Southeast Asian neighbours exchanged artillery fire for a fourth straight day on Sunday, AFP journalists and the Cambodian defence ministry said, despite talk of a possible ceasefire.
AFP journalists in the Cambodian town of Samraong, around 20km from the border conflict zone, heard the regular thump of artillery from dawn, tallying with a ministry spokeswoman’s statement that clashes began near two disputed temples around 4.50am.
This border conflict has killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 150,000 from their homes spread across the frontier.
“Thailand agrees in principle to have a ceasefire in place,” the Thai foreign ministry said in a statement on X.
That followed a post by Trump on Truth Social, who said he had spoken with Cambodian leader Hun Manet and Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and that the two sides have agreed to meet and “quickly work out” a ceasefire.
Thailand’s foreign ministry confirmed a phone call between Trump and Phumtham, and stressed that regarding a possible ceasefire and that “Thailand would like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side”.
It said Phumtham requested Trump to “convey to the Cambodian side that Thailand wants to convene a bilateral dialogue as soon as possible to bring forth measures and procedures for the ceasefire and the eventual peaceful resolution of the conflict”.
Malaysia, as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), on Saturday reiterated its call to both sides to exercise maximum restraint and undertake an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire”.
“We further urge both sides to return to the negotiating table to restore peace and stability based on the spirit of ASEAN family, unity and good neighbourliness,” said the country’s foreign affairs minister Mohamad Hasan.
Protesters in the Malaysian capital carried placards saying “Turun Anwar” – “step down Anwar” in Malay – while police kept a close eye.
Protesters gather near Merdeka Square during a protest against Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur on Jul 26, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
Thousands of Malaysians took to the capital’s streets on Saturday (Jul 26) to protest rising living costs and a perceived lack of reform by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.
The rally organised by opposition parties marked the first major protest in Southeast Asia’s sixth-largest economy since Anwar was propelled to power after general elections in 2022.
Protesters gathered at various points around the city centre before converging on the central Merdeka (Independence) Square in drizzling rain, carrying placards saying “Turun Anwar” – “Step down Anwar” in Malay – while police kept a close eye.
“He (Anwar) has already governed the country for three years and has yet to fulfil the promises he made,” said protester Fauzi Mahmud, 35, from Selangor just outside the capital.
Anwar “has been to many countries to bring investments, but we have yet to see anything,” Fauzi told AFP, referring to the premier’s recent trips, including to Russia and Europe.
“The cost of living is still high,” the engineer said.
Speaking at the rally, political veteran and Anwar’s one-time mentor, now sworn political rival, Mahathir Mohamad told the crowd: “It’s been three years, what have the people got? I think he (Anwar) enjoys seeing us suffer.”
“Enough, please, step down,” said Mahathir, who last month celebrated his 100th birthday and is one of the world’s longest-living politicians.
Police and city officials estimated that between 18,000 and 50,000 protesters took part in the rally.
Anwar was appointed prime minister on a reformist ticket and promised to tackle graft, nepotism and cronyism within the Southeast Asian nation’s fractured political system.
“GOODIES FOR THE PEOPLE”
Days ahead of the rally, the premier laid out a string of populist measures aimed at addressing concerns, including a RM100 (US$23.70) cash handout for all adult citizens and a promise to cut fuel prices.
Anwar on Wednesday also added that about 18 million Malaysian motorists would be eligible to purchase subsidised medium-octane fuel at RM1.99 per litre, compared to the current price of RM2.05.
Political analysts viewed the announcements as a strategic move to appease increasing public frustration and dissuade people from joining Saturday’s march.
Norhamizah Mohamed, 48, from Besut on the northeast coast said she came to protest to ensure that “Anwar does what he promised in the election manifesto”.
“It’s not that we don’t like him, but we don’t like the way he is running the country.”
“Only after we had decided to do this protest he announced the goodies for the people,” she told AFP.
Saturday’s protest also comes as political parties gradually gear up for elections, which by law have to be held no later than mid-February 2028.
Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey at the Admiralty House in Sydney, Australia on Jul 25, 2025. (File photo: Reuters/Kirsty Needham)
Australia’s government said on Saturday (Jul 26) it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership.
The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the United States in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. US President Donald Trump’s administration announced a formal review of the pact this year.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state.
“The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines,” the statement said.
The treaty was a “commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I”, it said, adding that it built on the “strong foundation” of trilateral AUKUS cooperation.
Britain’s ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies’ submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds (US$27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years.
AUKUS is Australia’s biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades on the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the US production base.
Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the US in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed.
The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia’s largest war games.
Palestinians waiting for food from a charity kitchen
Israel’s military says it has “recently” made an airdrop of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, following weeks of international pressure and a growing hunger crisis in the Palestinian territory.
In a statement early on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the airdrop “included seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food”.
Israel earlier said it was prepared to open humanitarian corridors to allow UN convoys into Gaza.
This came amid calls for Israel to let more aid into Gaza and amid warnings of mass starvation following months of limited supply to the territory’s two million people. Israel denied what it called “the false claim of deliberate starvation” in Gaza.
In its statement, the IDF said the airdrop “was carried out in co-ordination with international organisations and led by Cogat”, referring to the Israeli military body which oversees the entry of aid into Gaza.
The military also posted a video purportedly showing a plane dropping the aid. The footage has not been independently verified.
Palestinian officials are yet to comment on the reported airdrop into Gaza.
Late on Saturday, the IDF said it had “begun a series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip”, and was “prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas”.
It also stated that it had resumed supplying power to a desalination plant in Gaza, which it said would “serve about 900,000 residents”.
Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March, and resumed with new restrictions in May.
Along with the US, it backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and allowed it to operate in Gaza.
There have been almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while seeking aid since the GHF began operations in late May. Witnesses have told the BBC most have been shot by Israeli forces. Israel has said that its troops fire warning shots and has disputed reported death tolls. It accuses Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid points.
The UN, aid groups and some of Israel’s allies have blamed the country for a growing food crisis in Gaza, and called for the unrestricted entry and delivery of aid as the Hamas-run health ministry said dozens of people were dying from malnutrition. On Saturday it put the toll from the last few days at 125, including 85 children.
The World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the crisis as “man-made mass starvation”.
The IDF said that responsibility for food distribution to the population in Gaza “lies with the UN and international aid organisations” and added they must “ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas”.
Israel’s apparent concessions on Saturday followed its acceptance of a Jordanian and UAE plan, backed by the UK, to air drop aid into Gaza. Aid agencies however said such moves would do little to mitigate the hunger of Gazans.
The head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, said air drops were “expensive, inefficient, and can even kill starving civilians” if they did not go according to plan.
Lazzarini said his organisation had “the equivalent of 6,000 trucks” in Jordan and Egypt waiting to enter Gaza, and urged Israel “lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need”.
The BBC spoke to several Gazans on Saturday who worried air drops could cause “serious harm”.
One man living in the north of the strip told BBC Arabic’s Middle East Daily that the process was “unsafe” and “caused numerous tragedies” when similar relief efforts were attempted last year.
Greece is battling five major wildfires across the country, with officials evacuating residents in a hard-hit region just 30km (18.6 miles) north of capital city Athens.
The smell of burning wood carried as far as central Athens, as Greece requested European Union assistance to fight the spreading blaze.
The ongoing emergency comes amid a severe heatwave. Temperatures are forecast to reach up to 44C (111.2F) on Sunday, with the extreme heat expected to persist through most of the weekend.
“We have injured firefighters, human lives were put at risk, properties have been burned, and forest areas have been destroyed,” Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said.
Greece is battling five major wildfires across the country, with officials evacuating residents in a hard-hit region just 30km (18.6 miles) north of capital city Athens.
The smell of burning wood carried as far as central Athens, as Greece requested European Union assistance to fight the spreading blaze.
The ongoing emergency comes amid a severe heatwave. Temperatures are forecast to reach up to 44C (111.2F) on Sunday, with the extreme heat expected to persist through most of the weekend.
“We have injured firefighters, human lives were put at risk, properties have been burned, and forest areas have been destroyed,” Greece’s Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said.
Volunteers battle to put out a fire burning houses in the residential area of Kryoneri, in the suburbs of Athens, Greece
In Kythira, a third wildfire is engulfing a large part of the island, with residents describing scenes of “total destruction”. Several settlements have been evacuated, and the coastguard, assisted by private boats, rescued 139 people from Limnionas beach, transporting them safely to Kapsali port.
In Messinia, a fourth wildfire broke out in the Polithea area of Trifylia on Saturday morning and intensified later in the day.
Five emergency alerts have been sent via Greece’s 112 system urging people to leave multiple villages. Strong winds are making firefighting efforts difficult, with 84 firefighters, 30 vehicles and seven aircraft tackling the blaze.
Meanwhile, in Crete’s Chania region, a fifth wildfire is raging in Temenia. The fire started in two separate spots and quickly spread, destroying at least two homes.
This model isn’t real, but her beauty standards might still be influential
There’s a new supermodel in town. She’s striking, stylish… and not real.
In August’s print edition of Vogue, a Guess advert features a flawless blonde model showing off a striped maxi dress and a floral playsuit from the brand’s summer collection.
In small print in one corner, the ad reveals that she was created using AI.
While Vogue says the AI model was not an editorial decision, it is the first time an AI-generated person has featured in the magazine.
The advert has been met with controversy and raises questions about what this means for real models who have fought for greater diversity, and for consumers – particularly young people – already struggling with unrealistic beauty standards.
Seraphinne Vallora is the company behind Guess’s controversial advert.
Its founders, Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea Petrescu, tell the BBC they were approached by Guess’s co-founder, Paul Marciano, on Instagram and were asked to create an AI model as part of the brand’s summer campaign.
“We created 10 draft models for him and he selected one brunette woman and one blonde that we went ahead and developed further,” Gonzalez says.
She explains there’s often a misconception that AI image generation is simple, saying it is actually a complex process.
The company has five employees who create AI models, and it can take up to a month from idea inception to the completed product. The pair say they charge anywhere up to low six figures for a client like Guess.
‘Disheartening’
But Felicity Hayward, a plus-size model who has been in the industry for more than a decade, says using AI models in fashion campaigns “feels lazy and cheap”.
“Either Guess is doing this to create a talking point and get free publicity or they want to cut costs and don’t think about the implications of that.”
She describes Vogue’s decision to include the advert as “very disheartening and quite scary”, and worries it could undermine years of work towards more diversity in the industry.
The fashion world was making real progress to be more inclusive in the 2010s – the decade saw Valentina Sampaio become the first openly trans model to walk for Victoria’s Secret, Halima Aden was the first hijab-wearing model in global campaigns, and brands like Savage x Fenty featured plus-size models on the runway.
But in recent years, Hayward believes, the industry has slipped backwards because “these people are just not getting booked any more”.
And the use of AI models is “another kick in the teeth, and one that will disproportionately affect plus-size models”, she warns.
Gonzalez and Petrescu are adamant they don’t reinforce narrow beauty standards.
“We don’t create unattainable looks – actually the AI model for Guess looks quite realistic,” Petrescu says. “Ultimately, all adverts are created to look perfect and usually have supermodels in, so what we are doing is no different.”
The pair admit the AI images on their company’s Instagram page are lacking in diversity and promote unrealistic beauty standards. They say they have tried to be more inclusive, but it’s the users who don’t engage much with those posts.
“We’ve posted AI images of women with different skin tones, but people do not respond to them – we don’t get any traction or likes,” Gonzalez tells the BBC.
“At the end of the day, we are a business and use images on Instagram that will create a conversation and bring us clients.”
The company is yet to experiment with creating plus-size women, claiming “the technology is not advanced enough for that”.
An ad campaign by Dove in 2024 was designed to highlight the biases in AI. In the advert, an image generator is asked to create the most beautiful woman in the world and produces virtually indistinguishable women who are young, thin and white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. The images generated look similar to the Guess AI model.
Hayward worries that seeing these unattainable images could have an impact on people’s mental health and negatively affect their body image.
Concern around unrealistic beauty standards and the damaging effects they can have is nothing new. But unlike traditional airbrushing, which at least began with a real person, these AI models are digitally created to look perfect, free from human flaws, inconsistencies or uniqueness.
While some high-profile figures such as Ashley Graham, Jameela Jamil and Bella Thorne have spoken out against image editing and refuse to have their pictures Photoshopped, the use of AI sidesteps such conversations entirely.
Vogue’s decision to include an AI-generated advert has caused a stir on social media, with one user on X writing: “Wow! As if the beauty expectations weren’t unrealistic enough, here comes AI to make them impossible. Even models can’t compete.”
Vanessa Longley, CEO of eating disorder charity Beat, tells the BBC the advert is “worrying”.
“If people are exposed to images of unrealistic bodies, it can affect their thoughts about their own body, and poor body image increases the risk of developing an eating disorder,” she says.
‘Exceptionally problematic’
Adding to the issue is the lack of transparency – it is not a legal requirement to label AI-generated content in the UK.
While Guess labelled its advert as AI-generated, the disclaimer is small and subtle. Readers may overlook it and, at a glance, the image appears entirely lifelike.
Sinead Bovell, a former model and now tech entrepreneur, wrote an article for Vogue five years ago about the risks of AI replacing modelling.
She tells the BBC that not labelling AI content clearly is “exceptionally problematic” because it could have a detrimental impact on people’s mental health.
“Beauty standards are already being influenced by AI. There are young girls getting plastic surgery to look like a face in a filter – and now we see people who are entirely artificial,” she says.
Aside from the impact AI models could have on a consumer, especially if unlabelled, what about the impact of this technology on those working in the fashion industry?
Sara Ziff is a former model and founder of Model Alliance, an organisation that aims to advance workers’ rights in the fashion industry.
She says Guess’s AI campaign is “less about innovation and more about desperation and need to cut costs”.
More broadly, the former model thinks AI in the fashion industry is not inherently exploitative, but can often come at the expense of the people who bring it to life because there are many more staff involved in a photoshoot than just the model and the photographer.
“AI can positively impact the industry, but there need to be meaningful protections for workers,” she explains.
‘Supplement not replace’
Seraphinne Vallora rejects the notion that it is putting people out of work, and says its pioneering technology “is supplementary and not meant to replace models”.
“We’re offering companies another choice in how they market a product,” Petrescu explains.
The pair add that they have created jobs with their company, and part of the process of creating AI models requires them to hire a real model and photographer to see how the product looks on a person in real life.
However, its website lists one of the benefits of working with them as being cost-efficient because it “eliminates the need for expensive set-ups, MUA artists, venue rentals, stage setting, photographers, travel expenses, hiring models”.
Vogue has come under fire for including the advert in its print edition, with one person on X saying the fashion magazine had “lost credibility”.
Bovell says the magazine is “seen as the supreme court of the fashion industry”, so allowing the AI advert to run means they are “in some way ruling it as acceptable”.
The BBC approached Vogue and Guess for comment. Vogue said it was an advert, not an editorial decision, but declined to respond further.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday participated Saturday in the 60th Independence Day celebrations of the Maldives, concluding a two-day visit to the island nation. During the trip, Modi also announced financial assistance and formally launched talks on a proposed free trade agreement.
The two-day visit was seen as crucial to India’s ambition to control the seas and shipping routes of the Indian Ocean in a race with its regional rival China. It signaled a thaw in diplomatic tensions that followed the election of pro-China Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in 2023.
Modi joined a distinguished gathering at Republic Square in the capital, Malé, where a military parade and cultural performances marked the anniversary of the Maldives gaining independence from British rule in 1965.
On Friday, following talks with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Modi announced a credit line of $565 million to support development projects in the Maldives.
The visit coincided with the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations in 1965. It also saw the start of talks on a free trade agreement. The two leaders oversaw the exchange of signed agreements to cooperate in sectors such as fisheries, health, tourism and digital development. Modi also handed over dozens of heavy vehicles donated by India to strengthen the Maldives’ defense forces.
The Maldives — an archipelago nation strategically located in the Indian Ocean — is a focal point in the growing geopolitical rivalry between India and China.
Tensions grew when Muizzu, who favored closer ties with China, was elected in 2023 after defeating the India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Leading up to the election, Muizzu had promised to expel Indian soldiers deployed in the Maldives to help with humanitarian assistance. Last year New Delhi replaced dozens of its soldiers in the Maldives with civilian experts.
Measures by Modi to promote tourism in India’s Lakshadweep archipelago, off the southwestern coast of the Indian mainland, also sparked anger from Maldivians, who saw it as a move to lure Indian tourists away from their country. Indian celebrities then called for a tourism boycott of the Maldives.
Tensions escalated last year when President Muizzu visited China before India, a move widely interpreted in New Delhi as a diplomatic snub. On his return, Muizzu outlined plans to reduce the Maldives’ reliance on India for medical services, pharmaceuticals, and essential imports such as food staples.
Relations started to improve after Muizzu attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony for a third five-year term last year. Muizzu has since toned down his anti-Indian rhetoric, and official contacts with New Delhi have intensified amid growing concern about the Maldives’ economy.
During a visit by Muizzu to India last October, India pledged financial support to the Maldives, which has been struggling with debt. This included $100 million in short-term government loans and agreeing to a $400 million currency swap to help stabilize the Maldivian economy.
At least 11 people were stabbed in a bloody scene inside a Michigan Walmart Saturday night — causing terrified shoppers and employees to flee — before a brave armed citizen helped detain the knife-wielding maniac, according to police, witnesses and harrowing video.
The terror unfolded around 5 p.m. when the alleged 42-year-old male attacker began randomly stabbing shoppers with a “standard” folding knife in various sections of the big-box chain store in Traverse City, about 255 miles northwest of Detroit, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said.
“Based on the information that we have at this time, they were random acts,” Shea told reporters at a press conference Saturday night, adding that the violent knifing is “very uncommon” for the city.
Police say the suspect was taken into custody after the attack. Channel2 NOW
“Eleven [victims] is too many, but thank God it wasn’t more.”
Six of the victims are in critical condition, with the other five in serious condition.
Shea said the disturbing episode started near the store’s checkout counter.
“The whole store started screaming and running,” employee Tasha Nash told Channel2 Now.
“There was a guy with a knife — he stabbed six people. I saw someone stabbed in the eye.”
The knife-wielding monster was ultimately taken down by a pair of brave shoppers, including one who was armed, before authorities arrived and took him into custody, according to police and witnesses.
Video of the chaotic scene showed the unidentified suspect surrounded by shouting bystanders, including the armed good Samaritan.
Photos from Channel 2 Now show the sadistic suspect being placed into a Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office vehicle after the attack.
A shopper, who arrived at the superstore moments after the violent rampage, said she was shocked by the number of first responders on the scene.
“We were getting ready to go into Walmart as this was happening,” one witness wrote on X shortly after investigators asked the public to avoid the area.
“Of course, we weren’t allowed to go in. I have never seen so many police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, rescue vehicles and crime scene vehicles! They sent the employees home and told all of the customers to leave. Wow.”
The 11 victims were rushed to Munson Medical Center, northern Michigan’s largest hospital, where they are being treated, Munson Healthcare announced on Facebook just before 7 p.m.
“Munson Healthcare is aware of the tragic incident that occurred earlier today at the Walmart in Traverse City,” the agency said.
“Our thoughts are with all of those affected by this event, and we are grateful to the first responders and law enforcement for their swift action. As a result, our Emergency Department is currently experiencing a higher-than-usual volume of patients.”
Police have not released the name of the alleged stabber or a motive behind the nightmarish ordeal, but said the vicious suspect appears to be a Michigan resident
“Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured, and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders,” a Walmart spokesperson told The Post early Sunday.
“I’m in touch with law enforcement about the horrible news out of Traverse City,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on X.
“Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence. I am grateful to the first responders for their swift response to apprehend the suspect.”
At least one person was injured when a plane departing Denver International Airport was forced to abort takeoff due to a landing gear failure — causing passengers to flee the flaming and smoking aircraft on an inflatable emergency slide in a chaotic scene captured on harrowing video Saturday.
American Airlines Flight 3023 had a landing gear incident as it was taking off for Miami around 2:45 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Flight 2023, you got a lot of smoke,” an air traffic controller can be heard telling the pilot in cockpit audio from Live ATC, 9News reported.
The plane aborted takeoff due to a mechanical failure BNO News
“There was some flames. Looks like the smoke is dying down a bit,” they said.
“You are actually on fire,” the controller quickly added moments later.
Video showed passengers frantically sliding down an inflatable safety slide as thick black smoke billowed from flames engulfing the rear left side of the aircraft.
The Denver Fire Department announced it had extinguished the blaze in a social media post at 5:10 p.m. local time.
The airline said there was an issue specifically involving the Boeing 737 MAX 8’s tire, Denver 7 reported.
All 173 passengers and six crew members evacuated the plane “safely,” American Airlines said in its statement.
Six people were evaluated for minor injuries, with one transported to a local hospital after deplaning, according to Denver 7.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired back at former President Barack Obama, accusing him of deflecting from his administration’s “absolute failure” to vet intelligence reports used to fuel narratives of Russian collusion with the 2016 Trump campaign.
“The treasonous conspiracy that we have now released to the American people — the complicity, the deflection, and the silence of politicians, of the mainstream media, and of those directly implicated into this speaks volumes,” Gabbard said on Fox & Friends Saturday.
Gabbard fired back at Obama Saturday on Fox. MediaPunch / BACKGRID
On Tuesday, President Trump called for criminal charges against Obama, 63, for allegedly ordering an intelligence report saying Russia meddled to help him win the White House in 2016.
Trump was referring to documents Gabbard declassified last week.
Obama’s office responded, calling the claims an attempt at distracting from the scandal over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files.
“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for Obama said.
“But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” he said, referring to the mounting pressure on Trump to release the Epstein files.
“Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”
Gabbard lashed out at Obama’s answer during her Fox appearance.
“President Obama’s very carefully worded response that came from his office, again, deflects away from addressing any of the truth that was revealed,” she said.
Following the 12-day war, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spends most days snoozing and getting “high,” an outrageous post from the Mossad’s Farsi social media account mysteriously claimed.
“How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances?” the post asked.
The statement came from a bizarre new premium X account that launched in recent weeks, claiming to be the official Farsi-language spokesperson — the official dialect of Iran — for the cunning Israeli intelligence agency, with regular posts trolling the Iranian regime.
An account claiming to be a Farsi spokesperson for the Mossad said the Ayatollah likes to get high. via REUTERS
“Using drugs and speaking to spirits are not appropriate traits for someone leading a nation,” the account said in another recent post.
This isn’t the way the Mossad typically communicates with the public — but according to two intelligence experts interviewed by JFeed, the strange Mossad account does appear to be authentic.
“It’s a new battlefield tool,” said Zvi Yehezkeli, a leading Arab affairs commentator for i24News, who said Iranians have become so disillusioned with the regime and Mossad operates differently there than in other countries.
“Some of the information it has shared could only have come from Mossad,” agreed Beny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies and a former IDF Persian-language officer.
Claims of Ali Khamenei’s drug use have been floated before.
An Iranian academic said in a 2022 television interview on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated television in Turkey that the Iranian Supreme Leader often uses drugs.
“Many viewers do not know this, but Khamenei himself uses drugs,” Nour Mohamed Omara said on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated television in Turkey in 2022.
“He has a special village in Balochistan, where the drugs used by the leader are produced. This village is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and no one is allowed in.”
As regards Operation Sindoor, he said weapons manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative played a great role during the cross-border military offensive in destroying enemy targets and made enemies lose sleep.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday described the recently concluded FTA between India and UK as ‘historic,’ and said the trade pact showed the world’s trust in the country.
As regards Operation Sindoor, he said weapons manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative played a great role during the cross-border military offensive in destroying enemy targets and made enemies lose sleep.
The PM inaugurated, laid foundation stones and dedicated projects worth Rs 4,900 crore here and underscored the NDA government’s commitment towards Tamil Nadu’s growth.
In his address after inaugurating the projects, PM Modi said he was blessed to directly land in Tamil Nadu after completing his foreign tour during which the India-UK Free Trade Agreement was signed before his visit to the Maldives.
The trade pact with Britain was ‘historic.’ “India and Britain signed a FTA. This shows the growing trust of the world and our self-confidence. We will make Viksit (developed) Bharat and Viksit Tamil Nadu with this self-confidence,” PM Modi said.
“FTA with Britain adds pace to our vision of Viksit Bharat, Viksit TN,” the PM, clad in a traditional veshti (dhoti), shirt and an ‘angavastram’ worn around the neck, said. He landed here directly after wrapping up his official tour of the Maldives.
Promising a developed India and Tamil Nadu, he said, “infrastructure and energy are the backbone of any state’s development; our focus on infrastructure and energy in last 11 years shows our commitment to TN’s growth.” The NDA government has constructed Atal Sethu, Sonmarg Tunnel, Bogibeel bridge in different parts of the country and these created thousands of job opportunities.
As regards the railways, he said it is the lifeline of industrial growth.
The projects he inaugurated on Saturday are related to airport, highways, railways, port and power in Tamil Nadu and he said that infrastructure.
The inaugurated projects include a new state-of-the-art Tuticorin airport terminal building, developed at an estimated cost of around Rs 450 crore.
As regards railway projects, it includes the electrification of the 90 km Madurai-Bodinayakkanur line, commissioned at a cost of Rs 99 Crore and the Rs 650 crore worth doubling of the 21 km Nagercoil Town-Kanniyakumari section.
The PM dedicated to the nation, two strategically significant highway projects– 4-laning of 50 km Sethiyathope-Cholapuram stretch of NH-36, developed at a cost Rs 2,350 crore and 6-laning of the 5.16 km NH-138 Tuticorin Port Road, built at around Rs 200 crore.
He inaugurated the North Cargo Berth-III with a cargo handling capacity of 6.96 MMTPA at V O Chidambaranar Port established at a cost of Rs 285 crore.
On the occasion, he invoked legendary freedom fighters from the region–VO Chidambaram Pillai, king Veerapandia Kattabomman and chieftain Veeran Azhagu Muthukon.
Residents wade along a flooded road as Typhoon Co-may intensified seasonal monsoon rains at Malabon city, Philippines on Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A tropical storm was blowing across the Philippines’ mountainous north Friday, worsening more than a week of bad weather that has caused at least 25 deaths and prompted evacuations in villages hit by flooding and landslides.
The storm was Typhoon Co-may when it blew Thursday night into the town of Agno in Pangasinan province with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 165 kph (102 mph). It was weakening as it advanced northeastward and had sustained winds of 85 kph (53 mph) Friday afternoon.
Co-may was intensifying seasonal monsoon rains that had swamped a large swath of the country for more than a week.
Disaster-response officials have received reports of at least 25 deaths since last weekend, mostly due to flash floods, toppled trees, landslides and electrocution. Eight other people were reported missing, they said.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries directly caused by Co-may, locally called Emong, the fifth weather disturbance to hit the Philippines since the rainy season started in last month. More than a dozen more tropical storms were expected to batter the Southeast Asian country the rest of the year, forecasters said.
The government shut down schools in metropolitan Manila for the third day Friday and suspended classes in 35 provinces in the main northern region of Luzon. More than 80 towns and cities, mostly in Luzon, have declared a state of calamity, a designation that speeds emergency funds and freezes the prices of commodities, including rice.
The days of stormy weather have forced 278,000 people to leave their homes for safety in emergency shelters or relatives’ homes. Nearly 3,000 houses have been damaged, the government’s disaster response agency said.
Travel by sea and air has been restricted in northern provinces being pounded or in the typhoon’s path.
Thousands of army forces, police, coast guard personnel. firefighters and civilian volunteers have been deployed to help rescue people in villages swamped in floodwaters or isolated due to roads blocked by landslides, fallen trees and boulders.
The United States said it will provide $250,000 in funding to the U.N. World Food Programme to help the Philippine government’s response. “We are tracking the devastation caused by the storms and floods and are deeply concerned for all those affected,” U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said.
After returning from his White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited emergency shelters Thursday in Rizal province to help distribute food packs to displaced residents. He later convened an emergency meeting with disaster-response officials, where he underscored the need for the government and the people to adapt to and brace for climate change and the larger number of and more unpredictable natural calamities it’s setting off.
“Everything has changed,” Marcos said. “Let’s not say, `The storm may come, what will happen?’ because the storm will really come.”
Demonstrators holds up a banner during a citizenship rally outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally, issuing the third court ruling blocking the birthright order nationwide since a key Supreme Court decision in June.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, joining another district court as well as an appellate panel of judges, found that a nationwide injunction granted to more than a dozen states remains in force under an exception to the Supreme Court ruling. That decision restricted the power of lower-court judges to issue nationwide injunctions.
The states have argued Trump’s birthright citizenship order is blatantly unconstitutional and threatens millions of dollars for health insurance services that are contingent on citizenship status. The issue is expected to move quickly back to the nation’s highest court.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement the administration looked forward to “being vindicated on appeal.”
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who helped lead the lawsuit before Sorokin, said in a statement he was “thrilled the district court again barred President Trump’s flagrantly unconstitutional birthright citizenship order from taking effect anywhere.”
“American-born babies are American, just as they have been at every other time in our Nation’s history,” he added. “The President cannot change that legal rule with the stroke of a pen.”
Lawyers for the government had argued Sorokin should narrow the reach of his earlier ruling granting a preliminary injunction, saying it should be “tailored to the States’ purported financial injuries.”
Sorokin said a patchwork approach to the birthright order would not protect the states in part because a substantial number of people move between states. He also blasted the Trump administration, saying it had failed to explain how a narrower injunction would work.
“That is, they have never addressed what renders a proposal feasible or workable, how the defendant agencies might implement it without imposing material administrative or financial burdens on the plaintiffs, or how it squares with other relevant federal statutes,” the judge wrote. “In fact, they have characterized such questions as irrelevant to the task the Court is now undertaking. The defendants’ position in this regard defies both law and logic.”
Sorokin acknowledged his order would not be the last word on birthright citizenship. Trump and his administration “are entitled to pursue their interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, and no doubt the Supreme Court will ultimately settle the question,” Sorokin wrote. “But in the meantime, for purposes of this lawsuit at this juncture, the Executive Order is unconstitutional.”
The administration has not yet appealed any of the recent court rulings. Trump’s efforts to deny citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily will remain blocked unless and until the Supreme Court says otherwise.
A federal judge in New Hampshire issued a ruling earlier this month prohibiting Trump’s executive order from taking effect nationwide in a new class-action lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante in New Hampshire had paused his own decision to allow for the Trump administration to appeal, but with no appeal filed, his order went into effect.
On Wednesday, a San Francisco-based appeals court found the president’s executive order unconstitutional and affirmed a lower court’s nationwide block.
A Maryland-based judge said last week that she would do the same if an appeals court signed off.
The justices ruled last month that lower courts generally can’t issue nationwide injunctions, but it didn’t rule out other court orders that could have nationwide effects, including in class-action lawsuits and those brought by states. The Supreme Court did not decide whether the underlying citizenship order is constitutional.
Plaintiffs in the Boston case earlier argued that the principle of birthright citizenship is “enshrined in the Constitution,” and that Trump does not have the authority to issue the order, which they called a “flagrantly unlawful attempt to strip hundreds of thousands of American-born children of their citizenship based on their parentage.”
They also argue that Trump’s order halting automatic citizenship for babies born to people in the U.S. illegally or temporarily would cost states funding they rely on to “provide essential services” — from foster care to health care for low-income children, to “early interventions for infants, toddlers, and students with disabilities.”
Notorious sex criminal Ghislaine Maxwell answered questions from Justice Department officials about “100 different people” linked to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, an attorney for the disgraced socialite claimed Friday following two days of interrogation led by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche during which she was reportedly granted limited immunity.
David Oscar Markus told reporters that his client, currently serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in Manhattan of federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges in December 2021, was “asked about every possible thing you could imagine – everything.”
“This was the first opportunity she’s ever been given to answer questions about what happened,” Markus added. “The truth will come out about what happened with Mr. Epstein and she’s the person who’s answering those questions.”
Ghislaine Maxwell was interviewed by DOJ officials on Friday, and gave information on about ‘100 different people’ who were linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
Blanche had “every single question” answered during the sitdown, Maxwell’s attorney also said, with the British-born convict declining to plead the Fifth Amendment.
“If she lies they could charge her with lying,” Markus noted.
“They did charge her with lying,” a reporter challenged him, referring to two perjury counts that Markus noted were dropped by the feds after her conviction.
“No one is above the law — and no lead is off-limits,” Blanche posted on X Tuesday in announcing he would speak with Maxwell.
Maxwell, 63, is appealing her conviction and sentencing, and legal observers have speculated her willingness to answer questions is tied to a potential clemency grant by President Trump.
Her attorney described the commander in chief Friday as “the ultimate dealmaker” and claimed his client had “been treated unfairly for the past five years” and “didn’t get a fair trial.”
“We hope he exercises that power in a right and just way,” Markus added.
Trump, 79, told reporters after landing in Glasgow, Scotland that “I don’t know anything about the conversation” between Blanche and Maxwell because “I haven’t really been following it.”
“This is no time to be talking about pardons,” the president added after saying hours earlier while leaving the White House that “I haven’t thought” about the idea.
Maxwell reportedly initiated the sitdowns with the DOJ and answered questions for roughly nine hours, according to ABC News.
The proffer immunity granted to Maxwell allowed her to answer questions without her responses later being used against her in a criminal case, sources told the outlet.
Proffer immunity is typically granted to individuals prosecutors want cooperation from in a criminal case.
In 2022, the Department of Justice expressed doubts that Maxwell could be truthful, writing in court filings that she displayed a “significant pattern of dishonest conduct” and failed to take responsibility for her heinous crimes.
Court papers the prior year revealed that prosecutors never seriously entertained the prospect of offering the women dubbed “Epstein’s madam” a plea agreement after the financier was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting his own federal trial on Aug. 10, 2019.
According to Markus, Epstein’s attorneys had been informed that “no potential co-conspirators would be prosecuted” as part of his talks with government lawyers following his July 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.
“I don’t think President Trump knows that the Justice Department took the position that that promise should not be upheld,” he claimed.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi teased a full disclosure of federal investigatory files on Epstein during a Fox News interview — including a purported “client list” of high-powered associates — but no such reveal came.
On July 6, the DOJ and FBI put out a two-page memo disclosing that there was “no credible evidence” that 66-year-old had a “client list” or “blackmailed prominent individuals” in his sickening sexual exploitation of girls — some as young as 14 years old.
“We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” the memo also stated.
Epstein counted influential politicians and businessmen as his associates — including former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Trump.
The 47th president had a falling out with Epstein in 2004 — and reportedly later banned him from Mar-a-Lago for acting inappropriately with a club member’s daughter.
Two flight attendants were injured after a commercial Southwest Airlines jet suddenly dropped 475 feet to avoid a “midair collision” shortly after takeoff at a Los Angeles-area airport Friday, with one frightened passenger saying the aircraft “was just in a freefall.”
Southwest Flight 1496 dove from 14,100 feet to 13,625 feet just six minutes after taking off from Hollywood Burbank Airport, according to FlightRadar24 data.
The pilot told concerned flyers that the drastic maneuver was carried out to avoid “a midair collision,” passenger Steve Ulasewicz told ABC News.
The sudden evasive maneuver left two flight attendants injured. Shutterstock
“The plane was just in a free fall. It was pandemonium,” he told NBC 4 Los Angeles.
Passengers screamed as the plane dropped for what felt like 10 seconds, according to Ulasewicz.
Comedian Jimmy Dore was on the flight, relaying that he and several other flyers were tossed about the cabin during the startling descent.
“Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport,” he wrote on X after landing in Sin City.
“Myself & Plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on ceiling, a flight attendant needed medical attention,” the California-based funnyman, 60, said.
Dore’s manager was also on the plane and was floored by the near-catastrophe.
“We’re driving home,” Stef Zamoramo said in a video posted on X from the cabin.
Tracking data showed that the plane — moving at 450 mph — proceeded to climb 20 seconds after the initial and sharp decline.
Southwest said two flight attendants were injured during the desperate life-saving swerve, but no passengers were injured.
Another plane, a Hawker Hunter aircraft, was near the Southwest plane at approximately 14,633 feet, according to ABC News.
✈️ Close Call in the Skies Near Burbank
This Friday (25), a Southwest Airlines flight out of Hollywood Burbank Airport had to make a rapid descent of 475 feet to avoid another aircraft, according to flight tracking data and passengers onboard.
The pilots of the Hawker Hunter reported having the Boeing 737 in sight, but were not properly instructed by air traffic control, ABC News reported, citing sources.
Multiple Hawker Hunters — a British-designed, fixed-wing military-style aircraft — were being operated in the area, according to the outlet.
Southwest said in a statement that its pilots were responding to two onboard traffic alerts and that the descent action was to “comply” with those warnings.
The pilot told passengers in an onboard update after the scare that the plane used software to make the evasive move, Ulasewicz told NBC.
Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez flouted House ethics rules by accepting more than $3,700 in rented apparel and other gifts for her notorious appearance at the 2021 Met Gala — including a glitzy gown emblazoned with “Tax The Rich” in blood-red letters and a free ticket for her then-boyfriend Riley Roberts — but paying under $1,000 for the goodies.
The House Ethics Committee faulted the Bronx and Queens “Squad” member for not complying with its regulation on gifts and improperly giving Roberts a free ride to the $35,000-per-ticket annual charity event hosted by Vogue grande dame Anna Wintour — but said it wouldn’t sanction AOC further.
Fair-market value to rent the Brother Vellies couture dress designed by Aurora James with a retail price tag of more than $18,000 — as well as luxury shoes, jewelry, a floral hairpiece, and a handbag — amounted to $3,724.04, according to the 10-member panel.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Riley Roberts attend the Met Gala in 2021. GC Images
Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign stiffed vendors on the payments for months, and the congresswoman ultimately forked over just $990.76, the bulk of which was paid with personal funds.
The lefty pol’s reps also disputed costs listed on the initial invoice and tried to drive them down by offering comparisons to similar gowns listed on the website Rent the Runway.
“Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s attempt to apply a retail rental cost to a handmade couture gown was unrealistic,” the report stated flatly.
The 26-page report also found “most payments were not made until after repeated attempts at collection from unpaid vendors, threatened legal action, or following the initiation of OCC’s [Office of Congressional Conduct] review.”
The OCC’s initial review in 2022 had spurred the Ethics Committee to issue subpoenas, but a designer and publicist sat instead for voluntary interviews with the House panel.
The more-than-three-year investigation “did not find evidence” that Ocasio-Cortez intentionally underpaid for any goods or services” — but placed some blame on members of her staff, including ex-campaign manager Rebecca Rodriguez.
In one notable interaction, Rodriguez — who had been fired by 2023 — asked a publicist why an initial invoice for the gown amounted to $1,300. The amount was later reduced to $300.
Another $477.73 bill to a hairstylist went unpaid by Rodriguez for almost half a year, leading the stylist to threaten “to file a complaint with the NY Dept of Labor against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress.”
“[T]he Committee determined that no sanction was merited, provided Representative Ocasio-Cortez: (1) donates the $250 value of Mr. Roberts’ Met Gala meal to the Costume Institute and (2) pays Brother Vellies an additional $2,733.28 for the fair market value of the goods that she received in connection with her 2021 Met Gala attendance,” concluded the report, which the ethics panel unanimously voted to adopt in a closed-door session Tuesday.
Mike Casca, AOC’s chief of staff, said in a statement: “The Congresswoman appreciates the Committee finding that she made efforts to ensure her compliance with House Rules and sought to act consistently with her ethical requirements as a Member of the House. She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she’s done at each step in this process.”
House rules bar lawmakers from accepting gifts, with tickets to “charity” balls or “widely-attended” events for oneself and a spouse or child among the exceptions.
However, Wintour personally invited Ocasio-Cortez and Roberts to the soiree “as guests of Vogue” — rather than the Metropolitan Museum of Art or its Costume Institute — and directed a designer at Brother Vellies “to make a dress from scratch” for the occasion, putting the lawmaker in the crosshairs of the ethics committee.
In July 2021, with the gala just four months away, the designer claimed the demand by Wintour was “insane” because the designer fashioned shoes or handbags and “do[es]n’t make clothes.”
Staff instructed vendors to “keep costs down” but there were “multiple occasions where the Congresswoman and her team were met with responses from collaborators and involved companies to the effect of ‘Met Gala attendees don’t normally pay for this,’” AOC’s counsel said.
The rented shoes were valued at $635 and rented for $160. The Brother Vellies handbag had a retail price of $995 and a rental value of $157. Jewelry was rented for $78, and a paper hibiscus flower was bought for $35.
Matcha mania is sweeping the world. The bright green Japanese tea can be found in everything from Starbucks’ lattes in the UK to Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Singapore.
The global matcha craze is being driven by social media, with influencers sharing brewing tips, reviews and recipes. The “Matcha Tok” hashtag has clocked up tens of millions of views.
Matcha’s growing popularity is also linked to Japan’s post-pandemic tourism boom, with the country’s weak currency making it an attractive destination as well as boosting demand for Japanese goods.
In the midst of the hype, demand for the powder is soaring. US-based tea importer Lauren Purvis tells the BBC her customers are seeing what was once a month’s supply of matcha running out in days.
“Some cafes are even asking for a kilo a day. They’re desperate to keep up,” says Ms Purvis, who runs Mizuba Tea Co.
But that surging demand, combined with smaller tea crops due to heatwaves and US tariffs on Japan, is also pushing up matcha prices.
Traditionally, Matcha – which is sought for its health benefits, caffeine and flavour – is the product of a centuries-old and highly-specialised process.
It is made from green tea leaves called tencha, which are kept under shade for weeks while they’re still growing. This step is crucial for developing the tea’s signature “umami” flavour – a savoury taste that complements its natural sweetness.
The leaves are harvested, dried and ground into powder using stone mills, which can produce just 40g (1.4oz) of matcha an hour.
But in recent months growers have struggled, as record-breaking heatwaves have hit crops.
In the Kyoto region, where about a quarter of Japan’s tencha comes from, hot weather has led to poor harvests even as demand soars.
The country also faces a shortage of farmers as its population ages and not enough younger people go into the industry.
Shops in Uji, a city in Kyoto famous for matcha, often see their shelves emptied by tourists as soon as their doors open.
As a result, many retailers have set limits on how much customers can buy.
Kyoto-based Camellia Tea Ceremony allows customers to purchase only one tin of matcha each as visitor numbers doubled over the last year, says director Atsuko Mori.
Tea master Rie Takeda says she also has to closely monitor her stocks of matcha, as orders that would previously arrive in just days can now take more than a week.
She works for Chazen, a tea ceremony chain based in Tokyo, which hosts traditional rituals serving matcha to guests.
Shortages mean tea prices at Chazen’s outlets have risen by around 30% this year.
“[The demand] is good,” Ms Takeda said through a translator. “It’s a gateway for more people to know about Japanese culture.”
It has also attracted more growers.
Matcha production nearly tripled between 2010 and 2023, according to Japan’s agricultural ministry.
It also says green tea exports, including matcha, also rose 25% last year to 36.4bn yen (£180m; $250m).
Savour, not hoard
The matcha craze has sparked a movement to promote more mindful consumption.
Advocates call out people they see as hoarding matcha or profiteering from its popularity. Others urge tea drinkers to be careful about how much they use, and to savour matcha in its purest form rather than as an ingredient in recipes.
It’s “a bit sad” to see high-grade matcha used in cooking – where its delicate flavour is often lost – or stockpiled for resale, said Ms Mori.
“Matcha is the highest grade of tea and it’s so special to us. So there’s a bit of a contradiction when I hear stories about how it’s resold or used in food.”
The Global Japanese Tea Association is encouraging people to use lower-grade matcha from later harvests, which is more abundant and better-suited for cooking.
High-grade matcha often loses its delicate flavour when used in drinks like lattes, it adds.
“Promoting awareness of these distinctions helps ensure Japanese tea is enjoyed with respect, while supporting the craft and tradition behind it,” the association says.
It also says matcha prices are likely to rise further due to tariffs the US is imposing on Japan.
On Tuesday, Washington and Tokyo announced a trade deal that will mean a 15% import tax on Japanese products going into the US.
Matcha distributors like Ms Purvis are bracing for the impact. The Oregon-based entrepreneur says orders surged by more than 70% in early July ahead of a deadline for the two countries to reach a trade agreement.
International concern has risen this week with warnings that starvation has gripped Gaza
Almost one in three people in the Gaza Strip are going for days without eating, the UN’s food aid programme has warned.
“Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement.
Warnings of starvation in Gaza have intensified this week. Nine more people died of malnutrition on Friday, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry – bringing the total such deaths since the war began to 122.
Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, says there is no restriction on aid getting into the territory and blames Hamas for any malnutrition.
On Friday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer suggested the UK would play a role in dropping aid into Gaza by air after more than a third of MPs signed a letter calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian state.
This came after an Israeli security official had said that airdrops of aid into Gaza could be allowed in the coming days – something aid agencies have previously cautioned is an inefficient way to get supplies into Gaza.
“News that Israel will allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza has come far too late – but we will do everything we can to get aid in via this route,” Sir Starmer wrote in The Mirror.
Sir Keir also said the UK was “urgently accelerating efforts” to evacuate children who need critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment.
While local media reported the United Arab Emirates and Jordan would carry out the latest drops, a senior Jordanian official told the BBC that its military was yet to receive permission from Israel to do so.
The UN has described the move as a “distraction to inaction” by the Israeli government.
The move came amid mounting international concern about humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
On Friday, Germany, France and the UK called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” into the territory.
In a joint statement, they called for an immediate end to the “humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza,” and to the war itself, adding that Israel must “uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law”.
“Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable,” read the statement.
The UN Secretary General António Guterres said he could not “explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community – the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of humanity”.
Addressing the Amnesty International global assembly, he said more than 1,000 Palestinians had been killed while trying to access food since 27 May – when the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing supplies as an alternative to the UN-led system.
A US security contractor who worked for the GHF in May and June 2025 told the BBC on Friday that he had “without question… witnessed war crimes” during that time.
Anthony Aguilar said he saw the IDF and US contractors using live ammunition, artillery, mortar rounds, and tank fire on civilians at food distribution sites.
The retired soldier said: “In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population until I was in Gaza at the hands of the IDF and US contractors.”
In its response, the GHF said the claims – which came from “a disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct a month ago” – were “categorically false”.
Meanwhile, the future of talks to secure a new ceasefire and hostage-release deal remains uncertain, after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams from Qatar.
US President Donald Trump said Hamas “didn’t really want to make a deal”.
“I think they want to die,” he said.
Hamas has expressed surprise about the US remarks.
A senior Hamas official also told the BBC’s Gaza correspondent that mediators had informed the group negotiations had not collapsed, and said the Israeli delegation was expected to return to Doha next week.
Israel launched a war 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 59,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the group to release its remaining Israeli hostages.
Although the blockade was partially eased after almost two months amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, the shortages of food, medicine and fuel have worsened.
KYIV – During a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory from Russia in late September 2022, Elon Musk gave an order that disrupted the counteroffensive and dented Kyiv’s trust in Starlink, the satellite internet service the billionaire provided early in the war to help Ukraine’s military maintain battlefield connectivity.
According to three people familiar with the command, Musk told a senior engineer at the California offices of SpaceX, the Musk venture that controls Starlink, to cut coverage in areas including Kherson, a strategic region north of the Black Sea that Ukraine was trying to reclaim.
“We have to do this,” Michael Nicolls, the Starlink engineer, told colleagues upon receiving the order, one of these people said. Staffers complied, the three people told Reuters, deactivating at least a hundred Starlink terminals, their hexagon-shaped cells going dark on an internal map of the company’s coverage. The move also affected other areas seized by Russia, including some of Donetsk province further east.
Upon Musk’s order, Ukrainian troops suddenly faced a communications blackout, according to a Ukrainian military official, an advisor to the armed forces, and two others who experienced Starlink failure near the front lines. Soldiers panicked, drones surveilling Russian forces went dark, and long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim their fire, struggled to hit targets.
As a result, the Ukrainian military official and the military advisor said, troops failed to surround a Russian position in the town of Beryslav, east of Kherson, the administrative center of the region of the same name. “The encirclement stalled entirely,” said the military official in an interview. “It failed.”
Ultimately, Ukraine’s counteroffensive succeeded in reclaiming Beryslav, the city of Kherson and some additional territory Russia had occupied. But Musk’s order, which hasn’t previously been reported, is the first known instance of the billionaire actively shutting off Starlink coverage over a battlefield during the conflict. The decision shocked some Starlink employees and effectively reshaped the front line of the fighting, enabling Musk to take “the outcome of a war into his own hands,” another one of the three people said.
The account of the command counters Musk’s narrative of how he has handled Starlink service in Ukraine amid the war. As recently as March, in a post on X, his social media site, Musk wrote: “We would never do such a thing.”
Musk and Nicolls didn’t respond to requests from Reuters for comment.
A SpaceX spokesperson said by email that the news agency’s reporting is “inaccurate” and referred reporters to an X post earlier this year in which the company said: “Starlink is fully committed to providing service to Ukraine.” The spokesperson didn’t specify any inaccuracies in this report or answer a lengthy list of questions regarding the incident, Starlink’s role in the Ukraine war, or other details regarding its business.
The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the country’s Ministry of Defence didn’t respond to requests for comment. Starlink still provides service to Ukraine, and the Ukrainian military relies on it for some connectivity. Zelenskiy as recently as this year has publicly expressed gratitude to Musk for Starlink.
“Elon Musk’s current global dominance exemplifies the dangers of concentrated power in unregulated domains”
It isn’t clear what prompted Musk’s command, when exactly he gave it, or precisely how long the outage lasted. The three people familiar with the order said they believed it stemmed from concerns Musk expressed later that Ukrainian advances could provoke nuclear retaliation from Russia. One of the people said the shutoff transpired on September 30, 2022. The two others said it was around then, but didn’t recall the exact date. Some senior U.S. officials shared Musk’s concerns that Russia would make good on threats to escalate, one former White House staffer told Reuters.
Musk’s order was an early glimpse of the power the magnate now wields in geopolitics and global security because of Starlink, a fast-growing satellite internet service that barely existed early this decade and now provides connectivity even in remote areas of the world. Even before his brief role as financial backer and advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, the success of Starlink – and the unrivaled connectivity it offers across the planet – had given Musk increasing influence with political leaders, governments and militaries worldwide.
Coverage Cutoff
The shutoff of Starlink over parts of Ukraine in fall 2022 affected connectivity in some regions, including Kherson and Donetsk, still occupied by Russian forces today.
Musk’s sway in military affairs in Washington and beyond – through Starlink’s dominance in satellite communications and SpaceX’s clout in space launches – has reached a dimension previously limited to sovereign governments, alarming some regulators and lawmakers. “Elon Musk’s current global dominance exemplifies the dangers of concentrated power in unregulated domains,” Martha Lane Fox, a member of Britain’s upper house of parliament, said during a debate earlier this year. The parliamentarian is a businesswoman and former board member at Twitter, the social media site that Musk acquired in 2022 and rebranded as X.
“Its control,” Lane Fox said of Starlink, “rests solely with Musk, allowing his whims to dictate access to vital infrastructure.”
Musk’s political influence, and his massive business with the U.S. federal government, are now being put to the test. Since leaving his role advising Trump, Musk has publicly feuded with the president, announced plans to create a new political party, and criticized a signature spending bill that he said will expand the budget deficit and destroy jobs. Trump, for his part, has threatened to end government contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies, including lucrative new defense projects.
Whatever the reason for Musk’s decision, the shutoff over Kherson and other regions surprised some involved with the Ukraine war – from troops on the ground to U.S. military and foreign policy officials, who after Russia’s full-scale invasion that February had worked to secure Starlink service for Ukrainian forces. Panicked calls by Ukrainian officials during the outage to seek information from Pentagon counterparts, five people familiar with the incident said, were met with few explanations for what could have caused it.
The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment. Reuters couldn’t determine whether White House or Pentagon officials after the shutdown had any exchanges with Musk over the outage.
The Kherson episode is distinct from an earlier report of an incident that purportedly occurred that same September, involving Crimea just to the south, and raised concerns about Musk’s ability to influence the conflict in Ukraine.
In his 2023 biography of Musk, author Walter Isaacson reported that the tycoon had ordered Starlink to disable coverage in Crimea, which Russia had annexed from Ukraine after a 2014 invasion that the international community condemned as illegal. Musk, Isaacson wrote, believed a planned Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels in the Crimean port of Sevastopol could prompt nuclear retaliation.
After the book was published, Musk denied a shutdown, saying that there had never been coverage in Crimea to begin with. He said he had, rather, rejected a Ukrainian request to provide service ahead of Kyiv’s planned attack. Isaacson later conceded his account was flawed. A spokesperson at Isaacson’s publisher declined to comment or make him available for an interview.
SpaceX also said in 2023 that it had taken unspecified steps to prevent Ukraine from using Starlink for certain activities, including drone attacks. “Our intent was never to have them use it for offensive purposes,” Gwynne Shotwell, the company’s president, said at a conference in Washington in February of that year. “There are things that we can do, and have done” to prevent it, she added, without providing further detail.
Reuters couldn’t determine if the shutdown affecting Kherson was among the steps she was referring to. Shotwell didn’t respond to requests for comment for this article.
Following the start of the Kherson shutdown, word of an outage emerged in some media reports. At the time, it wasn’t clear to those who lost connectivity whether a technical problem, sabotage or some other factor was responsible. Early in the war, Russia had orchestrated a large cyberattack that disrupted service of another satellite operator, Western officials have said, creating suspicions around any outage and leaving a void quickly filled by Starlink. Russia has denied it conducts offensive cyberattacks.
As of April 2025, according to Ukrainian government social media posts, Kyiv has received more than 50,000 Starlink terminals. Easily transported and deployed, the pizza-box-sized devices communicate with thousands of SpaceX satellites now circling the globe. An initial batch of terminals was provided to Ukraine by SpaceX itself. Further terminals have arrived from donors including Poland, the United States and Germany.
This account of the outage, and the growing dependence on Musk by governments and militaries worldwide, is based on interviews with more than three dozen people with knowledge of SpaceX’s operations and the company’s technology. These people included current and former employees, U.S. and European military officials, and senior politicians and diplomats.
The reporting puts a spotlight on Musk’s control of services now critical to countries including the U.S., which has about $22 billion in contracts with SpaceX. Underscoring the point himself during his recent dispute with Trump, Musk threatened to decommission a SpaceX spacecraft the U.S. now relies upon to transport astronauts and critical cargo.
His threat, later retracted, unnerved attorneys at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, who felt forced to explore whether Musk’s warning could be considered a notice of contract termination, according to two people familiar with the matter. NASA didn’t respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
“There needs to be some contractual assurances” that Musk won’t cut off services to the U.S. government, said Lori Garver, a former deputy administrator of the agency. “We will need to consider how comfortable the U.S. will be at putting SpaceX in the critical path on national security.”
As countries increasingly rely on tech companies for everything from cyber defense to data storage, the question of dependence on one or a few dominant service providers will apply to other nations, too. “Governments have to think through what that means,” said Marcus Willett, former deputy head of Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters intelligence agency and now a senior adviser to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank.
“WE NEED ASSURANCES”
SpaceX is the first company to establish an extensive network of communication satellites in low-Earth orbit, a region of space that is closer to the planet than areas where such satellites historically reside. The proximity of satellites that now make up the company’s constellation allows Starlink to offer space-based wireless connectivity that is faster than any previously available.
Starlink on Thursday suffered a rare global outage of several hours, the company said, because of an internal software problem. A Ukrainian military commander in a social media post said “Starlink is down across the entire front,” updating the post two and a half hours later to say connectivity had returned.
With more than 7,900 satellites now in orbit, SpaceX has become the world’s largest satellite operator. Its devices, which relay signals among each other to create a network that communicates with the ground, account for about two-thirds of all active satellites in space, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian.
Starlink began rolling out service in 2020 and now has more than six million customers in over 140 countries, territories and markets, according to a June Starlink social media post. Novaspace, a consulting firm near Paris, estimates that Starlink in 2025 will generate about $9.8 billion in revenue for SpaceX, or about 60% of the company’s income. SpaceX is privately held and doesn’t disclose financial information, but Musk recently said he expects the rocket company to post revenues of about $15.5 billion this year.
Rivals are scrambling to get in on the market.
OneWeb, a European service owned by Eutelsat, a French company, is the furthest along, boasting about 650 satellites in low-Earth orbit. Amazon this year launched its first satellites for Project Kuiper, a $10 billion effort to compete. China is developing multiple networks, including a state-backed venture known as SpaceSail.
Still, Starlink has made much of its first-mover advantage. Its terminals, priced as low as a few hundred dollars for standard models, are known for being affordable and easy to use. “There is no existing system right now to replace Starlink,” said Grace Khanuja, an analyst at Novaspace, the consultancy near Paris.
Compared to the geostationary satellites historically used for communications, the sheer number of SpaceX satellites helps make Starlink less vulnerable to jamming and attacks. Its far reach makes it valuable in remote and hostile terrain – from battlefields to airspace to high seas. In Ukraine, it has facilitated activities including communications, intelligence and drone piloting.
Some Western militaries not engaged in conflict are also using the service. Britain’s armed forces, for instance, three years ago began using Starlink for “welfare purposes,” including personal communications for troops, the Ministry of Defence said in response to a freedom of information request. The ministry said it has fewer than 1,000 Starlink terminals and doesn’t employ them for sensitive military communications. Spain’s navy is also using Starlink, but only for recreation and leisure of troops, a spokesperson said.
“That will change,” said Chris Moore, a retired air vice-marshal in the British military, speaking about high-speed space-based connectivity. Moore also worked as a OneWeb executive and is now a defense industry consultant. Satellites in low-Earth orbit, he said, offer too many advantages for militaries to ignore, especially for modern developments such as drone warfare, a signature element of the Ukraine conflict.
Some leaders are leery.
In Taiwan, ever wary of conflict with China, officials have expressed concern about Musk’s extensive business interests on the mainland, including a major factory for Tesla, the electric vehicle company he controls. Eager for communications backups in the event of war, Taiwan is developing its own low-Earth orbit satellite network. Taiwanese officials have said the government could partner with Amazon’s Kuiper, too.
Spokespersons for the Taiwanese government said it welcomes international satellite providers but that Starlink hasn’t applied for a license in Taiwan. They didn’t respond to questions about Taipei’s relationship with Musk.
In Italy, the government is evaluating whether to employ Starlink for secure communications among the government, defense and other officials. But some officials, including President Sergio Mattarella, remain unconvinced by SpaceX’s assurances that its service would be secure and free from meddling by Musk. “More than Musk’s word, we need assurances that we can’t be shut down, and especially that he can’t access the data,” said a person familiar with the views of the president, who is an influential figure with the armed forces.
Poland, a major donor to Ukraine, told Reuters it employs Starlink as well as other military and commercial satellite systems. A mix of providers, Polish officials have said, offers the most security, even if at high cost.
“In peacetime, you want the best product at the best price,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in response to a question from Reuters at a press conference in April. “In wartime, you want redundancy. You want security. You want duplicated systems, so that if one fails, you can still use the other.”
“THERE WAS NOT A CONNECTION”
Even before the conflict began, documents reviewed by Reuters show, SpaceX had already been in discussions with the U.S. government about providing Starlink in Ukraine. Rollout began after Russian troops crossed the border on February 24, 2022.
Two days later, Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister in Ukraine, requested Musk’s help. “We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations,” he wrote on Twitter.
Musk responded in 10 hours. “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine,” he tweeted. “More terminals en route.”
Poland was also instrumental in the early days of the war, shipping thousands of terminals to Ukraine shortly after the invasion. Warsaw this year said it has purchased about 25,000 Starlink terminals for the effort – roughly half the total now in Ukraine – and that it is paying the subscription costs to keep them connected. So far, it has spent about $89 million on Starlink for Ukraine.
The equipment has made a critical difference for Ukraine.
Day-to-day bureaucracy has also benefited. Early in the conflict, Ukraine stored state data in the cloud and relied on Starlink to access it, helping keep some government operations running. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without Starlink,” said Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain until 2023. “The whole state was preserved.”
On the battlefield, Ukraine quickly deployed Starlink to enable front-line troops to communicate with commanders. The service also allowed drone operators to transmit surveillance video streams and locate and attack Russian targets. Reuters couldn’t establish just when such attacks may have become a concern for Musk or SpaceX.
By September 2022, a major Ukrainian counteroffensive was underway. Kyiv’s forces were pushing back into territories, including Kherson, that Russia had captured. The drive threatened Russian supply lines, prompting Moscow to threaten the West, including oblique references to Starlink.
That month, in a statement to the United Nations, Russia noted the use of “elements of civilian, including commercial, infrastructure in outer space for military purposes.” It warned that “quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation.”
It isn’t clear whether Russia has tried to attack any Starlink facilities. Musk has said, however, that Moscow has repeatedly sought to block its connectivity. “SpaceX is spending significant resources combating Russian jamming efforts,” Musk wrote on X last year. “This is a tough problem.”
The Kremlin declined to comment on whether it has sought to interfere with Starlink. The Ministry of Defence didn’t respond to a request for comment. Starlink isn’t licensed for either civilian or military use in Russia.
As Ukraine’s counterattack intensified, Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21, 2022, ordered a partial mobilization of reservists, Russia’s first since World War II. He also threatened to use nuclear weapons if Russia’s own “territorial integrity” were at risk.
Around this time, Musk engaged in weeks of backchannel conversations with senior officials in the administration of President Joe Biden, according to three former U.S. government officials and one of the people familiar with Musk’s order to stop service. During those conversations, the former White House staffer told Reuters, U.S. intelligence and security officials expressed concern that Putin could follow through on his threats. Musk, this person added, worried too, and asked U.S. officials if they knew where and how Ukraine used Starlink on the battlefield.
Soon after, he ordered the shutdown.
Reuters couldn’t ascertain the full geographic extent of the outage, but the three people familiar with the stoppage said that it covered regions that had recently been taken by Russia. Starlink coverage prior to the order, they said, had been active up to what had been Ukraine’s border with Russia before the full-scale invasion.
Taras Tymochko, a Ukrainian military signals specialist stationed in the Kherson region at the time, said an outage disrupted communications for troops, including colleagues on the front, for several hours. “If you were using Starlink to provide surveillance of the front line, you pretty much would be blind,” said Tymochko, who is now a consultant to Come Back Alive, a non-governmental organization that procures military equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces.
Maryna Tsirkun, a drone expert at Aerorozvidka, an aerial reconnaissance organization that works closely with the Ukrainian military, was also in southern Ukraine at the time. Starlink signals failed as Ukrainian troops began to push toward terrain seized by Russia, she told Reuters. “When we started to proceed there was not a connection,” she said. The outage she and colleagues experienced lasted several days.
On October 3, Musk angered Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials by tweeting a suggestion that locals in regions annexed by Russia vote on whether they should remain a part of Ukraine. A day later, Musk tweeted his concern about the conflict spiraling. “I still very much support Ukraine,” he tweeted, “but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world.”
Three days later, following one media report about a Starlink outage, Musk tweeted that “what’s happening on the battlefield, that’s classified.” He added that SpaceX by the end of 2022 was on track to spend $100 million on Ukraine. Although the Polish and U.S. governments by then had begun donations of their own, the billionaire complained about the cost of the equipment and services SpaceX was providing.
SpaceX “cannot fund the existing system indefinitely,” Musk wrote in a mid-October post. The next day, in another tweet, he reversed course. “To hell with it,” he wrote, “we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.”
After the outage, Kyiv worked to charm Musk.
In November 2022, Fedorov, the government minister, publicly expressed trust in the service. Months later – just after Shotwell, the SpaceX president, said the company had taken steps to prevent Ukraine from using Starlink for drone attacks – Fedorov in an interview with a Ukrainian news site recognized Starlink’s ability to “geofence” coverage, selectively limiting signals in some areas.
By February 2023, however, Starlink was fully functional in Ukraine, he said. “All the Starlink terminals in Ukraine work properly,” Fedorov told Ukrainska Pravda, the news site. Fedorov, who recently assumed the title of first deputy prime minister, didn’t respond to a request for comment about Ukraine’s use of Starlink in the war.
An aerial view shows “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE detention center at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, U.S. July 24, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing to send $608 million to states to construct immigrant detention centers as part of the Trump administration’s push to expand capacity to hold migrants.
FEMA is starting a “detention support grant program” to cover the cost of states building temporary facilities, according to an agency announcement. States have until August 8 to apply for the funds, according to the post.
The Trump administration has been encouraging states to build their own facilities to detain migrants. This program provides a way for the administration to help states pay for it.
The funds will be distributed by FEMA in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to the post.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said on Friday morning the state would apply for FEMA reimbursement to pay for its new immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” DHS officials said this summer the facility will cost an estimated $450 million annually.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
In early July, the top official at the U.S. embassy in South Africa reached out to Washington asking for clarification on a contentious U.S. policy: could non-whites apply for a refugee program geared toward white South Africans if they met other requirements?
President Donald Trump’s February executive order establishing the program specified that it was for “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” referring to an ethnic group descended mostly from Dutch settlers.
In a diplomatic cable sent July 8, embassy Charge d’Affairs David Greene asked whether the embassy could process claims from other minority groups claiming race-based discrimination such as “coloured” South Africans who speak Afrikaans. In South Africa the term coloured refers to mixed-raced people, a classification created by the apartheid regime still in use today.
The answer came back days later in an email from Spencer Chretien, the highest-ranking official in the State Department’s refugee and migration bureau, saying the program is intended for white people.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the precise language in the email which was described to the news agency by three sources familiar with its contents.
The State Department, responding to a request for comment on July 18, did not specifically comment on the email or the cable but described the scope of the policy as wider than the guidance in Chretien’s email.
The department said U.S. policy is to consider both Afrikaners and other racial minorities for resettlement, echoing guidance posted on its website in May saying that applicants “must be of Afrikaner ethnicity or be a member of a racial minority in South Africa.”
Chretien declined to comment through a State Department spokesperson. Greene did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The internal back-and-forth between the embassy and the State Department – which hasn’t been previously reported – illustrates the confusion in how to implement a policy designed to help white Afrikaners in a racially diverse country that includes mixed-race people who speak Afrikaans, as well as whites who speak English.
So far the State Department has resettled 88 South Africans under the program, including the initial group of 59 who arrived in May. Another 15 are expected to arrive by the end of August, one of the sources said.
Trump, a Republican who recaptured the White House pledging a wide-ranging immigration crackdown, placed an indefinite freeze on refugee admissions from around the world after taking office, saying the U.S. would only admit refugees who “can fully and appropriately assimilate.”
Weeks later, he issued an executive order that called for the U.S. to resettle Afrikaners, describing them as victims of “violence against racially disfavored landowners,” allegations that echoed far-right claims but which have been contested by South Africa’s government.
Since the executive order, U.S. diplomats working to implement the program have been deliberating internally about which racial groups could be considered eligible, one of the sources said.
In the July 8 cable, Greene laid out a summary of the different ethnic and racial groups in the country before seeking guidance on eligibility. In addition to Afrikaners and mixed-race South Africans, Greene mentioned indigenous South Africans known as the Khoisan people.
He said that members of the Jewish community had also expressed interest, but that in South Africa they are considered a religious minority and not a racial group.
“In the absence of other guidance, [the U.S. embassy] intends to give consideration to well-founded claims of persecution based on race for other racial minorities,” Greene wrote.
At least one family identified as coloured has already traveled to the U.S. as refugees, two people familiar with the matter said.
The cable forced the administration to clarify its position on whether the policy is for whites only, and if it does include other aggrieved minorities, who would qualify, two of the people familiar with the matter said.
Chretien, a conservative who wrote op-eds promoting the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” plan to overhaul the federal government, is the senior official at the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
During the apartheid era, which ended with the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa maintained a racially segregated society with separate schools, neighborhoods and public facilities for people classified as Black, coloured, white or Asian.
Blacks make up 81% of South Africa’s population, according to 2022 census data. Coloured South Africans make up 8%, and Indians 3%. Afrikaners and other white South Africans constitute 7% of the population but own three-quarters of the privately held land in the country.
When asked about the program in May, Trump said he was not giving Afrikaners preferential treatment because they are white.
“They happen to be white, but whether they are white or Black makes no difference to me,” he said.
In response to a request for comment, a White House official said the administration’s policy reflected Trump’s executive order.
“We will prioritize refugee admissions for South African citizens, including Afrikaners and other racial minorities in South Africa, who have been targeted by the discriminatory laws of the South African government,” the official said.
USAID logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
An internal US government analysis released Friday (July 25) found no evidence that the Palestinian militant group Hamas systematically stole US-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, challenging claims from both Israel and the United States that have been used to justify a controversial new private armed aid effort.
The assessment, completed in late June by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), reviewed 156 reports of stolen or lost aid filed by partner organisations operating in Gaza from October 2023 through May. According to a slide presentation seen by Reuters, the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from US-funded aid.
The finding comes amid deepening food insecurity in the Gaza Strip and growing criticism of a new militarised aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the Trump administration.
DISPUTES FROM STATE DEPARTMENT, ISRAEL
A State Department spokesperson disputed the USAID findings, saying there was video evidence of Hamas looting aid, though no such footage was provided. The spokesperson also accused traditional aid groups of concealing corruption.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly questioned the legitimacy of the analysis, claiming no State Department official had seen it and suggesting it “was likely produced by a deep state operative” aiming to undermine President Donald Trump’s humanitarian policies.
Two sources told Reuters the findings were shared with USAID’s inspector general and State Department officials involved in Middle East policy.
Israel continues to assert that Hamas steals aid and uses it to control Gaza’s population and enrich itself, often by reselling supplies at inflated prices. The Israeli military told Reuters its claims were based on intelligence reports showing Hamas militants embedded in aid trucks, seizing up to 25 per cent of shipments for fighters or resale.
Hamas has denied the allegations. A Hamas security official said Israel has killed more than 800 Hamas-affiliated guards responsible for protecting aid convoys in coordination with the United Nations. Reuters could not independently verify the claims from either side.
MIXED FINDINGS ON AID THEFT
According to the BHA slides, at least 44 of the 156 incidents of lost or stolen aid were “either directly or indirectly” caused by Israeli military action, including airstrikes or directives for civilians to evacuate areas. Other cases involved Israeli demands that aid groups use unsafe routes, increasing the risk of looting.
Of the remaining incidents, 63 were attributed to unknown actors, 35 to armed groups, 25 to unarmed civilians, 11 to corrupt subcontractors, and five to aid workers themselves. Six incidents involved theft under unknown circumstances. A slide noted, “A review of all 156 incidents found no affiliations with US-designated foreign terrorist organisations,” which includes Hamas.
One slide added that “the majority of incidents could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor,” as thefts often occurred in transit with no identified perpetrators.
The USAID analysis acknowledged a limitation: it could not rule out the possibility that some aid reached administrative officials affiliated with Hamas. However, no cases were found where Hamas was confirmed to have stolen or diverted the aid.
CRITICISM OF GHF AND TRUMP POLICY SHIFT
The report casts new scrutiny on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private aid group launched with US backing that distributes supplies using armed US military veterans and a for-profit logistics firm run by a former CIA officer. The group has come under fire for bypassing traditional humanitarian structures and facing allegations of using militarised distribution methods.
The United Nations and several major aid organisations have rejected calls to cooperate with GHF, saying its operations violate humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality. The UN also estimates that more than 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces near GHF’s distribution points.
Although aid groups receiving US funds must vet their staff and subcontractors for ties to designated terrorist groups, the Trump administration waived those requirements in approving US$30 million in funding for GHF last month.
The USAID study was completed shortly before the Trump administration froze all foreign aid and began dismantling the agency, folding its operations into the State Department.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the BHA team lost access to classified systems during this process. That source also said they were not aware of any classified US intelligence reports confirming Hamas aid thefts and that US officials were instead relying on Israeli claims.
The outbreak, linked to an imported case, has prompted authorities to urge mosquito control and early medical attention.
Southern China is experiencing an outbreak of chikungunya, with thousands of cases reported since authorities started tracking cases in early July. (File photo: Reuters/Josue Decavele)
China is experiencing an outbreak of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne infection, with thousands of cases reported in the south.
Chikungunya fever cases jumped to 4,014 on Friday (Jul 25), representing a rapid rise in numbers since authorities started tracking cases two weeks ago, according to public records released by health departments in districts in Foshan. The city in China’s southern province Guangdong has been heavily impacted by the surge in infections.
The chikungunya outbreak remains “quite severe”, Sun Yang, deputy director of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference on Wednesday in Foshan.
Chikungunya is spread to people by the bites of infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain, but deaths are rare, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued various advisories on how to prevent chikungunya fever and dengue fever, a similar disease also spread by mosquitoes. Physical protection barriers, such as screen doors, mosquito nets for beds and mosquito repellent on exposed skin, were recommended.
The agency said that the epidemic was “imported” without specifying from where. It also called for people who have symptoms like fever, rash and joint pain to see a doctor.
Shunde district in Foshan, where 90 per cent of the cases are located, is famous for its Cantonese food, and sees many visitors each year.
Patients who tested positive for chikungunya fever stayed in hospital beds covered by mosquito nets, according to photos shown on state-run broadcaster CCTV.
Local media reports said on Thursday that local authorities had almost doubled the number of mosquito-proof isolation beds to 7,220 to meet the growing demand.
Authorities in Guangdong are urging residents to ensure there’s no standing water in their homes, such as in flowerpots, coffee machines or spare bottles. The Health Commission in Foshan stated on Thursday that a fine of up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) could be applied if violations are found.
The Beijing CDC said on Tuesday that the city occasionally experiences imported cases of chikungunya fever.
“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” said Phnom Penh’s UN ambassador.
A pagoda damaged by Thai artillery is pictured in Oddar Meanchey province on Jul 25, 2025. (Photo: AFP)
Thailand and Cambodia clashed for a third day on Saturday (Jul 26), as the death toll from their bloodiest fighting in years rose to 33.
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense conflict involving jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis on Friday.
After the closed meeting in New York, Cambodia’s UN ambassador Chhea Keo said his country wanted a ceasefire.
“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” Keo told reporters.
Both sides blamed each other for starting the latest clashes.
In its statement to the UN Security Council, Cambodia accused Thailand of attacking areas of historical and cultural significance, including the Preah Vihear temple – something Bangkok has denied.
The UNESCO-recognised temple has been at the heart of a long dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.
“This flagrant act of aggression has dangerously escalated an already volatile situation and poses a serious threat to regional peace and security,” Keo said in his statement.
According to Cambodia’s defence ministry on Saturday, 13 people were now confirmed killed in the fighting – eight civilians and five soldiers – with 71 people wounded.
In Thailand, the army said five soldiers were killed on Friday, taking the toll there to 20 – 14 civilians and six military.
The death toll across the two countries is now higher than the 28 killed in the last major round of fighting between 2008 and 2011.
Both sides reported a clash around 5am on Saturday, with Cambodia accusing Thai forces of firing “five heavy artillery shells” into locations in Pursat province, which borders Thailand’s Trat province.
THAI ACTIONS NOT SELF-DEFENCE: CAMBODIA
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours over their shared 800km frontier.
A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.
Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand on Thursday, and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border. Cambodia has also accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions.
“The deployment of F-16 fighter jets, tanks and the extensive use of cluster munitions and heavy artillery are manifestations of the invasion and aggression,” Cambodia’s UN ambassador said.
“This is clearly not self-defence, as claimed by Thailand.”
Responding to accusations that Cambodia attacked Thailand first, Keo asked how a small country with no air force could attack a much larger country with an army three times its size, saying: “We do not do that.”
DIALOGUE, NOT VIOLENCE: THAILAND
In its statement at the UN, Thailand’s ambassador Cherdchai Chairvaivid said dialogue, not violence, must prevail.
He said that in response to the “unprovoked firing” by Cambodian troops, Thai forces were “compelled to take proportionate and appropriate measures in self-defence, consistent with international law’.
Thailand had accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket.
Cherdchai added that in responding to Cambodia’s actions, Thailand had made “every effort” to avoid civilian harm.
Cluster munitions were “used exclusively to target military objectives”, he said.
Sweden’s historical business transactions with North Korea, particularly a 1974 order for 1,000 Volvo 144 models and equipment worth $73 million, continue to intrigue. North Korea has failed to pay for this order for 52 years, leading to a total debt of approximately $330 million due to accumulating interest.
In 1974, the North Korean regime placed an order for 1,000 Volvo 144 models and other mechanical equipment worth 73 million with Swedish companies. (Source: Sweedish Embassy)
In a world where the West continues to have a complicated relationship with North Korea, Sweden’s “business dealings” with Pyongyang over 50 years ago continues to spark people’s interest. This strange transaction – order for 1,000 Volvo 144 models and other mechanical equipment worth $73 million – involves debt that has been unpaid for 52 years and continues to grow with interest.
The “huge trade contracts” took place in 1974, when the North Korean regime placed an order for 1,000 Volvo 144 models and other mechanical equipment worth $73 million with Swedish companies. Back then Swedish businesses considered North Korea as a promising new market as the country was rebuilding its economy afteer the Korean war.
“At the time, [North Korea] wasn’t doing so badly,” Jonathan D. Pollack, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told the NPR. “After the Korean War, their economy was rebuilt, it became a functioning industrial state, still very aid-dependent — but it wouldn’t have seemed like such a bad bet, under the circumstances.”
Pyongyang, however, never paid for the order. In the past 5 decades, the total with interest has increased to approximately $330 million.
The incident, which was reported in 2016, keeps appearing up on the internet, along with images of the cars, sparking people’s interest in this strange transaction.
Here is a tweet from the Swedish Embassy that was posted in 2016.
Still going strong. One of the Volvo’s from yr 1974 still unpaid for by DPRK. Running as taxi in Chongjin w almost half million km on odo! pic.twitter.com/2FaMpnPow7
Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar claimed linking TRF to Lashkar is incorrect and emphasised that Pakistan has dismantled the group years ago.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio (R) and Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar walk together prior to a meeting at the department of state on July 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.(AFP)
Pakistan’s foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar defended Islamabad’s stance on the proscribed terror group The Resistance Front, shortly after the United States listed the outfit as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). The Resistance Front – which India and the United States believe is an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba – claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
“It is obviously a sovereign decision of the United States to designate the TRF. We have no issue. And we welcome, if they have any evidence, that they are involved,” said Dar at an event in Washington DC. Dar met US secretary of state Marco Rubio earlier on Friday.
“Linking the TRF to the Lashkar-e-Taiba is wrong. That outfit was dismantled years ago by Pakistan. The actors were prosecuted, arrested and jailed, and the entire outfit was destroyed,” said Dar, repeating a claim often made by Pakistan’s government.
Earlier, Dar told Pakistan’s Parliament that Islamabad had blocked mention of the TRF in a UN Security Council Resolution which condemned the Pahalgam attacks.
“We opposed the mention of TRF in the UNSC statement. I got calls from global capitals, but Pakistan will not accept. TRF was deleted, and Pakistan prevailed,” said Dar in April.
Dar added at the time that Pakistan would require further proof about the TRF’s activities.
Dar defended that stance in response to a query from HT at a public event on Friday. Pakistan’s foreign minister said no evidence was available at the time against the TRF to justify its inclusion in a UNSC statement.
India declared TRF a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in January 2023. The South Asia Terrorism Portal indicates that TRF emerged in 2019 via social media announcements, and since then, it has taken responsibility for several attacks across Jammu and Kashmir, including a grenade attack in Srinagar, injuring seven civilians and targeted killings in 2021.
HULK Hogan’s wife is set to inherit nearly a third of his vast fortune at least in the wake of his death, possibly creating a major rift with his ex-wives and estranged daughter.
Hogan and his third wife, Sky Daily, 49, have only been married for two years, but Florida law guarantees her 30% of his estate, whether or not he updated his will or trust before his sudden death on Thursday at 71.
Hulk owned a gigantic Florida estate and several businesses when he died on ThursdayCredit: Getty
In addition to investments and cash accounts, Hogan owned an $11.5 million mansion in Clearwater, Florida and multiple businesses, and he set up a revocable trust and a personal trust before he died, The U.S. Sun has learned.
Florida estate expert and paralegal, June Frederiksen, at the Schofner Law Firm, explained that the WWE wrestler, movie star, and local business owner likely had “very in-depth estate planning.”
“You set up a trust to protect your assets, so you run everything through the trust,” the expert explained.
The trust is meant to avoid his estate ending up in court, having to figure out where assets need to go and if creditors can collect from it.
But whether or not his new wife, Sky, was included in his trusts, she still stands to inherit a large portion of his wealth.
“He married Sky two years ago, so he probably updated the trust so she would get a spousal elective share,” Fredricksen said.
“Even if Sky was left out of his estate and he didn’t update his trust since they married, she would still get a spousal elective share, which she is entitled to 30% in Florida.”
June said someone in the trusts will be named the trustee and they will do whatever the trusts direct for the distribution of Hulk’s assets.
Things can get dicey, however, if his trusts weren’t fully up to date.
For example, if there were assets that were not rolled into his trusts, or importantly, if someone contests what is directed in the trusts, there may not be a way to avoid estate court.
What’s more, Fredricksen said, if his estate battle does end up in court, then the assets become “susceptible to creditors, and I’m sure he had some creditors.”
Hulk had notoriously fallen out with his daughter Brooke Hogan.
The two have been estranged for several years, and the WWE star never met his twin grandchildren, Oliver and Molly Gene, who were born in January of this year.
“If Brooke is left out of the will, she can contest it,” and the battle would wind up in probate court, the legal expert explained.
INSIDE HULK’S FORTUNE
Hulk’s estimated net worth is $25 million, according to Celebrity Networth.
As The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed, Hulk owns a massive Clearwater property worth about $11.5 million.
He owned several businesses in Florida, with Hogan’s Beach Shop in 2013 which is still going strong, as well as the restaurant Hogan’s Hangout, which is also still open, in Clearwater Beach.
The wrestler also owned Real American Beer, which launched last year.
Hulk has also appeared in a slew of movies beyond his legendary run with the WWE.
SKY’S HEARTBREAKING TRIBUTE
Sky Hogan shared an emotional statement following the sudden passing of her husband on Thursday.
In her Instagram post, she expressed her devastation and reflected on his health struggles.
“My heart is in pieces,” she began. “I wasn’t ready for this. He had been dealing with some health issues, but I truly believed we would overcome them. I had so much faith in his strength. I thought we still had more time.”
She continued, “This loss is sudden and impossible to process. To the world, he was a legend… but to me, he was my Terry. The man I loved. My partner. My heart.”
HULK HOGAN’S FINAL DAYS
Hogan had been battling significant health challenges in the months leading up to his death.
He underwent neck surgery in May, which required a return to the hospital in June after complications.
By mid-year, reports surfaced claiming Hogan was unable to feel his legs or walk without the aid of a cane, with some rumors suggesting he was on his deathbed.
However, these claims were denied or downplayed by those close to him.
On Thursday morning, Hogan suffered cardiac arrest at his $11.5 million mansion in Clearwater, Florida.
Paramedics arrived following a frantic 911 call and spent 30 minutes attempting to revive him.
He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
HULK’S FAMILY
Hogan was married twice before meeting Sky.
His first marriage was to Linda Claridge, with whom he shared two children: Brooke, 35, and Nick, 32.
The family starred in the reality series Hogan Knows Best, which aired from 2005 to 2007.
Hogan and Claridge were married for 26 years before divorcing in 2009.
Gunmen attacked a vehicle with people returning from a weekly market in the Bokkos area, killing 14. Residents have called for increased security in rural areas.
Locals have called for more security in rural areas following the attackImage: Sunday Alamba/AP Photo/picture alliance
Unidentified gunmen killed 14 people in a vehicle that was returning from a weekly market in Bokkos, central Nigeria. The attack happened at around midday on Thursday, and the victims include women and children, according to local residents and a Red Cross official, who spoke to AFP.
Farmasum Fuddang, chair of the Bokkos cultural development forum, said attackers had intercepted the vehicle and opened fire.
“Victims included women and little babies,” Fuddang said in a statement.
Nurudeen Hussaini Magaji, a Red Cross official, confirmed the death toll on Friday morning. “Amongst the dead were males, females and children,” he said.
Locals call for more security in Plateau state
The area in central Plateau state has seen an increase in violent conflicts over the years. Land in the rural area, used by farmers and herders, is limited and has been the center of deadly competition by armed gangs.
The government’s presence in the area is sparse, and conflicts have killed hundreds of people in recent years. Following Thursday’s attack, there were calls for stronger security.
The leaders of the UK, France and Germany have jointly urged Israel to allow full humanitarian access to Gaza, urging an immediate ceasefire. Earlier, Paris said it plans to recognize Palestinian statehood.
The leaders said withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population was unacceptableImage: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/picture alliance
Germany, France, UK leaders press Israel on aid
Leaders of Britain, France and Germany have called on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
The joint appeal comes after French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to recognize a Palestinian state and followed a call between Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In it, they demanded an immediate ceasefire and warned that “withholding essential humanitarian assistance” is unacceptable — though the statement broke no new diplomatic ground.
The three leaders said they are ready to take further action to support both a ceasefire and a political process toward lasting security and peace in the region, but did not specify what steps they might take.
Macron’s announcement has revealed divisions among the European trio — known as the E3 — over how to address the humanitarian crisis and bring the Israel-Hamas war to an end.
While all three countries support a Palestinian state in principle, Germany has said it has no immediate plans to follow France’s lead. Macron intends to formalize the recognition at the UN General Assembly in September.
Britain also has not joined the move. On Friday, 221 members of the UK Parliament signed a letter urging recognition.
Trump dismisses France’s intention to recognize Palestine as a state
US President Donald Trump has dismissed the decision by France’s Emmanuel Macron to recognize a Palestinian state as pointless.
“What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy, I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.” Trump told reporters
Trump’s response came after the French president’s announcement yesterday that his country planned to formally recognize the State of Palestine in September at the UN General Assembly.
Israeli to allow foreign aid drops over Gaza, reports say
Israel will once again allow foreign aid to drop over Gaza, sources told media outlets on Friday, as pressure on Israel mounts to end the hunger crisis in the besieged enclave.
“Humanitarian aid air drops on the Gaza Strip will resume in the upcoming days. They will be managed by the UAE and Jordan,” an unnamed Israeli official told the French AFP news agency.
The Israeli army radio also reported the news, with an unnamed military official suggesting air drops could start as early as Friday.
Myanmar’s military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends a press conference following talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, March 4, 2025. Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The United States lifted sanctions designations on several allies of Myanmar’s ruling generals on Thursday, two weeks after the head of the ruling junta praised President Donald Trump and called for an easing of sanctions in a letter responding to a tariff warning.
Human Rights Watch called the move “extremely worrying” and said it suggested a major shift was underway in U.S. policy towards Myanmar’s military, which overthrew a democratically elected government in 2021 and has been implicated in crimes against humanity and genocide.
A notice from the U.S. Treasury Department said KT Services & Logistics and its founder, Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung; the MCM Group and its owner Aung Hlaing Oo; and Suntac Technologies and its owner Sit Taing Aung; and another individual, Tin Latt Min, were being removed from the U.S. sanctions list.
KT Services & Logistics and Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung were added to the sanctions list in January 2022 under the Biden administration in a step timed to mark the first anniversary of the military seizure of power in Myanmar that plunged the country into chaos.
Sit Taing Aung and Aung Hlaing Oo were placed on the sanctions list the same year for operating in Myanmar’s defence sector. Tin Latt Min, identified as another close associate of the military rulers, was placed on the list in 2024 to mark the third anniversary of the coup.
The Treasury Department did not explain the reason for the move, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On July 11, Myanmar’s ruling military general, Min Aung Hlaing, asked Trump in a letter for a reduction in the 40% tariff rate on his country’s exports to the U.S. and said he was ready to send a negotiating team to Washington if needed.
“The senior general acknowledged the president’s strong leadership in guiding his country towards national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot,” state media said at the time.
In his response to a letter from Trump notifying Myanmar of the tariff to take effect on August 1, Min Aung Hlaing proposed a reduced rate of 10% to 20%, with Myanmar slashing its levy on U.S. imports to a range of zero to 10%.
Min Aung Hlaing also asked Trump “to reconsider easing and lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar, as they hinder the shared interests and prosperity of both countries and their peoples.”
Myanmar is one of the world’s main sources of sought-after rare earth minerals used in high-tech defense and consumer applications. Securing supplies of the minerals is a major focus for the Trump administration in its strategic competition with China, which is responsible for 90% of rare earth processing capacity.
Most of Myanmar’s rare earth mines are in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic group fighting the junta, and are processed in China.
John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, called the U.S. move “shocking” and its motivation unclear.
Several ground beef options are displayed in a butcher’s case at Eastern Market in Washington, U.S., August 14, 2024. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The United States will sell “so much” beef to Australia, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday after Canberra relaxed import restrictions, adding that other countries that refused U.S. beef products were on notice.
Australia on Thursday said it would loosen biosecurity rules for U.S. beef, something analysts predicted would not significantly increase U.S. shipments because Australia is a major beef producer and exporter whose prices are much lower.
“We are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that U.S. Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“The other Countries that refuse our magnificent Beef are ON NOTICE,” the post continued.
Trump has attempted to renegotiate trade deals with numerous countries he says have taken advantage of the United States – a characterisation many economists dispute.
“For decades, Australia imposed unjustified barriers on U.S. beef,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement, calling Australia’s decision a “major milestone in lowering trade barriers and securing market access for U.S. farmers and ranchers.”
Australia is not a significant importer of beef but the United States is and a production slump is forcing it to step up purchases.
Last year, Australia shipped almost 400,000 metric tons of beef worth $2.9 billion to the United States, with just 269 tons of U.S. product moving the other way.
Australian officials say the relaxation of restrictions was not part of any trade negotiations but the result of a years-long assessment of U.S. biosecurity practices.
Canberra has restricted U.S. beef imports since 2003 due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Since 2019, it has allowed in meat from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. but few suppliers were able to prove that their cattle had not been in Canada and Mexico.
On Wednesday, Australia’s agriculture ministry said U.S. cattle traceability and control systems had improved enough that Australia could accept beef from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and slaughtered in the United States.
The decision has caused some concern in Australia, where biosecurity is seen as essential to prevent diseases and pests from ravaging the farm sector.
“We need to know if (the government) is sacrificing our high biosecurity standards just so Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can obtain a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump,” shadow agriculture minister David Littleproud said in a statement.
The recent truce between the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group — along with an earlier DRC-Rwanda peace deal — was expected to usher in new era of regional stability. Yet even the signatories show little hope.
Experts believe M23 rebels are reluctant to surrender any of the territorial gains they have made in eastern CongoImage: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images
The US, UN and the African Union (AU) were among the first to welcome the July 19 truce between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group which had been championed by the US and Qatar.
The Doha Declaration of Principles , building on a peace deal Congo and Rwanda signed in Washington on June 27, was meant to serve as another “meaningful step toward advancing lasting peace and stability in the Great Lakes region,” according to the US Department of State.
Rwanda’s willingness to sign, and its passive observation of, the Doha agreement was seen as tacit admittance to its role in the long-standing conflict, although Kigali continues to deny its support of the M23.
Is the DRC a no-go zone?
Just one day after the signing in Doha, the US updated its security advisory for Congo and especially its capital, Kinshasa, advising US nationals in the country to “exercise increased awareness, avoid large gatherings, and monitor local news and security updates.”
The list of recommended actions include the provision of “enough food and water should you need to stay home for several days” and having “essential items (clothing, medications, travel documents) packed in a bag that you can carry.”
The advisory resembles the kind of advice US authorities issue residents to prepare for major natural disasters.
Reagan Miviri, a conflict analyst and lawyer working with the Congo Research Group in Kinshasa — an independent, nonprofit research project — understands the importance of the US State Department’s latest travel advisory.
“The crisis in eastern Congo is also visible in Kinshasa in some ways,” she told DW. “Actors in the US [who] are worried about what could happen in Kinshasa … probably know much more than we do, so perhaps they have other information we don’t have.”
According to Lidewyde Berckmoes, an associate professor and senior researcher at the African Studies Center Leiden in the Netherlands, many parts of Congo still actively remain under the control of the M23, which is unlikely to change despite this deal.
“This region has seen many violent rebel movements, who have been there since the 1990s. There are many places where there’s a lot of tension, and where authority is contested,” Berkmoes, whose work is focused on Africa’s Great Lakes region, told DW.
M23 expansion course continues
On the ground, the reality of a state of war effectively continues to dictate daily lives in various parts of the country — especially eastern Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces. Mere days after the DRC-M23 truce was signed, fresh reports of M23 rebels seizing new ground surfaced.
According to UN-backed Radio Okapi in Congo, at least 19 civilians were killed by M23 fighters as part of that expansion, in particular around the village of Bukera.
This latest escalation is in clear breach of the Doha ceasefire deal, which calls on all sides in the conflict to stop efforts to expand their territorial gains — among various other stipulations.
A truce with an ambiguous message
Human rights activist Philemon Ruzinge believes the Doha deal will ultimately be of little consequence, despite whatever concessions Kinshasa may make to keep the peace.
“The agreement of principles is supposed to be … so important towards a lasting peace agreement,” he told DW, adding that the ongoing actions of M23 rebels leave little hope for it to work in the long run.
According to Ruzinge, M23 leaders feel they can continue to enjoy free reign over northeastern Congo on account of the text of the agreement “containing no withdrawal clause” and deliberately being worded in an ambiguous manner.
This view was only further solidified by the M23 itself, whose delegation leader at the signing in Doha, Benjamin Mbonimpa, reiterated that the group “will not retreat, not even by one meter.”
“We will stay where we are,” Mbonimpa said.
Rebels trying to leverage political control
Researcher Berckmoes believes Mbonimpa’s attitude is indicative of the overall M23 position. “I don’t think M23 will let themselves be sidelined. Rather, I expect that they are looking for ways to have an important say as part of the government.”
Conflict analyst Miviri agrees, pointing out that “M23 are saying that they are not leaving.” She added that this should be taken at face value. “M23 will do whatever it pleases.”
That view is also shared by people in North Kivu province. Complaints by civil society groups about a lack of government intervention are mounting. In the province’s beleaguered capital, Goma, democracy activist Justin Murutsi told DW: “The state has a security mandate for the population. But when there are killings like this and no word from the state, it shows that there’s a serious institutional vacuum.”
“The signing of the Declaration of Principles gives us a little hope, because it clearly shows that the government has accepted the rebels’ demands and conditions,” said Julien, a resident of the city who believes M23 will remain in control of large parts of the region.
Skepticism seems to outweigh hope
Political scientist Christian Moleka in Kinshasa wonders whether the parties the conflict are interested in peace. “Do the various parties even have the will to achieve lasting peace?” he told DW. “Are the follow-up mechanisms really going to work better than in the past, to support the full implementation of these various provisions?”
Berckmoes had similar reservations, stressing there has been “series of agreements in the past, which have not been upheld.” She added that for a sustainable peace plan to succeed, various parties and factions all have to be included in all negotiations — not just M23 but “all 160 groups” vying for control. To that end, Berckmoes believes “there’s still a long way to go.”
Miviri took an even more sober stance: “Before speaking of a lasting peace agreement, it just has to first happen. And I’m not seeing it happen, even now.”
Amid skepticism, criticism and the surge in violence since the Doha signing, there have also been a few hopeful voices — among them, the US senior adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos.
The initial bill, which Ukraine’s parliament passed on Wednesday, would have given the government more oversight of anti-corruption bodies. Zelenskyy reversed course after protests and backlash from the European Union.
Zelenskyy came under criticism, from both at home and abroad, over a decision to remove the independence of anti-graft bodies earlier in the weekImage: Vadym Sarakhan/AP Photo/picture alliance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he would send a new anti-corruption bill to Parliament on Thursday after a previous attempt sparked protests at home, and condemnation from the European Union.
The previous iteration of the bill gave the government more powers to focus on the work of anti-corruption watchdogs.
What did Zelenskyy say about the new text of the bill?
“I have just approved the text of a draft law that guarantees real strengthening of the rule of law in Ukraine, independence of anti-corruption bodies and reliable protection of the rule of law from any Russian influence or interference,” Zelenskyy posted on X, vowing to send the new bill to parliament on Thursday.
“It is important that we respect the position of all Ukrainians and are grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine,” he added.
What was the reaction from Ukrainians to the earlier legislation?
The move from the Ukrainian president to remove the independence of two anti-corruption bodies earlier in the week had sparked nationwide protests — the country’s first large-scale unrest since Russia’s full scale invasion began in February 2022 — and criticism from the European Union.
Thousands took to the streets across Ukraine this week to protest against the Ukrainian government amid the scandal.
Protesters highlighted what they saw as a “return” to the era of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was forced to flee to Russia during the Euromaidan Revolution in 2014.
The EU has been a key supporter of Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but Brussels has also said reforms are essential for closer European integration.
How did the controversy impact EU-Ukraine ties?
Tackling corruption is crucial for Ukraine’s ambitions to join the EU while also acquiring billions of dollars in Western aid as it continues to fend off Russia’s invasion.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed concern on Wednesday over the earlier legislation, describing it as “a serious step back.”
Thai residents who fled homes following clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers rest at an evacuation centre in Surin province, Thailand on Jul 25, 2025. (Photo: AP/Sakchai Lalit)
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned Friday (Jul 25) that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people “could develop into war”, as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day.
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday.
A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian – a 70-year-old man – had been killed and five more wounded.
More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities – 14 civilians and a soldier – with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops.
“We have tried to compromise as we are neighbours, but we have now instructed the Thai military to act immediately in case of urgency,” said Wechayachai.
“If the situation escalates, it could develop into war, though for now, it remains limited to clashes,” he told reporters in Bangkok.
In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20km from the border, AFP journalists saw families speeding away in vehicles with their children and belongings as gunfire erupted.
“I live very close to the border. We are scared because they began shooting again at about 6am (7am, Singapore time),” Pro Bak, 41, told AFP.
He was taking his wife and children to a Buddhist temple to seek refuge.
“I don’t know when we could return home,” he said.
AFP journalists also saw soldiers rushing to man rocket launchers and speeding off towards the frontier.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country currently holds the chair of regional bloc ASEAN, said he held talks with both countries leaders on Thursday and called for a ceasefire and dialogue.
“I welcome the positive signals and willingness shown by both Bangkok and Phnom Penh to consider this path forward,” he said in a Facebook post late on Thursday.
But despite Anwar’s optimism, fighting resumed in three areas around 4am on Friday, the Thai army said.
Cambodian forces carried out bombardments with heavy weapons, field artillery, and BM-21 rocket systems, the army said, and Thai troops responded “with appropriate supporting fire”.
CALLS FOR CALM
The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours – both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists – over their shared 800km frontier.
Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.
A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.
Fighting on Thursday was focused on six locations, according to the Thai army, including around two ancient temples.
Ground troops backed up by tanks battled for control of territory, while Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border.
Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket.
Thursday’s clashes came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine.
Cambodia downgraded ties to “the lowest level” on Thursday, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh.
At the request of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the deadly clashes, diplomatic sources told AFP.
The United States urged an “immediate” end to the conflict, while Cambodia’s former colonial ruler France made a similar call.
The EU and China – a close ally of Phnom Penh – said they were “deeply concerned” about the clashes, calling for dialogue.
Stars sparkle a little extra thanks to Monica Vinader’s styles. Getty/Shutterstock/SplashNews
Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale is filled with gems.
The once-a-year blowout is a one-stop shop for rarely discounted labels, including jewelry from Monica Vinader — a label beloved by everyone from princesses to pop stars.
Shop all our favorites below before they fly off the shelves — including designs similar to those we’ve spotted on Kate Middleton, Ariana Grande and Kendall Jenner. (Plus, for more can’t-miss markdowns, don’t forget to peruse our official guide to the best of the sale.)
Monica Vinader Nura Baroque Pearl Pendant Necklace
What do Kate Middleton and Ariana Grande have in common? Both own pearl pieces from Monica Vinader’s Nura collection.
Monica Vinader Tapered Small Hoop Earrings
Dakota Johnson, Nina Dobrev, Selena Gomez and more stars often wear styles from Vinader’s collaboration with celeb stylist Kate Young. While the special drop isn’t included in the sale, this design looks strikingly similar to the sculptural hoops stars love.
Monica Vinader Alta Capture Pearl Charm Bracelet
Kendall Jenner rocked a version of this luxe-looking bracelet on repeat during summer 2021.
Monica Vinader Siren Muse Huggie Hoop Earrings
In search of something a bit more budget-friendly? These classic hoops are similar to the many Monica Vinader designs stars Selena Gomez owns.
Another shining star of the sale? Over $700 (!) on this luxe lab grown diamond tennis necklace.
Monica Vinader Deco Paper Clip Chain Necklace
Olivia Rodrigo stacked several paperclip necklaces from the label for the 2022 Super Bowl.
Monica Vinader Large Essential Two Tone Hoop Earrings
Plenty of famous folks rock Monica Vinader’s hoops, from Bella Hadid to Zoe Saldaña. And if you can’t decide between silver and gold, why not rock both at once with this nifty $100-off pair?
Nordstrom Anniversary Sale FAQs answered
When is the 2025 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?
This year’s sale goes live online and in-person beginning with early access on Tuesday, July 8 for Nordy Club members, and will be available to the general public Saturday, July 12 through Sunday, August 3.
How can I get early access?
Check your Nordy Club status — you may qualify for early access through one of the tiers below:
Icon status: July 8
Ambassador status: July 9
Influencer status: July 10
Everyone else: July 12
What’s on sale, and is it worth shopping?
Page Six editors — and readers alike — love to take advantage of Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale to score major discounts on luxury labels, celebrity-loved accessories, beauty sets and much more. We’re keeping an eye out for brand favorites like Frye, Madewell, Jo Malone, Tom Ford and Farm Rio. This year’s sale will see 65+ new brand names featured in the catalog, including Alice + Olivia, Florence by Mills and many more, as well as the introduction of Anniversary Big Deals — offering select products up to 50% off.
Jessica Simpson has joined the pantheon of greats who’ve peed their pants on stage, we hear, after she accidentally let loose live on the “Today” show on Wednesday.
The pop singer performed a medley as part of the NBC breakfast show’s summer concert series, and she’s such a pro that viewers wouldn’t have known anything was amiss.
Jessica Simpson performed a medley on the “Today” show Wednesday. GC Images
But Page Six hears that after the “Newlyweds” star returned backstage after her performance, she… spilled… to people in the greenroom.
Those high notes can be hazardous, it seems.
It’s pretty common, in fact. Greats including Pattie Labelle, Fergie, Joe Jonas, Ed Sheeran and Hugh Jackman have all had onstage bathroom mishaps.
Jackman, for example, once said on Rachael Ray’s show that he’d been appearing in “Beauty and the Beast” early in his career, and had been drinking a ton of water to treat headaches.
“I go down to the stage, getting ready for my first number…and I’m like I really need to go again,” he said, “[The routine is] the most cardiovascular song I’ve ever done: literally I’m picking up Belle and as I pick her up, I stopped singing and right in that moment I realized the muscles you need to release in order to sing are the ones you do not want to release if you need to go.”
