Category: World

Las Vegas Sands on Tuesday (Jul 15) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its US$8 billion (S$10.3 billion) expansion project for Marina Bay Sands.

The ceremony was officiated by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Also in attendance was Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu and key executives from Las Vegas Sands – co-founder Miriam Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer Robert Goldstein, as well as president and chief operating officer Patrick Dumont.

The project – dubbed IR2 for now – has been billed as an “ultra-luxurious resort and entertainment destination” that aims to “redefine industry standards further and push boundaries in the realms of luxury tourism, hospitality and entertainment”, the firm said in a press release.

Designed by Safdie Architects, the US-based firm behind the design of MBS, the new development will be an all-suite hotel tower with 570 suites.

The average suite size in the new 55-storey tower will be bigger than what’s currently available in MBS, said Mr Dumont in an earlier interview with CNA.

There will also be more luxury retail boutiques, high-end restaurants and wellness offerings, a new gaming area, about 200,000 sq ft of premium meeting space, as well as a 15,000-seater entertainment arena designed to host regional and international touring acts and large-scale live events.

Just as how the Marina Bay Sands is synonymous with its iconic skypark, the new tower will have its own multi-storey rooftop experience called “Skyloop”.

Spanning 76,000 sq ft and offering a 360-degree view of the Singapore skyline, this will be a mix of both public and private spaces.

On the lower floor, the “Skyloop” will offer several points of public access, including an observatory, restaurants and lush gardens.

Above, guests can look forward to “secluded experiences” ranging from private cabanas, infinity pools, as well as a wellness terrace designed for yoga, arts and specialty events, it said in its press release.

Plans for the new project at MBS were first announced in 2019 before being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Development costs have more than doubled from the initial US$3.3 billion estimated in 2019 due to factors such as inflation, the pandemic and higher labour and material costs.

The project is now expected to be completed by June 2030 with the estimated official opening set for January 2031, subject to approval from the Singapore government.

In its press release, Las Vegas Sands said sustainability will be “at the heart” of the project’s architecture and practices.

For example, it will use materials with reduced environment impact, such as low-carbon concrete and recycled steel, to lower the project’s upfront environmental footprint. A construction waste management plan has also been set in place.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister, said the Marina Bay area has now become “a symbol of the Singapore story” – representing a thriving financial and business hub, as well as a destination for meetings, conventions, tourism and entertainment.

He added that Tuesday’s groundbreaking event marked a “new chapter” for Marina Bay, and when the expansion is completed, it will introduce new attractions and refresh the Singapore skyline.

Additional convention and exhibition space will also help strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions globally.

Mr Wong noted that beyond Marina Bay, the entire Southern waterfront – stretching from Bay East to Pasir Panjang – was undergoing a “broader and more ambitious transformation” with the potential introduction of more commercial, recreational, entertainment and housing options.

“When we decided to have the integrated resorts back in 2005, it was a bold move for Singapore – to reimagine our tourism landscape and to refresh our offerings,” said the prime minister.

“It was also a bold commitment from Las Vegas Sands – a major investment underpinned by confidence in Singapore and in Singapore’s future. We both had to take risks … but we together made it happen. I’m glad this partnership has flourished, and even happier that we are now taking it to the next level.”

Mr Goldstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands, said the new hotel tower is “not an extension of MBS”. Instead, it will be a “brand new building with a brand new identity”.

“We’re very proud of MBS, but the goal here is to create something distinct, unique, mysterious and world-class. We’re here to take Singapore to yet another level of luxury tourism in Asia and be the leader for years to come,” he said.

Mr Goldstein added: “We were able to do this because this government allows people to dream and excel. It’s quite an amazing place, Singapore, and we’re very proud to be part of your success.”

To commemorate the ceremony, MBS was lit up in a wash of golden hues on Tuesday night.

More than 220 guests attended, with performances by local singer-songwriter Jasmine Sokko and Canadian pop star Henry Lau.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/las-vegas-sands-breaks-ground-us8b-expansion-project-marina-bay-sands-lawrence-wong-5238851

Six infants, with five allegedly intended to be sold to buyers in Singapore, have been rescued by local authorities in Indonesia after they busted a baby-trafficking ring that has reportedly carried out 24 such deals since 2023.

And of the 24 infants that have already been sold, 15 were taken to Singapore, Director of General Crime Investigation of West Java Police Department Surawan told CNA when contacted.

He added that of the six babies rescued, five were ready to be sent to buyers in Singapore, while one was to be sent to Pontianak.

He had earlier told local media that the six rescued babies were aged between two and three months old.

“According to the suspects’ statements, the babies were to be adopted in Singapore but we are still investigating this further,” Surawan was quoted as saying by news outlet CNN Indonesia.

Twelve people have been named suspects in the alleged human trafficking case and were arrested, Hendra Rochmawan, head of public relations for West Java Police, told local media on Monday. It is unclear when they were arrested.

He said the 12 suspects held different roles in the syndicate, including acting as initial recruiters to being caregivers to the babies as well as couriers who deliver the infants to the clients’ intended locations that include Singapore, local media Kompas reported.

CNA has reached out to Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Police Force for comments.

INVESTIGATIONS ONGOING

Authorities in Indonesia say the 12 suspects are undergoing interrogation for further investigations.

“We did not only detain the suspects, we also seized some evidence such as (fake) identity cards, passports and other documents identifying the victims,” Hendra was quoted as saying by local media.

Meanwhile, Surawan also confirmed that the babies were intended to be transported to Singapore.

“Through the suspects, we managed to rescue five babies in Pontianak that were supposed to be sent to Singapore and already had the necessary documents. We also rescued another baby in Tangerang a few days ago,” Surawan said.

He added: “We are still investigating the babies that are already in Singapore and will coordinate with the Interpol to pursue this case further.”

According to Surawan, the six infants rescued were sent to Bhayangkara Sartika Asih Hospital in Bandung for medical treatment.

“The plan is for all victims to be placed in the shelter of the West Java Social Service,” said Surawan, as quoted by Kompas.

He said that the baby trafficking syndicate came to light after a parent made a report that his child had been kidnapped by an unknown person.

“Most of the cases originate from West Java. The case started from a report made by a parent whose child was kidnapped and we developed the case based on the suspects in West Java,” Surawan was quoted as saying by CNN Indonesia.

Based on interrogations of the suspects, the police found that each baby successfully transported to Singapore was sold for the price of about tens of millions of rupiah per baby.

“The babies were bought from the biological mothers for about 11 million to 16 million rupiah,” said Surawan in another interview on Tuesday, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.

Surawan added that the suspects had obtained some of the babies from parents who voluntarily gave them up while others were allegedly kidnapped.

This is not the first time a baby smuggling ring to Singapore from Indonesia was reported.

In 2016, Indonesian authorities arrested three suspects in Batam for allegedly planning to sell a three-month-old baby boy to Singapore for about US$8,000.

ADOPTING FOREIGN-BORN CHILDREN IN SINGAPORE

According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), couples seeking to adopt must be both permanent residents (PRs), or have at least one of them as a Singapore citizen.

Those who would like to adopt a child as a sole applicant must either be a citizen or a PR.

When it comes to adopting a foreign child in Singapore, an applicant will need a dependant’s pass to bring the child into Singapore, according to the website of Singapore Family Lawyers – a law firm based in Singapore.

The dependant’s pass allows the child to remain in Singapore until the completion of the adoption process. To get the pass, the applicant must submit the child’s identity documents and notarised consent from the child’s birth parents or legal guardian.

The notarised consent means that the birth parents or legal guardian, upon the issuance of the adoption order, has given up all their duties, rights and obligations to the child.

In some cases, the adoptive parents may also be required to go to the child’s home country and comply with that country’s requirements before the Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will issue the dependant’s pass. Once the pass is granted, the applicant can proceed to file for adoption through the Family Court.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-singapore-baby-trafficking-west-java-adoption-5238996

Wedding bells might be in Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson’s future.

“She 100 percent would say yes if he asked her to marry him and his friends think that will happen sooner than later,” an insider told Us Weekly Tuesday.

“She would love to have kids one day and sees what a good father he is.”

The source gushed over Trump Jr. 47, and Anderson’s relationship, adding, “[they] are really cute and loving around each other.”

“He is very much a gentleman and pulls her chair out, lets her order first and treats her so well,” the insider continued.

The couple is also reportedly “so affectionate” with each other while out with their friends, but not “over the top” with their PDA.

“They hold hands and always sneak in little kisses,” the insider claimed. “He tells her how smart and gorgeous she is all the time.”

The source described Anderson, 38, and Trump Jr.’s vibe as “very in love” and comfortable with each other, saying how the latter can “get glammed up and look amazing, go fishing and golfing with [her beau], or get sweaty and be laid back.”

“She is more shy but funny and Don appreciates how she lets him talk to people and be around his guy friends,” the insider added, explaining that the socialite can “hold her own conversations and enjoy herself.”

Anderson’s also reportedly enjoys spending time with the businessman’s children: Kai, 18, Donald III, 16, Tristan, 13, Spencer, 12, and Chloe, 11.

Trump Jr. shares his five kids with his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump, to whom he was married from 2005 to 2018.

Reps for the couple weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.

In December 2024, Page Six confirmed that Trump Jr. and Anderson quietly started dating that summer, and the following month, we learned they “essentially” moved in together.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/07/15/celebrity-news/donald-trump-jr-and-bettina-andersons-marriage-plans-reportedly-revealed-sooner-than-later/

A PARANORMAL investigator has died while traveling across the US with the real purportedly haunted doll that inspired the horror movie series Annabelle.

Dan Rivera, 54, died of unknown causes on Sunday while handling the doll known as America’s most haunted object.

He had stopped in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during his Devils on the Run tour on Sunday evening, according to the Hanover Evening Sun.

Emergency services got a request for help for a man matching Rivera’s description being given CPR.

His death was confirmed by the New England Society for Psychic Research, which was hosting the tour.

Rivera’s official cause of death hasn’t been released.

The investigator has been remembered as a beloved friend who was passionate about educating others on paranormal activity.

All three of his shows scheduled for the Gettysburg stop were sold out.

“We are heartbroken and still processing this loss,” wrote the society.

“Dan truly believed in sharing his experiences and educating people on the paranormal.

“His kindness and passion touched everyone who knew him.”

Rivera, who is a US Army veteran, was working as the lead investigator for the society when he died.

His death came just months after he achieved viral fame on TikTok by posting about his paranormal tour and findings on the historic doll.

The real Annabelle, a Raggedy Ann doll, has been blamed for several eerie paranormal attacks over the decades.

The toy was first given to a student nurse Donna in 1970 as a gift from her mother.

Donna claims that Annabelle would move from room to room without explanation, and wrote eerie notes that said “Help us.”

A friend of Donna’s mother named Lou even claimed that one time when staying at their home, he woke up to a feeling of being strangled and had scratches on his body.

He remembers watching his horror as Annabelle stared at him during the attack, according to the society.

HAUNTING HISTORY

Donna’s mom and her nurse called a medium, who told them the story of a girl named Annabelle Higgins who was found dead at the age of seven.

They then called paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who inspired The Conjuring films, to look into the eerie claims.

In a lecture given at Rutgers University in 1987, the Warrens claimed that Annabelle would “slash” people’s skin with her psychic powers.

They said that a priest threw the doll across the room once and said, “No doll or demon is stronger than God” before running his car into a tree.

The doll was being held at the Warrens’ Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, until 2019, when Lorraine died and the museum closed.

Legend has it that a man was killed by the doll after he banged on its case, despite being warned not to touch it.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14719546/annabelle-doll-dan-rivera-dies-paranormal-investigator/

The lone tree at Northumberland’s Sycamore Gap was one of the most photographed in the country before it was deliberately cut down in September 2023.

It had been an iconic symbol of the area, standing tall for about 300 years in a natural dip in the landscape alongside Hadrian’s Wall.

The tree was not just a beloved landmark, but held a special place in the hearts of many and decorated memorial pebbles were often left at the site.

Two men have now been jailed for illegally cutting down the tree and damaging Hadrian’s Wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site and protected monument. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were both sentenced to four years and three months in prison.

The judge, who described the tree as “symbol of the untamed beauty” of the landscape around Hadrian’s Wall, said she couldn’t be sure what the motive was but believed “bravado” and “thrill seeking” were a major factor.

News of the tree’s felling sent shockwaves around the world, especially among nature lovers and landscape photographers.

Kris Hodgetts, a photographer from Blyth in Northumberland, told the BBC he thought it was a hoax at first. “We haven’t just lost another tree but a symbol of something natural in its perfect form which can’t be replaced by a statue or a memorial.”

Mr Hodgetts took the two photographs below during a night visit to Sycamore Gap in 2019.

The beloved landmark was named Tree of the Year in 2016 and was hugely popular with photographers.

The incident was not the end of the iconic tree and shoots have started to appear at the stump, although it will be decades until it is a visible presence on the landscape again.

People can touch the old trunk at an exhibit at the Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre and seedlings grown from seeds collected from the fallen sycamore will be planted across the country.

Source : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-72c404c5-35f2-4d43-bed1-1f5f1f7208dc

A trio of cryptocurrency bills that had been expected to pass the House this week stalled Tuesday after a bloc of Republicans unexpectedly joined with Democrats to prevent the legislation from coming up for debate and votes.

The procedural snafu brought the House’s so-called “crypto week” to a standstill — and dealt a blow to President Donald Trump, who had strongly urged Republicans to pass the bills as part of his push to make the U.S. the “ crypto capital of the world.”

Trump intervened during a late evening meeting with Republicans at the White House, and appeared to put the bills back on track. He posted on social media that he expected votes as soon as Wednesday.

A group of 13 Republicans had joined all Democrats in opposition to a procedural vote needed to bring the crypto bills to the floor. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters it was just part of the “legislative process” and that negotiations were underway between the House, Senate and White House. He suggested they could try again Tuesday evening.

“We expected there might be some ‘no’ votes, but we thought it was important to put it on the floor to advance it because time’s of the essence on this,” Johnson said. “So stay tuned. We’ll have lots of discussions over the next few hours.”

But just hours later, House leadership canceled votes for the remainder of the day, potentially throwing the crypto bills into limbo.

Then, late in the evening, Trump posted that he was having a White House meeting with lawmakers and had won their support to vote for the procedural step.

“I am in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 Congressmen/women necessary to pass the GENIUS Act and, after a short discussion, they have all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule,” Trump said on social media, referring to the step.

The president said that Johnson attended via telephone “and looks forward to taking the Vote as early as possible.”

The stalled legislation includes a Senate-passed bill to regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, along with far more sweeping measures aiming to address cryptocurrency market structure. Another bill would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency.

The disagreement blocking the bills from advancing centers on how the three bills would be passed. Johnson explained that “some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package.” Packaging the bills would require them to be sent back to the Senate, since the chamber has only taken up one of the three bills so far.

Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, a Republican co-sponsor of one of the cryptocurrency bills, told reporters that some of the Republicans wanted to package the bills together due to them “not having a lot of faith in the Senate moving our legislation.”

Trump and Republican leaders have called on the House to pass the bills individually, so that the stablecoin legislation can get to Trump’s desk for his signature before an August recess. The stablecoin legislation took the Senate nearly a month and half to pass, and the more sweeping market structure legislation is expected to take even longer.

In a post Tuesday morning on social media, Trump had called on Republicans to advance the crypto bills that afternoon, saying that “all Republicans should vote ‘yes.’” Asked Tuesday evening about the stalled legislation, Trump told reporters that Republicans who voted against it wanted it to be “stronger.”

Trump has pushed hard for the passage of the stablecoin legislation, with him and his family standing to profit from a boost to stablecoins. They hold a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that recently launched its own stablecoin, USD1.

The stablecoin legislation passed by the Senate includes a provision that bars members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins. But notably, that prohibition does not apply to the president or his family, even as Trump builds what some are calling a crypto empire from the White House.

The cryptocurrency industry hopes the bills as a whole will aid in their push for legitimacy and increasing consumer trust. And road bumps like those seen Tuesday may not have been expected after spending heavily in the 2024 election to elect a large number of crypto-friendly lawmakers.

Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer of Coinbase, the nation’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in a statement after the failed procedural vote that “every few steps forward there’s inevitably a step back.”

“It’s in these moments we’ll see who is trying to get pro-crypto legislation done and who is not,” Shirzad said on social media.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/cryptocurrency-trump-house-c5615ca72cd77b5895bafac9d4cf1d79

Stephen King has a rule for anyone wanting to adapt one of his books for the big or small screen. It’s basically the Hippocratic oath for intellectual property — first, do no harm.

“When you deviate from the story that I wrote, you do so at your own risk,” he says in a recent interview from his home in Maine. “I know what I’m doing and I’m not sure that screenwriters always do or that producers and directors always do.”

Not everyone has listened to King, who has enjoyed hit adaptations — “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Stand By Me,” “Misery,” “It” and “The Shining” — as well as flops — “Salem’s Lot,” “Graveyard Shift” and “The Lawnmower Man.”

The industrious novelist has lately watched as a wave of adaptations are crafted for theaters or streaming platforms, a list that includes “The Life of Chuck” and the upcoming “The Long Walk,” “The Running Man” and “It: Welcome to Derry.” It also includes the eight-episode series “The Institute,” which debuts on MGM+ on Sunday.

It’s about a secret government facility where kids with special talents — telekinesis and telepathy — are imprisoned and put to dark geopolitical uses. Their bedrooms are faithfully re-created and creepy posters — “Your Gift Is Important” and “I Choose to be Happy” — line the halls.

Does this small-screen adaptation of his 2019 book get King’s approval? “I’m talking to you which is a pretty good sign,” he says, laughing. He even signed on as executive producer.

“When I write a book, it’s a single-person sport and when these people do a TV show or a movie it becomes a team sport. So you expect some changes and, sometimes, man, they’re really good.”

What’s ‘The Institute’ about’?

“The Institute” stars Mary-Louise Parker as a sinister scientist and Ben Barnes as a small-town cop on opposite sides as the group of children are kidnapped and exploited. The series is faithful to the book, but includes some changes, like setting it entirely in Maine and aging the hero up so as not to appear too sadistic.

That hero — 14-year-old Luke Ellis, played winningly by Joe Freeman — is the latest youngster with special powers that King has manifested, a line that stretches back to the heroine of “Carrie,” Danny Torrance in “The Shining” and Charlie McGee in “Firestarter.”

“I thought to myself, what would happen if a bunch of kids that had psychic powers could see enough of the future to tell when certain moments were going to come along,” he says. “But the kids would be wrecked by this process and they would be kept in a place where they could serve the greater good. It was a moral problem that I really liked.”

King has a special respect for young adults, who he says can be brave and behave nobly under pressure but who can also be mean and petty.

He says he was inspired by William Golding, who wrote the iconic “Lord of the Flies,” a dystopian novel about a group of schoolboys who while trying to survive on a remote island unlock their own barbarism.

“He was talking to his wife before he wrote the book and he said, ‘What would it be like if I wrote a story about boys and the way that boys really acted?’ And so I tried to write a book about kids the way that kids really act,” says King.

Executive producer and co-writer Benjamin Cavell says King resists the impulse to be overly involved in the process, instead identifying people he trusts to do right by the material.

“So much of the pleasure of King’s writing is the access he gives his reader to the deepest, darkest, most private thoughts and dreams and desires of his characters; the adaptor’s task is to make all that external and cinematic,” says Cavell.

‘Monsters inside of us’

Jack Bender has become something of a King whisperer, helping adapt both King’s “Mr. Mercedes” and “The Outsider” to the screen. This time, he helped direct and executive produce “The Institute.”

“I count my blessings to be in the position of someone he creatively trusts,” says Bender. “He is a genius at tapping into the fears we all share of what’s hiding under our beds. For me, both ‘Mr. Mercedes’ and ‘The Institute’ deal with those fears by focusing on the monsters inside of us human beings, not just outside in the world around us.”

The first thing Bender and Cavell had to figure out was what form “The Institute” would take — a standalone film or a series.

“In the case of ‘The Institute,’ which was a 576-page novel packed with rich, fascinating characters that would need time to connect and be with each other, I didn’t want to shrink it into a 110 minute movie that would’ve become the ‘X-Kids,’” says Bender.

King says that while Hollywood has a seemingly insatiable appetite for his books, he hasn’t gotten more cinematic as a writer — he always has been.

“I am one of the first writers that was actually influenced by television as well as movies. “I grew up with the idea that things should be cinematic and that you should look at things in a visual way, a very sensory way.”

Source : https://apnews.com/article/institute-stephen-king-series-interview-4d7e03ba7f8e113c03a382816d8e956b

He’s staying red.

Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani stuck to his socialist guns during a highly anticipated powwow with Big Apple business leaders Tuesday — doubling down on his plan to raise their taxes, if elected.

Mamdani — who just last month said billionaires shouldn’t exist — schmoozed with roughly 100 CEOs convened by the powerful Partnership for New York City at his request, for the first of two days of scheduled meetings with business bigs.

The 90-minute meeting’s temperature remained low, even as Mamdani was grilled about his communist-tinged and anti-Israel comments, including his refusal to condemn the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry, one attendee told The Post.

Asked about his intent to slap the ultra-wealthy and corporations, Mamdani told the executives that taxes had been raised on those groups in the past without it resulting in an exodus of high-earners from the Big Apple, the source said.

“He didn’t back away from any policy position, though he did so in a non-confrontational manner,” the attendee dished.

“It shows he’s a good politician. He was very confident.”

The slick Mamdani also distanced himself from his past use of the phrase “seizing the means of production,” a Marxist concept, but in a roundabout way, chalking it up to a rookie mistake, another business bigwig in attendance said.

“It was very frustrating,” the source said.

“He talks so much and says so little.”

The sit-down — which was requested by Mamdani and will be followed by a Wednesday confab with tech industry leaders — was pointedly snubbed by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who sits on the Partnership’s board, and other Wall Street titans, many of whom sent non-executive underlings, sources said.

“Everyone is just in listening mode,” joked one banking bigwig.

Dimon — who branded Mamdani a “Marxist” at an event in Ireland last week — begged off with a vague scheduling “conflict,” according to bank reps.

Even with the brush-off, Mamdani’s move to engage business leaders shows the “tax the rich” firebrand shifting toward broader outreach ahead of November’s general election, where he’ll face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a stubborn ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden.

Those in attendance included Loews Corporation chair James Tisch, an ardent backer of Israel and the father of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch — whom Mamdani did not commit to keeping as top cop during the meeting.

A top rep from Louis Vuitton was also in the room for the confab, held at real estate company Tishman Speyer’s Rockefeller Plaza offices, sources said.

Mamdani, when pressed about the anti-Israel “globalize the intifada” cry by the business leaders, said he discouraged its use, according to attendees.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who is Jewish, pressed Mamdani for throwing around the word “genocide” about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza under Israel, the second source said.

But Mamdani evidently forged ahead smoothly.

“It was very frustrating. He speaks well,” the source said, recounting Mamdani’s response to a question about retail theft.

“He went into a lengthy discussion about people with mental illness. You scratch your head and say, ‘He didn’t answer the question. Unless you believe everyone who commits retail theft is mentally ill.’”

The source added: “(Mamdani) speaks very well, in paragraphs. He’s well organized. It’s easy to fall into the trap of not getting an answer to your question.”

The summit came as the Queens state Assemblyman shifts his campaign to the general election after his shocking win in last month’s Democratic primary.

Mamdani recently picked Jeffrey Lerner, a seasoned Democratic political veteran who once worked for top rival Cuomo, to lead his campaign.

He has been engaging with Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for NYC, as he tried to make nice with business leaders who’ve greeted his surprise primary win over Cuomo with serious concern verging into full-blown panic.

Mamdani has also extended lower profile olive branches, including meeting with many individual business leaders in one-on-ones, a source tied to the candidate said.

He met Monday with a dozen executives with the Black Economic Alliance, including chairman and techie investment honcho Charles Phillips, sources said.

“He’s proven himself to be a savvy campaigner,” a Democratic political operative said.

“The way you do it without angering your base is to quietly reach out to these people.”

And Mamdani has given tense tycoons plenty of ammunition to justify their fears.

He has pushed for a 2% tax hike on millionaires, a 4.5% increase on corporations and unhesitatingly said billionaires shouldn’t exist — all of which sparked fears a Mamdani mayoralty would cause an exodus of high earners from the Big Apple.

Some bigs have gone on offense against the leftist, such as billionaire hedge fund titan Bill Ackman, who publicly searched for an anti-Mamdani candidate before casting his lot with Adams.

Fellow billionaire John Catsimatidis likewise threatened to close or sell his Manhattan-based grocery chain Gristedes if Mamdani — who has proposed launching government-owned grocery shops — wins.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/15/us-news/zohran-mamdani-sticks-to-socialist-guns-tax-the-rich-plan-during-highly-anticipated-sitdown-with-nyc-big-business-leaders/

One disaster averted an even bigger one for this New Jersey family.

Lina Delgado-Ramos, her husband, sister, cousin and their golden retriever fled their North Plainfield home to escape Monday night’s deadly flash floods — only for the house to explode spectacularly just hours later.

“The storm saved our lives. We could have been inside, thinking that we are safe, and then — boom,” she told The Post Tuesday.

But not everyone was so lucky. Two women died a town over in Plainfield when their car was swept away in the deluge that battered the tri-state area late Monday.

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency as some towns like Mountainside in Union County saw more than 5.34 inches of rain, and the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings across the state.

Newark Liberty International Airport saw a ground stop until 8 p.m. and experienced multiple delays and cancelations, and startling videos making the rounds online showed sections of the New Jersey Turnpike completely submerged.

Delgado-Ramos, 36, said that when a flash flood warning hit, she packed up her family and got them to higher ground around 6 p.m. She said she had visions of the horrific Texas floods in her mind at the end.

“So we were all trying to save our cars and get them to higher ground. As we drove we got to higher ground and waited for the storm to pass,” she said.

They sought refuge on one of the hills in Green Brook Township in the Garden State, around three miles from their North Plainfield neighborhood.

She believes they were the only ones on their block to leave.

Around 9 p.m. they decided to head back to the house, but couldn’t get close in their cars because there was so much water in the streets. By 10 p.m., Delgado-Ramos’ husband and cousin were trying to access the property on foot to survey the extent of the damage.

The next thing she knew, her husband called around 11:30 p.m., telling her he heard a thunderous explosion. Their house went up in flames, which she could only watch helplessly from their elevated vantage point.

“Thank God we never came back, because our plan was to come back to the house to spend the night. The storm saved our lives. We could have been inside, thinking that we are safe, and then — boom,” she said.

“Thank God it happened to us and not the neighbors who were in the house when this happened.”

She said investigators are working to determine the cause of the blast, and that their next hurdle will be dealing with their insurance company.

The cause of the blast hasn’t been determined, but some neighbors reported smelling gas in the area.

“It’s kind of a shock, so we spent most of the morning camping outside the house, but now we’re shopping for a few different items and we’re going to spend the night with family.”

Nicola Gibbs, the across-the-street neighbor from Delgado-Ramos’ destroyed home, said she was sitting on her porch when it all went down.

“It was exactly at 11:20 and I’m sitting right here with my dog just watching the water recede. The water was all the way to my steps. and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the roof just flew up,” she said of the blast that leveled the family dwelling.

“And as soon as the roof went up, the house exploded underneath. And just the blast just pushed me and the dog into the house.”

She said she could feel the heat from the house fire from inside her home, and that she thought the family was still inside when she called the police and fire department.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/15/us-news/nj-woman-whose-family-narrowly-escaped-horrific-house-explosion-grateful-to-be-alive-the-storm-saved-our-lives/

When violent riots erupted across Los Angeles in defiance of President Trump’s efforts to enforce federal immigration law, the uprising was not as spontaneous as open-borders politicians would have you believe.

Far-left non-governmental organizations, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), helped provide transportation and services to those going to the protests in support of illegal immigration, many of which quickly devolved into brutal attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As it turns out, CHIRLA received nearly $34 million in California state grants from June 2022 to June 2023.

From October 2021 to September 2024, under the Biden-Harris administration, the group also received $450,000 in grants from the Department of Homeland Security.

But this pattern of incentivizing lawless behavior at taxpayers’ expense isn’t an isolated case — it is an example of the extensive partnership of open-borders activists and their allies in the Biden-Harris administration, and Americans are still paying the cost.

On Wednesday, my Committee will examine this pattern and its impacts in a hearing featuring testimony from Mike Howell of the Oversight Project, human trafficking expert Ali Hopper, and veteran border and riot correspondent Julio Rosas.

Every one of these witnesses has seen up close how these organizations work with Democrat officials and open-borders policies to advance a pro-illegal immigration agenda — from how NGOs help incentivize cartel human smuggling across our borders and participate in the final mile of this illicit activity, to how they work with far-left rioters opposing ICE enforcement in our streets today.

Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris administration’s catch-and-release policies allowed more than 13 million to cross our borders, including gang members, criminals and suspected terrorists.

From the early days of the historic border crisis, Biden and Harris’ DHS released these inadmissible aliens to a vast network of NGOs, particularly those operating at the border.

These groups received billions of taxpayer dollars from DHS and the Department of Health and Human Services to provide all manner of services to illegal aliens once they were released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection or ICE custody including legal services, lodging, and transportation to the destination of their choice.

These NGOs not only incentivized illegal entry, however — they actively participated in completing the human smuggling chain begun by the cartels outside our borders.

The evidence of this NGO industrial complex is incontrovertible.

A groundbreaking 2022 study using mobile-device data showed that NGOs were serving as a launching pad for illegal aliens to disperse throughout the country.

In a 2023 transcribed interview with the Committee, then-Chief Patrol Agent for the Del Rio Sector Jason Owens described how NGOs were complicit in funneling millions of inadmissible aliens into the country, saying, “A large portion of [the aliens] were being given parole and … ICE would then turn them over to NGOs for them to travel to wherever they were going to go while they await their hearing.”

In March, the Committee opened an investigation into the mayors of Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago — sanctuary cities that helped funnel funding to numerous far-left NGOs during the border crisis.

Last month, the Committee expanded its probe to more than 200 NGOs across the country that are suspected of using taxpayer funds to support or benefit from illegal immigration.

NGOs like CHIRLA, Catholic Charities USA, Make the Road New York, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Global Refuge, Southwest Key Programs, and Endeavors all received letters requesting information on how they spent government funds during the crisis and how they may have used those dollars to encourage and facilitate illegal immigration.

The near-total lack of accountability for how the taxpayer dollars given to NGOs were spent under the Biden-Harris administration is unacceptable.

In March 2023, the DHS Office of Inspector General reported that an audit could not account for more than half of the DHS funding that the OIG reviewed, due to lack of proper documentation by these groups.

The overall funding to these NGOs was immense.

The Biden border crisis was good for business, as many NGOs saw their annual revenues rise significantly during the Biden-Harris administration.

For example, it was reported that three prominent NGOs that assisted illegal aliens went from making a combined $597 million in revenue in 2019 to $3 billion just three years later in 2022 — an increase of 400%.

One NGO, Southwest Key Programs, received more than $2 billion under the previous administration to provide services for unaccompanied alien children.

However, an HHS OIG report found that Southwest Key leadership may have improperly benefited from the deal, with one top employee receiving a 280% increase in salary by Fiscal Year 2023 to $1.2 million.

Last summer, the federal government sued Southwest Key, alleging that employees engaged in a pattern of sexual abuse and harassment against the children in its shelters and failed to take sufficient action to protect the children in its care.

Under the Trump administration, HHS has stopped all placement of unaccompanied alien children in Southwest Key facilities.

Another NGO, Endeavors, received sole-source, no-bid ICE contracts under Biden and Harris, despite having no experience as a lead contractor for shelter services.

The non-profit received more than $2 billion in federal contracts under the Biden-Harris administration.

In 2023, Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, a senior director at Endeavors and former ICE employee under the Biden administration, admitted in an undercover video that he used his previous connections with Biden’s 2020 transition team to help facilitate the contacts.

While the Trump administration has successfully re-secured our borders and is working to put the abuse of taxpayer dollars under the Biden-Harris administration behind us, a lot of damage has already been done — and the money has already been spent.

American taxpayer dollars were laundered through Biden and Harris’ DHS to these “non-profits,” who then used those dollars to undermine the laws of the same government giving them funding.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/15/opinion/how-charities-funded-by-your-tax-dollars-helped-break-immigration-law/

Two gunshots.

That is how Yoo Seok-sul begins recounting the night of Friday, 26 October, 1979.

A former security guard in the Korea Central Intelligence Agency, or KCIA, as the South’s spy division was known, Yoo has many stories to tell. But this is perhaps the most infamous.

He remembers the time – nearly 19:40 – and where he had been sitting – in the break room. He was resting after his shift guarding the entrance to the low-rise compound where President Park Chung-hee entertained his most trusted lieutenants. They called it the “safe house”.

In his 70s now, wiry with sharp eyes, Yoo speaks hesitantly at first – but it comes back to him quickly. After the first shots, more gunfire followed, he says. The guards were on high alert but they waited outside for orders. The president’s security detail was inside, along with the KCIA’s top agents.

Then Yoo’s boss, a KCIA officer who oversaw security for the safe house, stepped outside. “He came over and asked me to bury something in the garden.” It was two guns, bullets and a pair of shoes. Flustered, Yoo followed orders, he says.

He did not know who had been shot, and he didn’t ask.

“I never imagined that it was the president.”

The guns Yoo buried were used to assassinate Park Chung-hee, who had ruled South Korea for the previous 18 years, longer than any president before or since. The man who shot him was his long-time friend Kim Jae-gyu, who ran the much-feared KCIA, a pillar of Park’s dictatorship.

That Friday shook South Korea, ending Park Chung-hee’s stifling rule and ushering in another decade under the military. Kim was executed for insurrection, along with five others.

Now, 46 years later, that night is back in the spotlight as a court retries Kim Jae-gyu to determine if his actions amounted to treason. He has remained a deeply polarising figure – some see him as a killer blinded by power and ambition, others as a patriot who sacrificed himself to set South Korea on the path to democracy. The president he killed is no less divisive, lauded for his country’s economic rise and reviled for his authoritarian rule.

Kim’s family fought for the retrial, arguing that he cannot be remembered as a traitor. They will now have their day in the Seoul High Court just as impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol goes on trial for the same charge that sent Kim to the gallows.

Yoon’s martial law order last December was short-lived but it threw up questions about South Korean democracy – and that may influence how the country sees a man who shot dead a dictator he claimed was on the brink of unleashing carnage.

Was Kim trying to seize power for himself or to spark a revolution, as he claimed in court?

When news of the shooting broke in the morning, it sent shockwaves through South Korea. Initial reports called it “accidental”.

What was left of Park’s coterie tried to make sense of what had happened. Kim had been a close ally since Park seized power in a coup in 1961. They shared a hometown and had started out together at the military academy.

Veteran journalist Cho Gab-je acknowledges that Kim seemed uncomfortable with some of Park’s actions, but “there’s no record that Kim actually acted on those concerns, no evidence he released political prisoners, clashed with Park, or submitted formal objections”.

Kim told the court he had thought about killing Park at least three times. But history shows he supported Park as he tightened his grip, abolishing direct presidential elections and term limits, allowing him to control the National Assembly and even suspend constitutional rights.

“My brother was never the kind of person who would commit such an act just to become president,” insists his sister Kim Jung-sook, who is now 86.

But he ran the KCIA, which was notorious for jailing, torturing and even framing innocent students, dissidents and opposition figures with false charges.

“They tortured people, fabricated charges, and imprisoned them… and if you criticised that, you’d get arrested too,” says Father Ham Se-woong, who was imprisoned twice in the 1970s for criticising the government.

Kim was not a saviour many could accept. But that is the mantle he took on, according to court transcripts that were not widely reported at the time. He told the judges he believed it was imperative to stop Park, whose ruthlessness could plunge South Korea into chaos and cost them a critical ally, the United States.

“I do not wish to beg for my life, as I have found a cause to die for,” he said, although he asked the court to spare his men who followed his orders – “innocent sheep”, he called them. He said he had hoped to pave the way for a peaceful transition of power, which had eluded his country so far.

On hearing about this back then, even a fierce critic like Father Ham tried launching a campaign for him. “He wanted to prevent further bloodshed. That’s why we had to save him,” he says.

Father Ham ended up in prison again for his efforts, as the trial became a sensitive subject. The country was under martial law. Days after the trial started – on December 12 – the man who led the investigation into the assassination, General Chun Doo-hwan, seized power in a coup.

Proceedings in the military court moved at lightning speed. On 20 December, it convicted Kim of trying to seize power through murder, and six others of aiding him. Yoo was sentenced to three years in prison for hiding the guns.

By 20 May the following year, Kim had lost his final appeal. Four days later he was hanged, along with four others. One was spared and another had been executed earlier. Kim died as the army brutally suppressed a pro-democracy uprising, killing 166 civilians in the city of Gwangju.

“I got the impression that Chun Doo-hwan was trying to quickly wrap up anything related to the previous regime in order to seize power for himself,” says Kim Jung-sook.

She says she saw her brother just once through all this, a week before he was executed: “I think he sensed it might be the last time. So he bowed deeply to my mother as a goodbye.”

Yoo survived but he says after he was free, he was followed for years: “I couldn’t get a job. Even when I returned to my hometown, they kept tailing me. I couldn’t say a word about the case.” He now works as an attendant in a private parking lot outside Seoul.

Ms Kim says her family did not speak up until about 10 years ago. After South Korea became a democracy, Park’s image recovered, improved by time and wealth. His daughter became president, often defending his legacy for its economic record.

It was her downfall – following massive protests over a corruption scandal – that threw open the door to revisit Kim Jae-gyu’s conviction.

“This case should never have gone to a military court because the assassination happened before martial law was declared,” says Lee Sang-hee, the lawyer in charge of his retrial. She adds that the “sloppy transcripts” would have influenced his appeal because the defence was not allowed to record the proceedings.

“When I reviewed the documents, I couldn’t understand how he could be convicted of insurrection when there was such little evidence. And above all, there was torture,” she says, which the court cited as a valid reason when it agreed in February to a retrial.

It accepted Kim’s statement, which he submitted in his unsuccessful appeal in 1980, alleging “the investigators beat me indiscriminately and used electric torture by wrapping an EE8 phone line around my fingers”.

Reports at the time alleged that Kim Jae-gyu’s wife had been detained and tortured too, along with her brother-in-law and brothers, which officials at the time denied.

Now in her 90s, his wife has always been opposed to a retrial.

“She never talked about what she had gone through and trembles even now,” Kim Jung-sook, the spy chief’s sister, says.

Ms Kim is resolute in her defence of her brother, repeatedly emphasising that “he was a man of integrity”.

“Because we believe that he did not kill the president and his security chief for personal gain, we have been able to endure all of this.”

The security chief was Cha Ji-cheol, who had been growing closer to Park, and often clashed with Kim as the two men vied for the president’s ear.

In the weeks before the assassination, they differed on how to deal with Kim Young-sam, an outspoken opposition leader who Park saw as a threat. In an interview with the New York Times, the opposition leader had called on the US to end Park’s dictatorship. The National Assembly, controlled by Park, expelled him.

The decision kicked off huge protests in Kim Young-Sam’s strongholds. Cha wanted to crush the uprising, while Kim Jae-gyu advised caution, which would also reassure a Washington that was growing impatient with Park’s rule.

Kim told the court he warned against firing at protesters, which would only ignite anger – to which Cha said, “three million died in Cambodia, and nothing happened. If we kill one million demonstrators, we’ll be fine”.

That evening at the safe house, the public broadcaster reported that the US ambassador was going to meet Kim Young-sam.

An angry Park criticised Kim Jae-gyu for not arresting the opposition leader. When Kim pushed back, the court heard, Park retorted: “The agency should be feared, it should prosecute those who deserve it.”

They sat across from each other, sipping Scotch and sharing a meal. Park sat between two women, a popular singer and a young model. Cha and Park’s chief of staff were also there.

The terse exchanges continued, and mid-way through a love song, Kim Jae-gyu said, he pulled out the gun, aimed it at Park and told him he needed to change his politics: “Sir, you should approach things with a more magnanimous vision.”

Turning to a shocked Cha, he cursed as he pulled the trigger, wounding him in the hand as Cha tried to block the shot. Then Kim fired into Park’s chest. Outside, acting on his orders, KCIA agents shot dead the president’s security detail – two were eating dinner, and two were on standby.

Kim tried shooting the president again, but the pistol malfunctioned. He ran out to one of his men, who gave him a revolver. Having returned, he killed a fleeing Cha, walked towards Park, who was leaning against the model as he bled, and shot him in the head.

The two women left unharmed after being paid to keep quiet. The president’s chief of staff was never targeted.

Kim then went to the next building, where the army chief he had summoned earlier was waiting. The men left in a car for KCIA headquarters.

It’s likely he didn’t argue with Kim – even a shoe-less, suspiciously rattled Kim was powerful, and his men guarded the compound. But en route he was persuaded to go to the army’s headquarters, where he was arrested soon after midnight.

Kim told the court he had planned to use the army, perhaps even impose martial law, to complete the “revolution” and transition to democracy.

This is the crux of the retrial. The prosecution had argued it was a premeditated coup, while Kim claimed far loftier motives.

But sceptics point to the lack of planning. The gun that jammed was plucked from a safe before dinner, there were enough witnesses to derail the plot, and he did not seem to have a strategy for his “revolution”. He did not even make it to the KCIA headquarters.

They say it may well have been an impulsive act of revenge by a man whose power was waning.

That’s what the army general investigating the murders alleged two days later – Kim, second only to the president, had so much to lose as Park sidelined him in favour of Cha Ji-cheol.

The following month, he also charged Kim with attempting a coup.

“For a charge of insurrection to be proved, the accused must forcibly halt the function of constitutional institutions, but that didn’t happen in this case,” says lawyer Lee Sang-hee.

Unlike in impeached president Yoon’s case – where the court will decide if he directed the military to block parliamentary proceedings – there is no evidence Kim Jae-gyu tried to seize control of state institutions, she argues.

For South Korea though, the retrial is more than that. Many see it as a defining moment to reflect on the trajectory of a democracy threatened just six months ago.

It is also an opportunity to re-evaluate Park Chung-hee, whose legacy some say is overstated. “His achievements were real, but so were his faults,” says Kim Duol, an economics professor at Myungji University. “Would South Korea’s growth have been possible without such an authoritarian regime?”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5vp4q59lgo

China’s economy has beaten expectations even as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a prolonged crisis in the property market weigh on growth.

Official figures show the world’s second largest economy grew by 5.2% in the three months to the end of June, compared to the same time last year. That’s better than the 5.1% forecast by many economists but lower than the previous quarter.

The country has so far avoided a sharp downturn, partly due to measures announced by Beijing to help support the economy and a fragile trade truce with Washington.

The economy “withstood pressure and made steady improvement despite challenges”, said China’s National Bureau of Statistics in a statement.

Officials said economic growth was helped by a 6.4% expansion in manufacturing, with higher demand for 3D printing devices, electric vehicles and industrial robots.

The country’s services sector – which includes areas like transport, finance, and technology – also made gains.

But in June, retail sales growth slowed to 4.8% from a year earlier, compared with a 6.4% increase in May.

Also on Tuesday, official figures showed a drop in China’s new home prices in June, falling at the fastest monthly pace in eight months.

The data suggests the country’s real estate industry is continuing to struggle despite several rounds of measures to support property prices.

Analysts had expected a bigger impact from tariffs on China’s economy but the country remains “highly resilient”, said economist Gu Qingyang from the National University of Singapore.

Growth was boosted by exports, mainly due to firms rushing to ship goods before potential new tariffs or changes to China’s export strategy take effect, he added.

The second half of the year is likely be more uncertain though, Prof Gu said.

“As a result, stronger government stimulus might be needed. That said, achieving the 5% annual growth target still seems well within reach.”

But some economists expect China to miss its “around 5%” annual growth target this year.

“The real question is by how much. We believe it will defend a floor of 4%, which remains the minimum politically acceptable level,” Dan Wang, director for China at consultancy Eurasia Group told the BBC.

A tariffs war between China’s President Xi Jinping and Trump led to the US imposing a 145% levy on Chinese imports. In return, Beijing introduced a 125% duty on some US goods.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20r461g61xo

U.S. efforts to break China’s dominance of the rare earths market and to drive investment in its own industry have moved up a gear with a Washington-backed plan to create a separate, higher pricing system.
The West has struggled to weaken China’s grip on 90% of the supply of rare earths, in part because low prices set in China have removed the incentive for investment elsewhere.

Miners in the West have long called for a separate pricing system to help them compete in supplying the rare earths group of 17 metals needed to make super-strong magnets of strategic importance. They are used in military applications such as drone and fighter jets, as well as to power motors in EVs and wind turbines.

Under a deal made public last week, the U.S. Department of Defense will guarantee a minimum price for its sole domestic rare earth miner MP Materials (MP.N), opens new tab, at nearly twice the current market level.
Las Vegas-based MP already produces mined and processed rare earths and said it expects to start commercial magnet production at its Texas facility around the end of this year.
Analysts say the pricing deal, which takes effect immediately, should have global implications – positive for producers, but may increase costs for consumers, such as automakers and in turn their customers.
“This benchmark is now a new centre of gravity in the industry that will pull prices up,” said Ryan Castilloux, managing director of consultancy Adamas Intelligence.

The DoD will pay MP the difference between $110 per kilogram for the two most-popular rare earths and the market price, currently set by China, but if the price rises above $110, the DoD will get 30% of additional profits.
Castilloux said other indirect beneficiaries of the pricing system may include companies, such as Belgian chemicals group Solvay (SOLB.BR), opens new tab, which launched an expansion in April.
“It will give Solvay and others the impetus to command a similar price level. It will give them a floor to stand on, you could say,” Castilloux added.
While Solvay declined to comment, other rare earth miners, developers and their shareholders welcomed the news.
Aclara Resources (ARA.TO), opens new tab is developing rare earths mines in Chile and Brazil, as well as planning a separation plant in the United States. Alvaro Castellon, the company’s strategy and development manager, told Reuters the deal added “new strategic paths” for the company.

MP’S GRADUAL OUTPUT INCREASE
MP Materials, which suffered a net loss of $65.4 million last year largely because of China’s low pricing, will build up magnet production at its Texas plant initially to 1,000 metric tons a year, later expanding to 3,000 tons a year.
Under last Thursday’s deal, the DoD will become its largest shareholder with a 15% stake and MP will construct a second rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in the U.S., eventually adding 7,000 tons per year. In total, production would be 10,000 tons a year – equalling U.S. consumption of magnets in 2024.
That does not include, however, the 30,000 tons imported by the United States already installed in assembled products, Adamas consultancy said.
It predicts global demand for rare earth permanent magnets will more than double over the next decade to about 607,000 tons, with the U.S. seeing the strongest percentage annual growth rate in coming years at 17%.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-rare-earth-pricing-system-is-poised-challenge-chinas-dominance-2025-07-14/

During his visit to China, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasised the importance of normalising India-China relations for mutual benefit amidst a complex global landscape.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing where he conveyed that continued normalisation of India-China ties can produce mutually beneficial outcomes like the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Jaishankar, who is visiting China to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin, stated that an open exchange of views between the two sides is “very important” considering the “complex” global scenario.
“Our bilateral relationship, as you have pointed, has been steadily improving since the meeting between Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan last October,” Jaishankar said in his televised opening remarks in the meeting.
“I am confident that my discussions in this visit will maintain that positive trajectory,” he added.

This is Jaishankar’s first visit to China after ties were strained between the two nations following the 2020 military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. In the last few months, India and China have initiated a number of measures to repair the bilateral ties that had severely nosedived following the deadly clashes between the two militaries in June 2020.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/kailash-yatra-resumption-a-positive-step-jaishankar-tells-china-amid-push-for-normal-ties-article-152276175

The fire started late on Thursday night in her unit on the eighth floor of an 11-storey residential building. The flames did not spread to other apartments and were quickly brought under control.

A 46-year-old Indian woman died in a fire that broke out in her apartment in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, according to a report by Gulf News. The incident took place in the Al Majaz area last week while the woman was reportedly performing a special ritual at home. Authorities did not release her name but confirmed her nationality.

The fire started late on Thursday night in her unit on the eighth floor of an 11-storey residential building. The flames did not spread to other apartments and were quickly brought under control.

Emergency teams from Civil Defence and local police responded quickly after getting a call about the fire. The woman was found inside the apartment, and her body was sent for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Authorities have launched an investigation to find out how the fire started and to check if there were any safety violations.

In another heartbreaking incident reported in Sharjah, a 20-year-old Indian woman allegedly killed her child and later ended her own life. The tragedy took place last Tuesday afternoon in the family’s apartment.

Initial investigations suggest that the young woman was responsible for the death of her over one-year-old baby, though the motive behind the act is still unclear.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/indian-woman-dies-in-uae-apartment-fire-while-performing-ritual-glbs-2755814-2025-07-15

A New Jersey man who once took Michael Jackson into his family home after the 9/11 terror attacks —and called the pop icon his “second family”— is now being accused of trying to extort $213 million from Jackson’s estate.

Frank Cascio, 44, has apparently threatened to go public with claims against the singer which he never voiced while Jackson was alive.

In a petition filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the Michael Jackson Company and estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain allege that Frank Cascio and unidentified associates are attempting what they describe as a “civil extortion scheme,” leveraging the threat of sensational accusations to extract massive payouts.

For more than three decades, Cascio – whose father had struck up a friendship with Michael while working at a hotel in New York, leading the “Beat It” superstar to become a regular visitor to his home and to refer to the Cascios as his second family – was among Jackson’s most vocal defenders.

In dozens of public statements, TV interviews, and in his own 2011 book, “My Friend Michael”, Cascio praised Jackson in unequivocal terms. The star was twice accused of child abuse during his career, in 1993 and 2003, but settled the first case out of court and was acquitted in the second.

“I want to be precise and clear, on the record, so that everyone can read and understand: Michael’s love for children was innocent, and it was profoundly misunderstood,” Cascio wrote in the book. He added, “In all the years that I was close to him, I saw nothing that raised any red flags, not as a child and not as an adult.”

Cascio also declared that Jackson had been the victim of false allegations: “He was being attacked by liars… There was nothing ambiguous about the whole thing. These people were after Michael’s money. But he was innocent, and we were going to destroy them in court.”

In a 2005 “ABC Primetime Live” interview, he said: “If Michael ever laid a finger on me, I would not be in this chair right now.” When asked by Wendy Williams in 2011 if anything inappropriate ever occurred, he replied bluntly, “Nothing at all. And that’s what makes me so upset.”

The Cascio family appeared on “Oprah” in 2009 after Jackson’s death to talk about their close bond with the star, how they exchanged Christmas presents and how he even recorded songs in their home studio.

Cascio and his brothers insisted, “never,” when asked if there had been any improprieties by host Oprah Winfrey. One of them explained, “Michael was a target.”

According to the petition, that narrative changed in 2019 after the release of HBO’s controversial “Leaving Neverland” documentary, which featured detailed claims of child abuse against Michael by two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck.

After that aired, Cascio and his representatives approached the estate seeking a deal to sell personal materials and consult on projects. The estate claims that discussions soon turned into threats, with demands for large sums in exchange for not going public with the allegations.

Estate representatives described an unusual meeting at the Sunset Marquis Hotel pool in Los Angeles, where Cascio’s camp insisted participants wear only bathing suits “so that [Jackson’s] representatives could not wear a wire to record the conversation.”

In January 2020, the estate allegedly agreed to a confidential settlement to protect Jackson’s family from further pain. The agreement included payments over five years, strict non-disparagement terms, and a clause requiring all disputes to be handled in private arbitration.

However, in July 2024, Cascio’s attorney allegedly demanded an additional $213 million, threatening to “expand the circle of knowledge” to harm the estate’s business dealings. According to the lawsuit, in August his lawyer warned that if no payment was made, they would share their claims with the buyer of Jackson’s valuable music catalog, the estate claims.

Source: https://nypost.com/2025/07/14/entertainment/michael-jackson-pal-frank-cascio-accused-of-shaking-his-estate-down-for-213m/

The makers of Sesame Street say hackers were behind “disgusting” antisemitic messages that appeared on Elmo’s X account.

A string of posts appeared on the verified page, which has about 650,000 followers, on Sunday.

Other messages attacked US President Donald Trump and called for files relating to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to be released.

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organisation that makes the children’s programme, said an “unknown hacker” had gained access to the account.

“Elmo’s X account was compromised by an unknown hacker who posted disgusting messages, including antisemitic and racist posts,” a spokesperson said.

“We are working to restore full control of the account.”

‘Release the files’
The antisemitic posts appeared on Elmo’s account in quick succession.

They also made derogatory comments about Trump and allegations about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

The disgraced financier had powerful connections and died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.

One of Elmo’s posts called on Trump to “RELEASE THE FILES” following an announcement last week that the US Department of Justice and FBI found no evidence of a list that could implicate high-profile associates of Epstein’s.

His death is at the centre of a number of conspiracy theories and while he was campaigning to be elected, Trump had promised to publish files about what happened.

The posts on Elmo’s account come after X’s boss, Linda Yaccarino, stepped down as the platform faced criticism for an increase in antisemitic content.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who owns X, also had to explain last week after its AI chatbot, Grok, praised Adolf Hitler.

The UK’s Action Fraud said there was a rise in social and email accounts being hacked last year, with more than 35,000 reports.

It advised users to set up two-step verification alongside a strong, unique password.

Elmo is one of Sesame Street’s best-known characters and has been teaching children about kindness since the 1980s.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04d25g9v6zo

The Club World Cup has been seen by many as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup, when 48 teams will battle it out for the global crown across Mexico, Canada and the United States.

Five of the venues over the past month – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, MetLife Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and Lumen Field – are also hosting matches next year.

So what has the Club World Cup taught us about what is to come? And are there any lessons Fifa can learn from it?

Former Manchester City and Tottenham midfielder Michael Brown, who was a co-commentator for DAZN at 10 games across five different cities, told BBC Sport: “I do feel like the tournament has been a really good test for the World Cup.”

US rules mean play is stopped when lightning is recorded within a 10-mile radius – and cannot restart until 30 minutes after it finishes.

Six games were delayed, with durations ranging from 40 minutes to two hours. Two Benfica games, against Auckland and Chelsea, were delayed for about 120 minutes.

There were only four minutes left when that Chelsea game was held up. The Blues were winning 1-0 but Benfica levelled before Chelsea won in extra time.

“I think it’s a joke, to be honest,” Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said at the time.

“It’s not football. It’s completely something new. I struggle to understand – if you suspend seven or eight games then it’s probably not the right place to do the competition.”

Fifa were fortunate storms didn’t impact evening games, which could have seen postponements until the following day, but it is a possibility for next year.

Chelsea were also one of many teams to struggle with the extreme heat.

Temperatures have soared to 39C in New York and humidity has made it feel even worse – more than 50C on the heat index.

Fifpro state that nine of next year’s 16 host cities have “very high” or “extremely high” risk of heat stress injuries during the tournament.

Clubs had to arrange shorter training sessions, with Maresca saying “otherwise you don’t save energy for the game”.

Ten Juventus players asked to be substituted during their defeat by Real Madrid, said their manager Igor Tudor.

Borussia Dortmund subs watched the first half of one game from the changing room to avoid the sun – and manager Niko Kovac said he was “sweating like I’ve just come out of a sauna”.

PSG boss Luis Enrique said: “It’s not good for the spectacle because it’s difficult to play in that position.”

Meanwhile, the sniffer dogs at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia were wearing Crocs due to the temperature of the concrete underfoot.

Brown told BBC Sport: “The weather has obviously been something all the teams have had to deal with. It’s affected the fans too – some of the days, the heat was so extreme.

“It was just ridiculous and it something that is going to affect everyone next year. Teams and fans will have to be ready for it.”

On the plus side, there will be five stadiums with roofs – as opposed to just one in Atlanta this summer – but the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams means significant risks remain.

Possible solutions are planning around kick-off times to avoid playing in hot cities in the middle of the day, as so often happened at the Club World Cup, while seven of the venues used this summer won’t be used in 2026.

“The weather has been hot but of course we can see about kick-off times, review and possibly look at hiding games earlier in the day at stadiums with roofs,” said former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Fifa’s chief of global football development.

Will the crowds come out to USA 26?
The past month has brought a mixed bag when it comes to attendances – ranging from the sold-out to the embarrassingly sparse.

Four matches failed to get more than 10,000 fans – with the lowest attendance the 3,412 who watched Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan HD 1-0.

But there have been 17 crowds of 60,000 or more – with the highest the 81,118 who saw Chelsea beat Paris St-Germain in Sunday’s final.

Most of the highest attendances were at games involving PSG or Real Madrid.

“We believe the attendances were projected as low and in reality were much higher,” said Wenger.

Another reason given for low attendances have been the kick-off times, with many being at noon or 3pm on a weekday.

American journalist Doug Roberson said after Chelsea’s opener against Los Angeles attracted just 22,000: “It’s not because people here don’t care about soccer. The people aren’t here because it’s Monday at 3pm. Frankly I am surprised there are as many as there are.

“It’s a tournament that doesn’t mean a lot to people in the US because it’s new. I would imagine paying to come to a tournament you don’t know didn’t appeal because the World Cup is coming next year and people are trying to save money for that.

“If I were Fifa, for the World Cup I would have game times where more people could come. It is something to think about – and the ticket prices were ridiculous.”

Jonathan Tannenwald, chief soccer correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer, said: “We will all show up for the World Cup next summer but for the Club World Cup they needed to market it to explain.”

Fifa are expected to stick with the same kick-off times during next summer’s World Cup so will be relying on the appeal of the tournament to cut through and will be asking local fans to take time off work to attend matches.

The Gold Cup has also been going on over the past few weeks, played at non-Club World Cup venues in the US, attracting attention from TV audiences. This competing factor won’t be a problem next year.

Fifa’s policy of dynamic ticket pricing – where the cost of tickets can change regularly – has also been controversial and it is a policy they are expecting to carry into next year’s tournament.

Ticket prices for Chelsea’s semi-final against Fluminense reportedly dropped from almost £350 to less than £10 in the week before the game.

Tickets for the Blues’ quarter-final against Palmeiras ended up at £8 – with fans talking about having paid over £250 when they first went on sale.

Brown said: “When I’ve been travelling it feels like a lot of Americans are starting to speak about it now and know it is going on – whoever you speak to, they go ‘oh yeah it’s the football’.

“It is still growing, of course – the public’s awareness of it has got loads better than it was a few years ago but there is still a way to go, not just to spread the word that it is happening but to get people out here used to going to football games or watching matches on TV.

“It’s still not the main sport out here but that’s the next step. There is so much room for growth but if you go to a lot of bars and restaurants, then they are still showing a lot of baseball when the football is on.”

What have the stadiums and transport links been like?
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was played within a radius of 43 miles.

The air-conditioned public metro system, which was free to use for fans with tickets during the tournament, reached six of the eight stadiums, with road transportation needed for the other two.

But the sheer scale of the USA has brought up concern about the transport to various stadiums for the 2026 tournament, with some venues difficult to reach via public transport.

BBC Sport found this to be the case during the tournament, especially at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where the Club World Cup final was held and where next year’s final is scheduled to take place.

The nearest train stop was Meadowlands Sports Complex station, requiring supporters to then walk 20 to 30 minutes in searing heat before reaching their relevant entry gate.

The semi-final between Real Madrid and PSG was also delayed at the same venue due to both teams being stuck in gridlocked traffic.

The opening match of the Club World Cup took place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which is set to host seven matches next year, including the third-fourth place play-off.

But the venue sits off a busy highway with no trains or metro system anywhere near the ground. Arriving three hours before kick-off allowed Uber drivers to drop off passengers close to the stadium before roads were closed off.

A post-match curfew meant no access for Uber or cab drivers within a certain distance and supporters had to walk for 20 minutes to a pick-up zone.

Manchester City played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, which is set to host six matches at the 2026 tournament and is serviced by a metro system to the incredible sports complex featuring the football/NFL stadium, as well as the baseball and NHL venues.

City also played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which is regarded as one of the best sporting stadiums in the world, featuring a retractable roof and giant LED screens.

Eight matches will be played inside the air-conditioned stadium next year, which has good transport links including a metro system close by and an Uber pick-up a 15-minute walk away.

A potential solution for some locations, which has been done at other tournaments, is free transport to fans with match tickets but special buses or trains will have to be arranged to make this happen.

Brown added: “The stadiums have been great and the logistics side, if it were done again, would be easier. They will have learned so much. I think it bodes well for next summer.”

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c23gp1l5gpeo

Jessica Alba’s mystery man has been identified.

The actress was photographed with “Captain America” star Danny Ramirez as the duo headed from Cancún, Mexico, to Los Angeles on Sunday.

TMZ named the actor the following day.

The 32-year-old kept a low profile while navigating the airport alongside the Honest Company founder, 44, over the weekend, with both wearing baseball caps.

The pair refrained from engaging in any PDA during the outing.

Reps for Alba and Ramirez did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.

The pair initially sparked romance speculation in May when Alba was spotted holding hands with a man at a park in London.

“DANNY RAMIREZ AND JESSICA ALBA?!?!?!?” one fan wrote via X (per The News). “I mean, the article said mystery man. But it could be, lol.”

Other social media users supported the guess, while one argued that Ramirez had shorter hair than the man in question.

Although Alba was reportedly not “seeing anyone specific,” she congratulated Ramirez on his “Avenger: Doomsday” role via Instagram in March.

She reposted the announcement to her Story, tagging the “Top Gun” star and adding multiple exclamation points.

At the time, Alba was newly navigating her breakup from her husband of 17 years, Cash Warren.

The Golden Globe nominee filed for divorce in February, one month after news broke of their separation — which Alba confirmed in an Instagram statement.

“We … will forever be a family. Our children remain our highest priority,” she wrote in January, referencing daughter Honor, 17, daughter Haven, 13, and son Hayes, 7.

The “Dark Angel” alum had hinted at her and Warren’s relationship struggles before, admitting in 2021 that they were like “roommates … going through the motions” and “checking boxes.”

Source: https://pagesix.com/2025/07/14/celebrity-news/jessica-albas-mystery-man-revealed-as-captain-america-star/

Only in the Hamptons, kids, only in the Hamptons…

Patriots owner Robert Kraft generously donated $10,000 to Texas flood victims in Southampton when he was strolling along and saw an opportunity to help out.

Said a spy: “Kraft turned heads in the Hamptons this week — not for football — but for a surprise act of generosity on behalf of Texas flood victims.”

The source further told Page Six that Kraft was walking along Main Street in Southampton after brunch at hotspot 75 Main, when he was stopped by Dan’s Papers co-publisher Vicky Schneps — who had just wrapped a press conference at the local Village Hall alongside a group of top Hamptons chefs and Southampton Mayor William Manger.

“Mr. Kraft — we’re raising money for families in Texas. Can you help?” Schneps called out.

Said our spy, “Kraft didn’t hesitate, pledging $10,000 on the spot to the Salvation Army’s Texas flood relief fund.”

“I’ve been a proud Jets fan for decades — but today, I’m officially a Patriots fan. Robert Kraft has a heart as big as Texas,” Schneps declared to cheers from the crowd.

The heartwarming moment came during the kickoff of a Hamptons-based culinary relief initiative that will continue at Dan’s Taste of the Hamptons on July 17, where a portion of proceeds from featured dishes will support Texas flood victims. There was even chili.

The devastating floods in the Lone Star State have already claimed at least 129 lives, with over 170 people still unaccounted for, and heavy rains and flash floods have returned, pounding Texas once more.

Kraft is known as a philanthropist: His Foundation to Combat Antisemitism created a $25 million “blue square” campaign, we’ve reported, as a “symbol of standing up to Jewish hate and all hate.”

In 2020, The Post reported, Kraft and his family spent $2 million on a 1.7 million-mask order during the COVID-19 pandemic to distribute the crucial supplies to Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island as the country grappled with the world’s worst recorded coronavirus outbreak at the time.

He’s also a generous Hamptons host. We reported this month that Kraft, 84, and his wife Dr. Dana Blumberg threw a starry Fourth of July party in the East End enclave where “Philadelphia Freedom” singer Elton John performed.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2025/07/14/society/robert-kraft-donates-10k-to-texas-flood-victims-in-hamptons/

Thailand’s anti-graft body will investigate suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for alleged ethics violations over a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen, an official and local media said on Monday (Jul 14).

The investigation will be another blow to the beleaguered government of 38-year-old Paetongtarn, Thailand’s youngest premier, who the Constitutional Court suspended from duty earlier this month over the same issue.

The leaked Jun 15 call, during which Paetongtarn appeared to kowtow before Hun Sen and criticised a Thai army commander, triggered a major backlash at home, with allegations she had undermined Thailand’s integrity and sovereignty amid a heated territorial dispute with Cambodia.

Paetongtarn has since seen protests calling for her resignation and the exit from her coalition of its second-largest party, leaving her government with a razor-thin majority.

“The commission has set up an investigation panel. There is no timeframe,” said an official from the National Anti-Corruption Commission, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.

The body has a broad remit to probe allegations of offences by state officials beyond graft.

Multiple Thai media outlets on Monday reported it had decided to investigate Pateongtarn.

The NACC secretary-general Sarote Phuengrampan told reporters he was not aware of the investigation or any decision by commissioners.

The complaint came from 36 senators who also petitioned the Constitutional Court alleging Paetongtarn, the daughter of politically influential billionaire had violated ethical standards and intentionally abused her power. She is suspended from duty until a verdict is delivered.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-anti-graft-body-launches-investigation-suspended-pm-paetongtarn-shinawatra-5237311

The killer was set to appear in court the next day

HORRIFYING details have been revealed about the Kentucky church shooting that killed two members of his ex’s family and injured another three.

The gunman declared, “Someone’s gonna have to die,” before opening fire as he hunted the mother of his three children.

Guy House, 47, burst into Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday afternoon.

Beverly Gumm, 72, and her daughter Star Rutherford were cooking lunch for the congregation in the church’s basement at the time, Rutherford told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

After House barged through the doors, he demanded to speak with one of Rutherford’s sisters, who was his ex, but Gumm and Rutherford told him she wasn’t there.

He then told them, “Well, someone’s gonna have to die, then,” and started shooting, Rutherford recalled.

Gumm ducked out of the way for House’s first shot, but was killed by the second.

House then left and fatally shot another of his ex’s sisters, Christina Combs, 32, outside of the church.

He then shot Gumm’s husband and the church’s longtime pastor, Jerry Gumm, and Combs’ husband, Randy Combs.

Cops then arrived on the scene and shot and killed House.

Jerry and Randy were rushed to a local hospital, where Jerry remains in critical condition.

Rutherford wrote on Facebook on Sunday night that Randy was awake, while Jerry was still “sedated from surgery.”

She told the Herald-Leader that she held Beverly, a mother of eight, as she died.

Christina leaves behind five children, including a six-month-old baby. She was planning to graduate from nursing school in December.

“They were both fantastic moms,” said Rachael Barnes, another sister, who added that her mom and sister were doing what they loved in “serving the Lord” when they died.

Barnes and Rutherford told the Herald-Leader they didn’t know a possible motive for House opening fire on the small, tight-knit church.

House’s violent spree started at around 11:30 am on Sunday at the Blue Grass Airport.

A state trooper stopped House’s car after receiving a “license plate reader alert,” according to Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers.

House then shot the trooper, who is now in stable condition.

He then carjacked a vehicle and fled the scene as cops tracked him.

House drove to the church, which is about 16 miles away and a 30-minute drive from the airport.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/14708858/kentucky-church-shooting-guy-house-wife-dead-lexington/

GIRLS huddled inside their cabins as blood-curdling screams rang out in the dark – but they had no idea if the danger was real.

Campers had been assured that the youngest children had already been moved to safety.

In reality, the campers were battling for their lives, and at least 27 never made it out.

The disconnect was revealed by survivor Amelia Moore, 14, who said girls were told their friends were safe.

Camp Mystic counselors – many of whom are not much older than the campers themselves – told the girls the younger kids were playing games while, in reality, floodwaters were sweeping them away.

Deadly flooding tore through Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas, on the morning of July 4, striking far earlier than previously believed.

More than 650 girls and staff were sleeping when a flash-flood warning with “catastrophic” potential was issued at 1:14 am.

The water hit hard around 3:00 am, engulfing cabins in a low-lying area near the Guadalupe River known as the Flats.

Amelia was first jolted awake by thunder at 2:00 am and heard screams from younger girls below soon after, she told the Wall Street Journal.

But instead of being urged to run, Amelia said they were told the noise was nothing to worry about and to stay put.

“A lot of counselors had been here for so long they thought it was nothing,” she said.

“So they were like, ‘Just stay in the cabin.’”

But as more girls flooded into their cabin soaking wet and terrified, the truth of the situation became harder to ignore.

Amelia eventually fell back asleep, but woke at 7 am to find their hilltop cabin totally cut off by water and fallen trees.

With no food or phones, which are banned under camp rules, they were stranded for hours.

“We were starving,” Amelia said.

“We were like, ‘Does anyone have food that they smuggled in? You won’t get in trouble. We just need food.’”

Throughout the morning, they were told the younger campers were fine.

However, the message may have been based on incomplete or outdated information.

“This is the part that makes me sick,” said Amelia.

“The whole time we were told the flats were safe and accounted for… playing games in Rec Hall and that they were perfectly fine.”

Campers from cabins like Chatterbox were climbing barefoot through windows and up steep rocky paths in pajamas as water rose behind them.

“We should have been a lot more panicked,” Amelia said. “But we genuinely didn’t know that anything was wrong.”

The first helicopter didn’t land until 3 pm, more than 12 hours after the flood began.

Camp Mystic was one of the areas hit the worst by flooding as it was located dangerously close to the flooding shores; as a result, the water rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.

Evacuation was painfully slow and, according to Amelia, there was no adult leadership.

“No one on that hill was over 21 years old,” she said.

Another camper, 16-year-old Callie McAlary, recalled the moment she knew the weather outside was not a normal thunderstorm.

“One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water’s coming up,” she told Fox News.

“It was really bad thunder. We heard one of the campers run in and say, ‘Hey, our cabin is flooding.’

“I knew some girls slept on trunks that night, some girls had to share beds, some girls slept on floors because they couldn’t go back to their cabin because it was so flooded in three cabins,” she said.

Meanwhile, at another cabin known as “Giggle Box,” 19-year-old counselor Ainslie Bashara was going through the same terrifying realization.

She and two co-counselors had been in charge of 16 young girls, all between ages 8 and 10.

As water started seeping into the cabin, they had the kids put on their shoes and coats, moved belongings to top bunks, and blocked the door with trunks.

Ainslie climbed out a window first and stepped into the cold, rising floodwaters.

One by one, the counselors helped each girl out and led them through the water to a pavilion roughly 30 feet away.

“It’s going to be okay!” Ainslie told the children, all of them crying.

So far, at least 120 people have been confirmed dead in the floods across Texas, including 95 in Kerr County alone.

All 14 girls and their counselors in the Bubble Inn cabin, which housed the youngest campers at ages 8 and 9, are either dead or still missing.

Camp director Dick Eastland, who had owned the camp since 1974, also perished while trying to rescue children from the water.

WHAT WAS LOST
Photos show the once-lush camp now buried in sludge and debris, with twisted cabins and overturned trunks scattered across the grounds.

More chilling photos of the aftermath in Camp Mystic show empty bunkbeds covered in layers of mud and sediment left behind by the raging water.

Camp security guard Glenn Juenke said he had been throwing girls on top of floating mattresses to prevent them from drowning.

“Each of those sweet girls [were] cold, wet, and frightened – but they were also incredibly brave,” he told CNN.

Another 173 people remain missing as search teams work through the rubble.

Critics say the camp failed to act despite warnings, while some blame federal staffing cuts for slow alerts from the National Weather Service.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/14705544/texas-floods-survivor-reason-camp-mystic-girls-heard-screams/

A NEW weather emergency is unfolding in Texas as more heavy rain pounds the already soaked Hill Country.

The bad weather has come just days after deadly flash floods killed at least 132 people in the area.

German backpacker Carolina Wilga thanked her “rescuer and angel” in a statement she issued Monday from the hospital where she’s recovering in Perth, the state capital of Western Australia.

Wilga, who is 26 years old, was found 11 nights after she was lost in the remote Outback of Australia, having survived dangerous terrain and harsh temperatures.

Her car was spotted a day before she was rescued by a member of the public in a chance encounter.

A Western Australian police inspector told reporters last week that it was a “miracle” to have found her car because of the rugged terrain.

Wilga’s family had last heard from her on June 29, and Australian farmer Tania Henley found her on July 11.

Henley told Australia’s public broadcaster that Wilga was waving at her from the side of a road she had been walking along.

How did Carolina Wilga get lost?

Wilga had walked barefoot in the remote reserve of Outback after abandoning her van away from any established track. She wrote in her statement that she had lost control of the car.

“Some people might wonder why I even left my car, even though I had water, food, and clothing there. The answer is: I lost control of the car and rolled down a slope. In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost,” she said.

Australian public broadcaster ABC reported that Wilga was ultimately found over 30 kilometers (over 18.6 miles) away from where she had left her car.

Western Australian police earlier said that the traveler had survived by drinking rainwater and water from puddles.

What did Wilga say about her ordeal in the wilderness?

Wilga thanked the Western Australia community for their help and said she was certain she survived because of the “outpouring of support” she received from people. Her statement in full is:

“First and foremost, I want to express a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart — a thank you that truly comes from the depth of my soul! For all the incredible support during the search for me.

Previously, I didn’t know where my place was in a culture on the other side of the world to my own, but now, I feel a part of it. I am deeply impressed by the courage, helpfulness, and warmth that has been shown to me here. Western Australia has taught me what it really means to be part of a true community. Here, humanity, solidarity, and care for one another are what truly matter — and in the end, that’s what counts most.

I am certain that I survived only thanks to this incredible outpouring of support. The thought of all the people who believed in me, searched for me, and kept hoping for me gave me the strength to carry on during my darkest moments. For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/german-backpacker-explains-how-she-got-lost-in-australia/a-73267142

The US Supreme Court on Monday (Jul 14) cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to proceed with plans to dismantle the Department of Education, part of his broader push to reduce the federal government’s role in education and return authority to the states.

The court lifted a federal judge’s order that had reinstated nearly 1,400 workers affected by mass layoffs and blocked the administration from transferring the department’s key responsibilities to other agencies. The legal battle remains ongoing in lower courts.

The justices issued a brief, unsigned order, with the court’s three liberal members dissenting.

Democracy Forward, a liberal legal group representing school districts and unions, said the decision “dealt a devastating blow to this nation’s promise of public education for all children”.

Its president and CEO, Skye Perryman, said: “We will aggressively pursue every legal option as this case proceeds to ensure that all children in this country have access to the public education they deserve.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle feel the need to broker a reconciliation with cancer-stricken King Charles before it’s too late, according to multiple sources.

Senior staff for the couple were spotted meeting Charles’ top PR aide in London last week in what was described as a secret peace summit.

Charles, 76, is still being treated for cancer, and Hugo Vickers, author and friend of the royal family, mused that Harry would feel “riddled with guilt” if he never saw his dad again.

“The ball is in Harry’s court. He is the one who has to apologize and beg for forgiveness, and not the other way around,” Vickers told Page Six.

The last time Harry, 40, saw Charles was when he flew to London after the king announced his cancer diagnosis in February 2024 — and was only given a 30-minute meeting.

Sources told us previously that Charles — who, it was announced Monday, will host President Donald Trump for his second state visit in September — is not cured, but is getting the best possible treatment.

In May, Harry told the BBC he “would love a reconciliation” with the royal family, in an emotional interview in which he said he was “devastated” at losing a legal challenge over his security in the UK.

Harry revealed that Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” but added that he did not want to fight any more and did “not know how much longer my father has.”

The Mail on Sunday published photos of Meredith Maines, chief communications officer for Harry and Meghan Markle, meeting with Charles’ communications secretary, Tobyn Andreae, last Wednesday.

Liam Maguire, who oversees UK press for the Sussexes, was also present for the informal chat at the private club Royal Over-Seas League.

“[The staff] may well have just been discussing routine things, which is more than likely, but at some point you have got to reconcile,” Vickers said. “I don’t think we’ll see Harry returning to royal duties, but on a personal level it will be good if he’s able to get on terms with his father.”

The trio sat outside in full view of onlookers, which Vickers called “odd.”

Sussex sources said both camps were “frustrated” that photos of the meeting were leaked.

Maines had flown from Los Angeles to London to meet with the Sussexes’ UK team as well as media, stakeholders and senior figures connected to the Duke’s patronages.

Other royal sources speculated that Harry, Markle and their children — Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, who have had barely any in-person time with their grandfather — may get an invite from Charles to Balmoral, the Scottish estate where he stays every August.

“It’s his house he can do whatever he likes,” said Vickers. “But there’s quite a lot of ground to be made up.”

Harry and his brother, Prince William — who appeared with wife Kate Middleton and their two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Wimbledon’s men’s finals on Sunday — has not spoken to his younger brother in years. Sources have told William he has no plans to mend bridges with Harry.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/07/14/royal-family/what-the-meeting-between-prince-harry-king-charles-staffs-means/

China’s moves in the Yellow Sea parallel its behaviour in the South China Sea, says Pusan National University’s Robert Kelly.

Since 2018, China has installed several marine structures in overlapping South Korean-Chinese waters in the Yellow Sea. There are now three of them, which Beijing refers to as “deep-sea fishery aquaculture facilities”.

This has been a point of contention between the two governments, but the issue has risen in South Korean public awareness after Chinese coast guard ships and civilian boats forced away a South Korean research vessel sent to investigate these structures in February. This led to a two-hour standoff, during which the South Korean coast guard was also deployed.

China has rejected requests from South Korea to relocate the structures outside of the shared area and in May unilaterally declared “no-sail zones” within the area, according to a report by Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

The situation creates a tough dilemma for South Korea, especially its new progressive president, Lee Jae-myung.

Unlike his conservative predecessor, Mr Lee wants to pivot away from a United States-aligned hawkishness on China and pursue a more transactional relationship which does not tie South Korea into a camp in the emerging Sino-US cold war.

But that would almost certainly require appeasement of China – such as tolerating these Yellow Sea encroachments.

PARALLELS WITH SOUTH CHINA SEA
China’s moves in the Yellow Sea parallel its behaviour in the South China Sea.

There, for decades, China has steadily encroached on the maritime claims of the littoral states, most particularly Vietnam and the Philippines. China has justified these expansions via an ostensibly historical claim to the South China Sea – the nine-dash line.

Such claims are highly contestable, of course. Almost every nation can put forward historically based claims to adjacent but disputed territory. Indeed, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was promulgated precisely to adjudicate these sorts of irreconcilable assertions. And an UNCLOS arbitration panel ruled unanimously against the nine-dash line in 2016.

China has ignored that ruling and continued to assert its position by reclaiming land, building artificial islands, and ramping up its air and naval facilities and patrols.

To avoid the open perception of military expansion however, Chinese civilian fleets – fishing boats and the coast guard – have led this territorial creep. The military only shows up later, after other claimants have effectively given up trying to stop the Chinese takeover. Strategic theory calls this “grey zone tactics” – craftily changing facts on the ground (and water) without the explicit use of force.

China’s opponents then struggle to find an appropriate response. For example, the US is a security partner to both the Philippines and Vietnam, but America is unlikely to risk war with China over low stakes like coast guard vessels circling sand bars.

GREY ZONE TACTICS IN THE YELLOW SEA
China’s steady gains in the South China Sea have likely encouraged it to try the same strategy in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. Pushing into the East China Sea has been hard. Japan has the resources and naval capabilities, which the Philippines and Vietnam lack, to push back on Chinese maritime expansion.

But the Yellow Sea is a better domain for China. Its North Korean ally is one of the relevant littoral states, and it will do nothing to deter China.

South Korea, the other relevant party, has a capable but small navy. Most of South Korean defence spending goes into land power.

Although South Korea has a long coast, the North Koreans have built such a massive army – 1.5 million men – and stationed it so close to South Korea’s capital, that South Korea spends disproportionately on its army and air force to outgun the North Korean threat. The South, for example, recently considered building an aircraft carrier to challenge China’s maritime expansion, but the national legislature rejected it as too expensive.

At present, South Korea mostly relies on US naval power for maritime security. This arrangement has been feasible in the past, but the Chinese navy is expanding rapidly. The US is unlikely to risk war with China over indeterminate structures in the East China Sea – just as it has been reticent to help the Philippines directly over low stakes like shoals and coral reefs.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/china-yellow-sea-south-korea-disputed-waters-president-lee-jae-myung-5235286

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson can’t keep their hands off one another.

The couple was snapped all over each other on Sunday as they waited for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump’s arrival at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey en route to the FIFA Club World Cup final soccer match.

Don Jr., 47, and Bettina, 38, matched in white button-up shirts and kissed while she kept her arms around him.

The two seemed oblivious to the other people around them as they kissed and hugged.

Page Six confirmed in December 2024 that the businessman and the socialite had struck up a romantic relationship over the summer.

By January, a source told Page Six that the two were “essentially living” together.

Since then, Don Jr. and Bettina haven’t been shy about showing PDA.

She also publicly defended her man in March when he was labeled a “spoiled heir” and an “a–hole” in a New York Magazine profile.

“Rumors are started by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots,” Anderson hit back on her Instagram Stories.

She also said her boyfriend was the “finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful and brilliant person” she had ever known.

Don Jr. was previously in a six-year relationship with former Fox News anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle. The two got engaged in 2022 before splitting two years later.

Nevertheless, President Trump appointed Guilfoyle as his US Ambassador to Greece.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2025/07/13/celebrity-news/donald-trump-jr-and-bettina-anderson-cant-resist-excessive-pda/

Two children in China were rescued after their mother sold them for cash, using the money on livestreamers and luxury items.

A woman in China has been sentenced to over five years in prison after she sold both her biological sons to fund her obsession with tipping livestream hosts, according to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Mother sold babies to fund livestreaming obsession
The woman, identified by her surname Huang, is a 26-year-old from Guangxi province in southern China. With only a primary school education and no stable support system, she moved to Fuzhou in Fujian province and took up odd jobs to survive.

As per SCMP, in October 2020, she gave birth to her first son. Unable to raise the child due to financial constraints and the absence of the father, she chose to sell the baby. Her landlord, surnamed Wei, introduced her to a relative, surnamed Li, whose son was infertile and looking to adopt. The child was sold for 45,000 yuan (approx. US$6,300), all of which Huang spent on tipping livestreamers.

Deliberately conceived second child to sell
When the money ran out, Huang took even more extreme steps. According to the report, she actively sought out men with the intention of conceiving a second child solely to sell the baby. In 2022, she gave birth to another son, whom she named Guyu. She sold him to a broker for 38,000 yuan (US$5,300), who later resold the baby for 103,000 yuan (US$14,000). Once again, Huang spent the entire amount on lavish items, including online tips and clothing.

Authorities intervene, children rescued
On April 13, 2022, authorities were alerted about Huang’s actions. A police investigation uncovered chat records on her phone indicating child-selling negotiations. Both boys were successfully rescued in April 2022 and are now under the care of local civil affairs departments, awaiting adoption.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/chinese-mother-sold-sons-for-11-600-spent-it-all-on-livestream-hosts-and-shopping-101752410956063.html

Bundestag President Julia Klöckner has said rainbow Pride flags must be removed from deputies’ offices.

Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), has been engaging in fiery debates with deputies from the opposition Left and Green parties about whether political and cultural symbols have a place in the German legislature.

The Bundestag’s administration, which Klöckner oversees, has ordered deputies to immediately remove rainbow flags displayed in and around their parliamentary offices. The flag represents the LGBTQ+ communities. The reason given by the Bundestag’s administration is that displaying flags in parliament is “fundamentally prohibited, regardless of their symbolism.” A spokesperson added that there had been reports from deputies that rainbow flags displayed in office windows were clearly visible from outside.

Paragraph 4 of the Bundestag’s house rules states that “posting notices, in particular posters, signs, and stickers on doors, walls, or windows in generally accessible buildings of the German Bundestag, as well as on windows and facades of these buildings visible from the outside, is not permitted.”

In the past, flags were generally permitted. Now, Left party member Stella Meredino reported that federal police were called in because of a rainbow flag in her Bundestag office.

Banning Pride symbols
Klöckner, a former agriculture minister who has been the Bundestag president since late March, is a combative conservative. She holds the second-highest office in the country and is expected to chair Bundestag sessions as independently as possible — free from party interests — to ensure that debates are held in a factual and calm manner. She also represents the Bundestag at large, and thus all of the deputies within it. Klöckner has, however, been known to make provocative statements against the Greens and Left, as well as against the Social Democrats, the junior partner’s in the government led by her CDU.

She drew the ire of LGBTQ+ deputies and those who consider themselves allies queer communities when she opposed the rainbow flag’s being flown above the Bundestag on Christopher Street Day, as pride is known in Germany. Raising the flag for CSD had become a tradition since 2022. Klöckner justified her refusal on grounds of neutrality.

From now on, the flag will be raised on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. This is although traditionally, CSD marks the most important date of the year for the queer community. This year, CSD falls on July 26. No flag will be flying above the Bundestag. Not even a petition signed by some 220,000 people calling for a rethink changed Klöckner’s mind.

A ‘bigoted understanding’?
Critics say Klöckner fails to recognize the pressures facing queer communities at this moment. Green Party member Lamya Kaddor told DW that Klöckner shows a “bigoted understanding” of neutrality. “At a time when queer people, and thus liberal society, are increasingly targeted by attacks and hateful rhetoric, we cannot afford such a formalistic notion of neutrality. Political responsibility means protecting the freedom and dignity of all people.”

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a fellow member of the CDU, has expressed support for Klöckner. On the well-known Maischberger talk show aired by public broadcaster ARD, Merz said “the Bundestag is not a circus tent” where any flag could be raised at will. He said there was one day a year, May 17, when the rainbow flag would fly from the parliament building.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-bundestag-boss-orders-removal-of-all-rainbow-flags/a-73247774

PILOTS “waved to kids” at Southend Airport moments before crashing head first into the ground and erupting in a huge fireball.

The medical transport jet burst into flames after crashing shortly after taking off from the strip in Essex.

The Beech B200 Super King Air was set to travel to Lelystad in the Netherlands, with an estimated departure time of 3.45pm.

It was equipped with medical systems for transporting patients, although it is unclear whether a patient was onboard.

Witnesses described seeing a “huge fireball” just before 4pm, with Essex County Fire and Rescue called to the incident at 3.58pm.

They said the pilots of the plane had waved at children shortly before the collision.

The twin-engined turboprop plane can carry around 12 people, although it has not been confirmed how many were in the plane at the time of the crash.

John Johnson, who witnessed the crash with his family, said: “We all waved at the pilots, and they all waved back at us.

“The aircraft then turned 180 degrees to face its take-off, departure, powered up, rolled down the runway.

“It took off and about three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more of less inverted and crashed just head first into the ground.

“There was a big fireball. Obviously, everybody was in shock in terms of witnessing it.

“All the kids saw it and the families saw it. I phoned 999, reported it.”

He added: “I’d say that we’re pretty shaken up.

“I just feel sad for the people who were on the plane and, of course, their loved ones and their family, our thoughts are with them.”

A bartender at the nearby golf club, which was evacuated following the crash, said he felt “a big heat wave” before seeing a “massive fireball” in the sky.

James Philpott told the BBC: “I was just basically in a hut like in the middle of the course and I didn’t even see any plane go down or anything and I just felt like a big heat wave come through and I looked up and there was just a massive fireball basically 100 foot in the sky.

“It was more the heat really just kind of hit me as I was sitting there, just like, feel like I’m baking.”

He continued: “I think everyone was just quite shocked to be honest.”

London Southend Airport said in a statement: “We can confirm there has been a serious incident at London Southend Airport this afternoon involving a general aviation aircraft.

“We are working closely with the local authorities and will be able to provide more information as soon as possible.”

The cause of the crash is currently unknown.

ESN Report wrote on X: “Just witnessed a Beechcraft crash on take-off at Southend airport about 40 minutes after a Cessna also left the runway. Thoughts are with those on the aircraft.

“Absolutely tragic. Was waving to the aircrew just moments before.”

A statement from Essex Police reads: “We remain on the scene of a serious incident at Southend Airport.

“We were alerted shortly before 4pm to reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours.”

In an update Essex Police said that they have now opened a dedicated online portal and phone line for anyone with information.

They added: “Flights at the airport were quickly grounded to ensure work could immediately begin on extinguishing the flames as quickly as possible.

“We have put a wide cordon in place to ensure all our emergency service colleagues can carry out their work safely, and we will be doing so overnight and into tomorrow morning.”

Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: “In these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.

“Please help us keep our emergency lines open by using these specific channels if you’re contacting us about this incident.

“We are working closely with all at the scene, as well as the Air Accident Investigation Branch, to establish what has happened today and why.”

Essex Police have asked the public to avoid the area, and also evacuated the nearby Rochford Hundred Golf Club.

Two fire crews from Southend, two from Rayleigh Weir and Basildon, and off road vehicles from Billericay and Chelmsford attended the scene.

The East of England Ambulance service announced that they have sent four ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, four hazardous area response team vehicles, three senior paramedic cars and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance to the scene.

All flights from Southend Airport departing today have been cancelled or diverted to alternative airports.

EasyJet has cancelled this evening’s flights to Paris, Alicante, Faro and Palma de Mallorca.

Customers can either rebook their flights or receive a refund.

EasyJet told the Independent: “We advise anyone due to travel from London Southend tomorrow to check out Flight Tracker for the most up to date information on their flight.”

MP for Southend West & Leigh, David Burton-Sampson, wrote on X: “I am aware of an incident at Southend Airport.

“Please keep away and allow the emergency services to do their work. My thoughts are with everyone involved.”

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/14697718/fireball-plane-crash-southend/

See what precautions are recommended to travelers if they visit

A TRAVEL warning has been added to a popular bucket-list destination in Asia.

As hundreds of people jet off for the summer, US officials have asked for caution over a possible risk to life.

The US State Department has requested travelers “exercise increased caution” if they are going to India.

A Level 2 advisory comes before officials recommend travelers reconsider their plans which is Level 3.

Level 4 where people are told not to travel.

The travel alert was issued “due to crime and terrorism” with specific areas at more risk than others, it stated.

Officials rolled out the Level 2 advisory on June 16 highlighting increased violent crime at tourist sites and other locations.

This includes sexual assault and rape which is “one of the fastest growing crimes in India”.

It added that “terrorists may attack with little or no warning”.

The alert noted that such attacks target tourist locations, transport hubs, markets and shopping malls, and government facilities.

As a result, anyone working for the US government must get special authorization before travelling to certain parts of the country, namely, rural areas from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal.

The State Department noted that the government is restricted in getting emergency services to any of its citizens that are in these remote areas.

Under the travel advisory there are four specific regions that have do not travel warnings and a fifth where reconsideration of travel is advised.

It lists the following:

• Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir: Do not travel to this area (except for visits to the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest.
• India-Pakistan Border: Do not travel to this area due to potential for armed conflict.
• Parts of Central and East India: Do not travel to this area due to terrorism.
• Manipur: Do not travel to Manipur due to the threat of violence and crime.
• Northeastern states: Reconsider travel to this area due to terrorism and violence.

As well as avoiding these areas, the millions of Americans who travel to India every year must take some extra precautions under the new guidance.

NASA and JAXA fired a hand-sized X-59 model through a Mach 1.4 wind tunnel, gathering proof that its needle-nose and tailored wings can scatter shock waves into a muted “thump.”

The data validate computer predictions, setting the stage for the full-scale jet’s first flight and Quesst’s mission to rewrite the rules of supersonic travel without rattling communities below.

Supersonic Noise Test Milestone
NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) recently placed a scaled-down version of the X-59 experimental jet inside a supersonic wind tunnel in Chofu, Japan to measure how much noise might reach listeners on the ground.

The experiment marked a key step for NASA’s one-of-a-kind X-59, which aims to break the sound barrier without producing the ear-shattering sonic boom typical of supersonic flight.

Because the sound that reaches the ground is tied to the plane’s pressure signature, understanding that acoustic footprint is essential.

Scaled Model Wind-Tunnel Insights
The full-size X-59 stretches 99.7 feet long with a wingspan of 29.7 feet, yet JAXA’s tunnel measures just over 3 feet on each side.

To fit the tunnel, engineers built a model only 1.62 percent of the aircraft’s actual size—about 19 inches nose to tail—and exposed it to airflow matching the jet’s planned cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (approximately 925 miles per hour).

Data from these trials allows NASA researchers to compare real-world results with their Computational Fluid Dynamics predictions, which map how air will flow around the aircraft.

Understanding Shock-Wave Quieting
This marked the third round of wind tunnel tests for the X-59 model, following a previous test at JAXA and at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio.

The data will help researchers understand the noise level that will be created by the shock waves the X-59 produces at supersonic speeds.

The shock waves from traditional supersonic aircraft typically merge together, producing a loud sonic boom. The X-59’s unique design works to keep shock waves from merging, which will result in a quieter sonic thump.

Source: https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-blasts-x-59-quiet-supersonic-mini-jet-to-mach-1-4-in-tokyo-tunnel/

TWO women have been killed and multiple others injured after a horror double shooting in Kentucky.

A gunman opened fire at a state trooper at around 11:35 am at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington before going on a shooting spree at a church.

The shooter then fled to the Richmond Road Baptist Church where they carried out a second horror shooting, gunning down multiple individuals.

“I’m heartbroken to share the shooting in Lexington at Richmond Road Baptist Church has taken the lives of two people,” Governor Andy Beshear said in a statement on X.

“Other injuries- including a Kentucky State Police trooper from the initial stop — are being treated at a nearby hospital.”

Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said the suspect was pulled over by a state trooper near to the local airport.

He then went on a frenzied attack, first shooting the officer and leaving him wounded.

Moments later he carjacked a vehicle and fled to Richmond Road Baptist Church and began shooting at people there.

Two women, aged 72 and 32, were killed with two male parishioners also injured, according to police.

It is believed that the suspect may have had a connection to those he attacked at the church, Weathers added.

The suspected gunman was later killed at the church after he killed two women, the Lexington Police Department confirmed.

Preliminary information indicates that the suspect may have had a connection to the individuals at the church, Weathers said.

“Kentucky State Police is aware of a trooper-involved shooting incident that occurred on July 13, 2025, at 11:36 a.m. in Fayette County,” cops wrote on X.

“The suspect shot a trooper and then fled the scene, ending up at the Richmond Road Baptist Church, at which time KSP and Lexington Police Dept were able to secure the suspect.

“At this time, we can confirm that the trooper is receiving medical attention.”

EMS rushed to the scene where there were multiple victims.

The condition and exact number of those injured is not yet not known.

“KSP will provide more information as it becomes available,” the police statement added.

An investigation is ongoing which is impacting Terminal Drive meaning people using the airport are being directed to use other parking.

However all flights are running as scheduled.

“Kelley and I are praying for all the victims, the injured trooper, and their families,” Senator Rand Paul wrote on X.

“We are grateful for the brave first responders. Violence like this has no place.”

He added that he was “saddened to hear about the tragic shootings”.

Meanwhile, Gov Beshear asked for prayers for those who were injured.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14698573/kentucky-richmond-road-baptist-church-shooting-lexington/

Forget Florida — a new Times Square ad debuting Monday will encourage New Yorkers to “flee” Zohran Mamdani and move to Ohio, The Post has learned.

The digital billboard is paid for by “Vivek Super PAC — Victors, not Victims”, which supports Vivek Ramaswamy’s Republican gubernatorial candidacy in the Buckeye State.

The $50,000 splash in the iconic tourist zone positions Ramaswamy, 39, as a counterpoint to the 33-year-old socialist who won last month’s Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Both men are of Indian descent and are rising stars in their respective parties.

“Worried About Zohran? Ohio Is Waiting For You!” the ad says.

Andy Surabian, chief strategist to VPAC, told The Post that concerned New Yorkers should move to a state “that is about to elect a conservative trailblazer committed to liberty and prosperity for all.”

“While Mamadani will further crush New York City with his job-killing socialist tyranny, Vivek is ready to unleash freedom, supercharge the American dream and make Ohio a state of excellence,” Surabian said.

“We put this billboard up because we couldn’t think of two politicians in the country that represent such wildly different paths for the future of our nation. The Mamdani path of socialist totalitarianism versus the Vivek path of American freedom,” he continued.

“For those New Yorkers who have had enough, freedom and prosperity are waiting for you in Ohio.”

The billboard is set to remain on display in Times Square all week.

Despite its lower cost of living, Ohio was only the 20th most popular state for New Yorkers to move to as of 2022 data from the Census Bureau.

The pro-Ramaswamy super PAC has raised $17 million to support his 2026 run for governor.

The Ohio businessman emerged from obscurity with his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. At one point, he was running third in the polls, which were led handily by President Trump.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/13/us-news/times-square-ad-takes-aim-at-radical-socialist-mamdani-urges-nyers-to-flee-to-ohio/

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was reportedly injured by an Israeli airstrike targeting a high-profile meeting in Tehran during the 12-day war, according to state media reports.

Pezeshkian, who last week accused Israel of trying to assassinate him during the war, was one of the officials who gathered at an underground facility in Tehran on June 16 for an emergency meeting of the state’s Supreme National Security Council, according to the Fars news agency.

During the meeting, six bombs were dropped on the location, with Pezeshkian said to have suffered injuries to his leg as he and the other officials escaped through an emergency shaft.

The airstrikes were extremely precise, according to the state outlet, with the bombs blocking all six main entry and exit points, along with the ventilation system.

Although the attack left the underground facility without power, Pezeshkian and the other top officials managed to get out alive.

The report provides more details on Pezeshkian’s claim last week during an interview with former Fox host Tucker Carlson, where the Iranian president said he had been targeted by an airstrike during a high-stakes meeting.

“They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian said when asked if he had been an assassination target.

“I was in a meeting. We were discussing the ways to move forward, but thanks to the intelligence by the spies that they had, they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he recounted.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz denied the allegations, reiterating that a “regime change” had not been the goal of the 12-day war, which targeted Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

The plot to kill Pezeshkian has reportedly triggered an internal investigation over how Israeli agents came to know his movements and the location of the Supreme National Security Council’s meeting.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/13/world-news/iranian-president-masoud-pezeshkian-was-injured-in-israeli-airstrike-during-12-day-war-report/

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived at the FIFA Club World Cup final in MetLife Stadium Sunday, getting a preview of the even grander soccer tournament the US is set to host next year.

The president and first lady had trekked up from the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster to watch Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea square off in the showdown at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

FIFA Club World Cup is a global contest between club teams — not to be confused with the FIFA World Cup, which is the world’s premier soccer competition between national teams.

The president and first lady were seen waving to the crowd as they took their seats to watch the big game.

MetLife Stadium is also poised to host the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup final, marking the first time the US will hold the feted event since 1994.

Next year will be the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.

Trump did not have any other major events on his schedule for Sunday other than observing the FIFA Club World Cup final and traveling.

The president’s visit to the FIFA Club World Cup final comes on the one-year anniversary of his brush with death in Butler, Pa., when a would-be assassin’s bullet came within a quarter inch of killing him.

Trump did not have any announced plans to mark that harrowing date, though he did sit for an interview with his daughter-in-law, Lara, which aired on Fox News Saturday night, in which he reflected on the assassination attempt.

“Well, it was unforgettable,” the president reflected during an interview on Fox News’ “My View.” “I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I got whacked. There’s no question about that.”

“And fortunately, I got down quickly. People were screaming, and I got down quickly, fortunately, because I think they shot eight bullets.”

Throughout his second term, Trump has frequented blockbuster sporting events such as Super Bowl LIX and UFC fights, but Sunday marked his first foray of the year at a major FIFA game.

Trump has long been a sports fan, and during his second term, he has upped his attendance to major competitions, particularly the UFC, amid his friendly rapport with its CEO, Dana White.

Earlier this month, Trump unveiled plans to host a UFC fight at the White House within the next year as part of the festivities to herald America’s 250th birthday.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/13/us-news/president-trump-melania-arrive-at-fifa-club-world-cup-final-at-metlife-stadium/

There are a million reasons to go to Italy, so why do visitors always go to the same few places? Here are our favourite ways to shake up your Italian itinerary.

Does it seem like everyone is in Italy right now? Italy has been ranked as the top destination for American travellers in 2024 and 2025, according to a study by Price Waterhouse Cooper and the United States Tour Operators Association, but the honour should come as no surprise. The nation welcomes 80 million international visitors annually, drawn by its pastel-coloured villages, Renaissance treasures and Roman ruins.

From the Etruscans to the Romans to the Byzantines, each civilisation that has passed through this boot-shaped nation has left their own unique architectural stamp on the land, transforming its cities into open-air museums. Italy also enjoys a reputation for a deliciously laid-back lifestyle – especially in summer, when everybody’s in the piazza and beach umbrellas stud the coastlines.

“Italy doesn’t ask you to be a tourist; it invites you to feel something,” says Ruben Sanpietro, CEO and founder of Visit Italy. “It’s a country where chaos meets elegance, where silence in a mountain village can be as powerful as an opera at [Milan’s] La Scala [theatre]. You can visit 10 times, and the 11th time still surprises you, not with something new, but with something ancient you hadn’t noticed before. Italy doesn’t entertain you. It transforms you.”

A 2024 study by TourismA found foreign visitors stick to the same few popular cities – equaling just 1% of Italy’s territory. Here are our favourite ways to explore the other 99% this summer.

Ahead of celebrations this month for his 90th birthday that were attended by senior Indian ministers, the head of Tibetan Buddhists riled China again by saying it had no role in his succession.

The succession of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is a thorn in China-India relations, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said on Sunday, as India’s foreign minister prepares to visit China for the first time since deadly border clashes in 2020.

Ahead of celebrations this month for his 90th birthday that were attended by senior Indian ministers, the head of Tibetan Buddhists riled China again by saying it had no role in his succession. Tibetans believe the soul of any senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated after his death, but China says the Dalai Lama’s succession will also have to be approved by its leaders.

The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, and Indian foreign relations experts say his presence gives New Delhi leverage against China. India is also home to about 70,000 Tibetans and a Tibetan government-in-exile.

Yu Jing, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, said on social media app X that some people from strategic and academic communities in India had made “improper remarks” on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

Yu did not name anyone, but in recent days, Indian strategic affairs analysts and a government minister backed the Dalai Lama’s remarks on his succession.

“As professionals in foreign affairs, they should be fully cognisant of the sensitivity of issues related to Xizang,” Yu said, using the Chinese name for Tibet.

“The reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China,” she said.

“(The) Xizang-related issue is a thorn in China-India relations and has become a burden for India. Playing the ‘Xizang card’ will definitely end up shooting oneself in the foot.”

Indian Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who sat next to the Dalai Lama during the birthday festivities a week ago, has said that as a practising Buddhist, he believes only the spiritual guru and his office have the authority to decide on his reincarnation.

India’s foreign ministry said on July 4, two days before the Dalai Lama’s birthday, that New Delhi does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion.

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be attending a regional security meeting under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin in northern China on July 15 and hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines.

This will be one of the highest-level visits between India and China since their relations nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 that killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/dalai-lama-succession-a-thorn-in-bilateral-ties-with-india-says-china-2755247-2025-07-13

Wimbledon 2025: World No.1 Jannik Sinner won his maiden title at the All England Club after beating Carlos Alcaraz in four sets on Centre Court. Alcaraz was looking to become the fifth man to win the title three times on the trot, but Sinner denied him the three-peat and conquered grass.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner finally cracked the Carlos Alcaraz code to lift his maiden Wimbledon crown on Sunday, July 13 — a career-defining triumph forged just 35 days after his heartbreak in the French Open final.

In a statement of resilience and revenge, the Italian outdueled his rival in a gripping four-set clash: 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Over three hours and four minutes of fiercely contested tennis, Sinner conquered not just Centre Court, but the grass-court demons that had eluded him until now.

With this victory, Sinner trimmed their ATP head-to-head to 5–8 and exorcised the ghosts of Paris, where Alcaraz had staged a jaw-dropping comeback from two sets down, saving multiple championship points to break Italian hearts.

This was more than just a title — it was a turning point. Sinner snapped a five-match losing streak against Alcaraz and, in doing so, handed the Spaniard his first defeat in a Grand Slam final, halting his perfect 5–0 record.

Alcaraz, who was bidding to become only the fifth man in history to win Wimbledon three years in a row, started like a man on a mission. But somewhere along the way, his rhythm faltered — and Sinner pounced, never looking back.

It was Sinner who last defeated Alcaraz in Wimbledon in 2022. And on Sunday, he was there to stop the Spaniard’s memorable juggernaut.

Since returning from his absence at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz had gone on a 24-match winning streak – claiming titles at the Italian Open, French Open, and the Queen’s Club (HSBC) Championships – before suffering his first defeat at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz puts Sinner under pressure

Sinner made a strong start, going 3-2 up with an early break, pressuring Alcaraz’s serve. But the Spaniard hit back swiftly, breaking back and dominating the rest of the set. He wrapped it up in just 44 minutes, capitalising on Sinner’s 13 unforced errors while firing 11 winners of his own.

With his back against the wall, Sinner showed resilience, grabbing an early break to go 1-0 up in the second set. This time, he didn’t let the advantage slip after putting Alcaraz under pressure.

He even threatened a double break, but Alcaraz managed to hold. Still, the Spaniard couldn’t retrieve the break he desperately needed, and Sinner went on to level the match. Alcaraz’s four double faults until then only deepened his troubles.

Sinner topples Alcaraz on Centre Court

Both players battled hard at the start of the third set before Alcaraz held Sinner to love in the fourth game. Just when it seemed the set was headed for a tie-breaker, Sinner broke serve to go 5-4 up. Serving at 5-4, 40-15, he earned two set points and converted the first to take the third set.

Sinner made 12 unforced errors in the set – seven more than Alcaraz – but offset them with 15 winners and seven aces. Heading into the fourth set, Alcaraz found himself in familiar territory: he had come back from two sets down to beat Sinner in the French Open final, and now needed two in a row at SW19 to do it again.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/tennis/story/jannik-sinner-carlos-alcaraz-wimbledon-final-title-2755245-2025-07-13

The latest version of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok is echoing the views of its billionaire creator, so much so that it will sometimes search online for Musk’s stance on an issue before offering up an opinion.

The unusual behavior of Grok 4, the AI model that Musk’s company xAI released late Wednesday, has surprised some experts.

Built using huge amounts of computing power at a Tennessee data center, Grok is Musk’s attempt to outdo rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in building an AI assistant that shows its reasoning before answering a question.

Musk’s deliberate efforts to mold Grok into a challenger of what he considers the tech industry’s “woke” orthodoxy on race, gender and politics has repeatedly got the chatbot into trouble, most recently when it spouted antisemitic tropes, praised Adolf Hitler and made other hateful commentary to users of Musk’s X social media platform just days before Grok 4’s launch.

But its tendency to consult with Musk’s opinions appears to be a different problem.

“It’s extraordinary,” said Simon Willison, an independent AI researcher who’s been testing the tool. “You can ask it a sort of pointed question that is around controversial topics. And then you can watch it literally do a search on X for what Elon Musk said about this, as part of its research into how it should reply.”

One example widely shared on social media — and which Willison duplicated — asked Grok to comment on the conflict in the Middle East. The prompted question made no mention of Musk, but the chatbot looked for his guidance anyway.

As a so-called reasoning model, much like those made by rivals OpenAI or Anthropic, Grok 4 shows its “thinking” as it goes through the steps of processing a question and coming up with an answer. Part of that thinking this week involved searching X, the former Twitter that’s now merged into xAI, for anything Musk said about Israel, Palestine, Gaza or Hamas.

“Elon Musk’s stance could provide context, given his influence,” the chatbot told Willison, according to a video of the interaction. “Currently looking at his views to see if they guide the answer.”

Musk and his xAI co-founders introduced the new chatbot in a livestreamed event Wednesday night but haven’t published a technical explanation of its workings — known as a system card — that companies in the AI industry typically provide when introducing a new model.

The company also didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment Friday.

“In the past, strange behavior like this was due to system prompt changes,” which is when engineers program specific instructions to guide a chatbot’s response, said Tim Kellogg, principal AI architect at software company Icertis.

“But this one seems baked into the core of Grok and it’s not clear to me how that happens,” Kellogg said. “It seems that Musk’s effort to create a maximally truthful AI has somehow led to it believing its own values must align with Musk’s own values.”

The lack of transparency is troubling for computer scientist Talia Ringer, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who earlier in the week criticized the company’s handling of the technology’s antisemitic outbursts.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/grok-4-elon-musk-xai-colossus-14d575fb490c2b679ed3111a1c83f857

President Donald Trump was on stage at the Iowa State Fairgrounds earlier this month, kicking off the country’s 250th anniversary celebration, when he heard what sounded like fireworks in the distance.

“Did I hear what I think I heard?” Trump remarked as he spoke from behind a wall of thick, bulletproof glass. “Don’t worry, it’s only fireworks. I hope. Famous last words,” he quipped, drawing laughs and cheers.

“You always have to think positive,” he went on. “I didn’t like that sound, either.”

The comments, just days before the first anniversary of Trump’s near-assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, served as a stark reminder of the lingering impact of the day when a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally, grazing Trump’s ear and killing one of his supporters in the crowd.

The attack dramatically upended the 2024 campaign and launched a frenzied 10-day stretch that included Trump’s triumphant arrival at the Republican National Convention with a bandaged ear, President Joe Biden’s decision to abandon his reelection bid and the elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.

One year after coming millimeters from a very different outcome, Trump, according to friends and aides, is still the same Trump. But they see signs, beyond being on higher alert on stage, that his brush with death did change him in some ways: He is more attentive and more grateful, they say, and speaks openly about how he believes he was saved by God to save the country and serve a second term, making him even more dug in on achieving his far-reaching agenda.

“I think it’s always in the back of his mind,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a longtime friend and ally who was in close touch with Trump after the shooting and joined him that night in New Jersey after he was treated at a Pennsylvania hospital. “He’s still a rough and tumble guy, you know. He hasn’t become a Zen Buddhist. But I think he is, I’ll say this, more appreciative. He’s more attentive to his friends,” he said, pointing to Trump sending him a message on his birthday earlier this week.

Graham added: “It’s just a miracle he’s not dead. He definitely was a man who believed he had a second lease on life.”

Constant reminders

While many who survive traumatic events try to block them from memory, Trump has instead surrounded himself with memorabilia commemorating one of the darkest episodes in modern political history. He’s decorated the White House and his golf clubs with art pieces depicting the moment after the shooting when he stood up, thrust his fist dramatically in the air and chanted, “Fight, fight, fight!”

A painting of the scene now hangs prominently in the foyer of the White House State Floor near the staircase to the president’s residence. Earlier this year, he began displaying a bronze sculpture of the tableau in the Oval Office on a side table next to the Resolute Desk.

And while he said in his speech at the Republican convention that he would only talk about what had happened once, he often shares the story of how he turned his head at just the right moment to show off his “all-time favorite chart in history” of southern border crossings that he credits for saving his life.

During a press conference in the White House briefing room last month, he acknowledged lingering physical effects from the shooting.

“I get that throbbing feeling every once in a while,” he said, gesturing to his ear. “But you know what, that’s OK. This is a dangerous business. What I do is a dangerous business.”

Trump will spend Sunday’s anniversary attending the FIFA Club World Cup soccer final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Crediting divine intervention

Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who as his then-campaign chief was with him at the rally, said in a podcast interview released last week that Trump walked away from the shooting believing he had been spared for a reason.

“I would say I think he believes that he was saved. I do. And he would never — even if he thought it before, I don’t think he would have admitted it. And he will now,” she told “Pod Force One.”

She, too credited divine intervention. The chart, she noted, “was always the last chart in the rotation. And it was always on the other side. So to have him ask for that chart eight minutes in, and to have it come on the side that is opposite, caused him to look in a different direction and lift his head just a little because it was higher. And that just doesn’t happen because it happened. It happened because, I believe, God wanted him to live.”

As a result, she said, when Trump says things that “are perfunctory — every president says ‘God bless America’ — well, it’s more profound with him now, and it’s more personal.”

She also credited the attack with helping change public perceptions of Trump during the campaign.

“For the American public to see a person who was such a fighter as he was that day, I think, as awful and tragic as it might have been, it turned out to be something that showed people his character. And that’s helpful,” she said.

“You know, I have an obligation to do a good job, I feel, because I was really saved,” Trump told Fox News Friday. “I owe a lot. And I think — I hope — the reason I was saved was to save our country.”

Roger Stone, a longtime friend and informal adviser, noted that Trump has had other brushes with death, including a last-minute decision not to board a helicopter to Atlantic City that crashed in 1989 and another near-assassination two months after Butler when U.S. Secret Service agents spotted a man pointing a rifle through the fence near where Trump was golfing.

Stone said he’s found the president “to be more serene and more determined after the attempt on his life” in Butler.

“He told me directly that he believed he was spared by God for the purpose of restoring the nation to greatness, and that he believes deeply that he is protected now by the Lord,” he said.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-butler-anniversary-assassination-0ef1ccff5da47f795e6d5c3a47e7f9cf

An Iranian attack on an air base in Qatar that’s key to the U.S. military hit a geodesic dome housing equipment used by the Americans for secure communications, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show.

Hours after the publication of this AP report, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile had hit the dome. Qatar did not respond to requests for comment about the damage.

The Iranian attack on Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha, Qatar’s capital, on June 23 came as a response to the American bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran — and provided the Islamic Republic a way to retaliate that quickly led to a ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump ending the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

The Iranian attack otherwise did little damage — likely because of the fact that the U.S. evacuated its aircraft from the base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command, before the attack.

Trump also has said that Iran signaled when and how it would retaliate, allowing American and Qatari air defense to be ready for the attack, which briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East, but otherwise didn’t tip over into the regional war long feared by analysts.

Images show burn marks, dome gone after attack

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome visible at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack.

The U.S. Air Force’s 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of the base, announced in 2016 the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment, known as a modernized enterprise terminal. Photos show a satellite dish inside of the dome, known as a radome.

Images taken June 25 and every day subsequently show the dome is gone, with some damage visible on a nearby building. The rest of the base appears largely untouched in the images.

In a statement, Parnell said the missile strike “did minimal damage to equipment and structures on the base.”

“Al Udeid Air Base remains fully operational and capable of conducting its mission, alongside our Qatari partners, to provide security and stability in the region,” he added.

The London-based satellite news channel Iran International first reported on the damage, citing satellite photos taken by a different provider.

Trump downplayed attack while Iran boasted about it

In the U.S., Trump described the Iranian attack as a “very weak response.” He had said that Tehran fired 14 missiles, with 13 intercepted and one being “set free” as it was going in a “nonthreatening” direction.

“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” he wrote on his website Truth Social.

The White House had no immediate comment after Parnell’s acknowledgment Friday. Trump visited Al Udeid Air Base on May 15 as part of his Mideast tour.

After the attack, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted that the air base had been the “target of a destructive and powerful missile attack.” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also said that the base had been “smashed,” without offering any specific damage assessments.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/iran-qatar-udeid-air-base-attack-us-aace65a65a0ce69090a7b65fe85cfac8

A Tacoma, Washington, man found a gift-wrapped severed human toe while celebrating Father’s Day at a beach with his wife and two small children.

While searching the beach at Dash Point State Park for feathers on June 15, Kevin Ewing happened upon a weathered package containing a small pine box that’d been wrapped in green cloth and tied closed with yellow string.

Assuming it was a lost Christmas present, Ewing opened it, eventually finding a severed adult human big toe, reported the Federal Way Mirror.

“At first, I was very shocked,” Ewing told the Federal Way Mirror of the rotted toe. “It took me a few minutes to kind of be like, ‘Is this what I think it is?’ Then, once it dawned on me that that’s what it was, I set everything down

Nearby, Ewing spotted a dead seagull that appeared to be mutilated. He is unsure if the two are connected.

Before bringing the toe to police, he took pictures of his gruesome find, which he shared with the Federal Way Mirror.

DNA testing is being performed on the excised appendage to see if the toe can be matched to its owner.

“You don’t expect to find something like that every day, or any day, especially on Father’s Day, when you’re out with your family,” Ewing said, adding he’s glad he found it rather than someone who may have been left traumatized by the experience.

Ewing said he now keeps wondering if the toe belonged to a missing person, someone who may have been killed, or some disturbed person who cut it off for reasons unknown.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/12/world-news/rotting-toe-found-in-box-on-washington-beach/

President Trump came to the defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi Saturday night — just hours after FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed resignation rumors amid growing tensions over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein probe.

Despite reports of internal turmoil and mounting calls for Bondi’s resignation, Trump praised the work of his attorney general and urged Americans to stop wasting “time and energy” on Epstein.

“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” Trump, wrote on Truth Social.

“We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happened. We have a PERFECT administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” the president continued.

“LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB – SHE’S GREAT! One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

Trump’s remarks come on the heels of reports of a fiery showdown between FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Bondi at the White House earlier this week.

The explosive exchange erupted after a Justice Department review of the late pedophile’s case found no smoking-gun evidence about his death or the notorious “client list” officials now say never existed.

Bongino – who had long speculated there was more to the Epstein file than officials were telling before entering government service – took a personal day Friday to consider resigning after less than four months on the job, a source familiar with the matter told The Post.

The source added that his relationship with Bondi is now beyond repair – and warned that if he walks, Patel might not be far behind.

But Patel took to social media Saturday afternoon to squash those “conspiracy theories.”

“The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” Patel posted on X.

“It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump – and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me.”

Internal matters came to a head after the Department of Justice concluded a probe into the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional center on Aug. 10, 2019, weeks after being charged with sex trafficking dozens of girls.

The investigation included a pile of documents that Bondi told Fox News in February were on her desk at the Justice Department “to be reviewed,” appearing to confirm those papers included the perv’s infamous “client list.”

She also suggested the FBI’s New York Field Office was “in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein.”

But Bondi’s department released a two-page memo Monday stating that “systematic review” of evidence concluded that the 66-year-old died by suicide after impacting “over one thousand victims” and there had been “no incriminating ‘client list.’”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/12/us-news/trump-defends-pam-bondi-hours-after-fbi-boss-kash-patel-squashed-conspiracy-resignation-rumors-over-epstein-files-uproar/

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was ripped on social media after she called President Trump “a rapist” online — with many suggesting a tweet from the Congresswoman was grounds for a defamation lawsuit from the commander in chief.

Ocasio-Cortez sparked outrage when she tweeted Friday about Trump and the release of files related to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

“Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X, apparently referring to Trump and the 2023 civil trial where he was found liable of sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll.

Trump, however, was not found liable of rape in the case — a distinction the congresswoman failed to make — leading many on social media to encourage the president to sue the self-described “Bronx girl.”

“Even under the ridiculously lenient standards of NY Times v. Sullivan, you’ve managed to incur defamation liability. Wow,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X, referring to the landmark 1964 Supreme Court libel case.

“George Stephanopoulos might advise you to take down this tweet,” another person tweeted.

Stephanopoulos and ABC were sued by Trump last year after the “This Week” host similarly asserted that Trump had been “found liable for rape,” during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).

In December, ABC and Stephanopoulos agreed to pay Trump’s presidential library foundation $15 million and an additional $1 million in legal expenses as part of a settlement, and the network publicly apologized for the error.

“This is defamatory,” Trump ally Laura Loomer said of Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet. “And I hope you are sued by Trump for this the same way George Stephanopoulos was sued and forced to pay Trump $15 million dollars.”

“The President should sue AOC into bankruptcy,” legal analyst Phil Holloway similarly argued.

“I realize she’s trying to raise her profile but this is way way too far,” Holloway tweeted.

The White House declined to say if the president was considering legal action.

“AOC likes to play pretend like she’s from the block, but in reality she’s just a sad, miserable blockhead who is trying to over-compensate for her lack of self-confidence that has followed her for her entire life,” White House communication director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/12/us-news/ocasio-cortez-slammed-over-defamatory-trump-jeffrey-epstein-post-sue-aoc-into-bankruptcy/

A man in Hunan, China, bought a coffin for his 70-year-old mother, hiring 16 men to carry it home for good fortune.

In an unusual display of filial piety, a man in China’s Hunan province drew a widespread attention online after he bought a coffin for his 70-year-old alive mother to sit in and hired 16 men to carry it from the shop to his home.

The unnamed man, a resident of Shuangxikou Town in Taoyuan County, Changde, Hunan Province in southern China, reportedly undertook the act in the belief that doing so would bring his mother’s good fortune and long life.

The video of the gesture, widely shared on Chinese social media platform Douyin, showed the cheerful elderly woman sitting inside the coffin holding a fan and the men carried it in a procession, South China Morning Post reported.

A brass band played ahead of the procession, which attracted a large crowd of curious onlookers. After reaching home, a traditional ceremony with incense and offerings was held. A villager said he had seen such events three times before.

“The core idea is to express filial piety. It is a rural tradition. The elderly are usually very happy about it, but it is not very common these days,” he told Guizhou Radio TV Station.

According to the villager, the ceremony costs around $2,800 (Rs 2.4 lakh). It included the expense for the banquet, horn players and coffin bearers.

In Chinese culture, coffins are considered auspicious because guancai, the Chinese word for coffin, sounds similar to “official wealth.” Allowing living elderly people to experience the coffin is believed to bring blessings, longevity and peace.

In many villages, people over 70 prepare their own coffins and keep them at home. Funerals for the living are called “celebrations”, showing a calm approach to death.

Source : https://www.news18.com/viral/chinese-man-buys-coffin-for-alive-mother-hires-people-to-carry-it-home-heres-why-ws-l-9436883.html

On Friday morning, Russia carried out another drone attack on Odessa. The Ukrainian army’s territorial recruitment center and residential buildings were hit, local media reported.

A day earlier, at least two people were killed in a massive overnight attack that targeted several districts in the capital Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an ambulance station was destroyed.

The damage is part of a series of sweeping combined attacks that included what Ukrainian media called a “night from hell” in Kyiv on July 4, when the Russian army deployed more than 500 drones, in addition to Kinzhal and Iskander missiles.

As a result, even US President Donald Trump, who had previously seen himself as a mediator in the conflict, declared that he was disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin,” Trump said. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

Shortly after these remarks, the US resumed deliveries of artillery shells and mobile rocket artillery missiles to Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported.

Accelerated drone production in Russia

Thanks to the expansion of its drone production, Russia is now in a position to carry out this level of attacks. It is no longer dependent on Iran as it was back in 2022.

“They’re currently producing thousands a month,” military technology expert David Hambling told DW. “That might make it up to tens of thousands, and that’s simply enough to swamp most forms of defense that would take out missiles.”

Still, Colonel Markus Reisner from the Austrian Armed Forces told DW that Russia would not have the capacity carry out such attacks without the help of other countries. China supplies drone parts and North Korea delivers ballistic missiles, he added. “You can see that Russia is relying on supporters here,” he said.

Experts predict new summer offensive

Following the recent attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told news portal NV that the intensified shelling was a result of Putin’s wish for “people to suffer and flee Ukraine, to see houses, schools — life itself — destroyed everywhere, not just on the front line.”

The New York Times, citing sources close to the Kremlin, reported that this is how Russia intends to break Ukraine’s defenses in the coming months.

Colonel Reisner said that Putin has two strategic aims with his latest combined attacks: to destroy Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and to influence the Ukrainian public.

“Targeted attacks on the population, which is intended to be further weakened by terror, are thus an indirect attempt to exert pressure on the Ukrainian government,” Reisner said.

Many military experts like German political scientist Andreas Heinemann-Grüder expect Russia to launch a new offensive this summer. He sees the increasing number of combined attacks as part of this campaign.

Russia’s goal is to incapacitate Ukrainian air defenses to such an extent that the losses cannot be offset by supplies from Western countries, he said. The attacks could also signal that Russia is preparing for a “decisive battle,” he added, saying that he could not rule out the possibility that Russia could corner Ukraine into subordinating to the Kremlin’s demands by around year’s end.

How can the West help?

The experts who spoke to DW all said that more decisive action from the West would be necessary to reclaim control on the battlefield. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome this week Zelenskyy also said that while Ukraine had found a solution to fend off Russian attacks in interceptor drones, his country’s defense sector remains in urgent need of investment.

Ukraine is now achieving good results in the production of its own drones, but still cannot do without support, Colonel Reisner said. “It needs support from the West, especially for special weapons systems, such as the Patriot anti-aircraft missiles,” he said.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/why-russia-is-stepping-up-attacks-on-ukraine/a-73254218

The United States is set to impose a 30% tariff on all goods from the European Union from August 1, US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform Saturday.

The EU had been prepared for such a move, which comes a day after Trump told Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney that he would impose a 35% tariffs on Canadian imports.

The 27-member bloc and the US failed to reach an agreement to strike a comprehensive trade deal, including zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods.

In addition to the tariffs on EU goods, Trump posted another letter to his platform, declaring a 30% tariff rate on goods from Mexico beginning August 1 as well.

What did Trump say in his letter to the EU?

The US president said the trade relationship with the EU has been “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.” As such, “we will charge the European Union a Tariff of only 30%,” he said.

Trump has frequently described tariffs as charges on other countries. However, the burden falls on consumers within the US, as tariffs make imported goods more expensive and thus less competitive.

“Please understand that the 30% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with the EU,” he added, referring to the difference in goods imported from the EU and goods exported to the EU.

Trump invited the bloc to negotiate further, writing in his letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that high tariff rates would be dropped if “the European Union, or countries within the EU, decide to build or manufacture within the United States.”

Trump has spent the week sending letters to trading partners, announcing new rates for a number of countries like Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil.

Trump’s tariff on EU goods: Where do things stand?

Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the US has a trade imbalance.

Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, Trump put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% in a bid to calm turbulent financial markets and allow time for negotiations.

But the president expressed frustration at talks with the EU. In May, he threatened to impose a tariff rate of 50% on EU goods into the US.

That would cause a price hike on everything from Italian leather goods to French cheese to German electronics in the US.

Then Trump announced that universal tariffs that were due to kick in July 9 would be delayed until at least the beginning of August.

The EU currently faces 50% US tariffs on its steel and aluminium exports, 25% on cars and car parts and 10% on most other products.

How has the EU reacted?

Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is prepared to take the necessary steps to safeguard its economic interests if the US proceeds with the 30% tariff rate.

In a statement, the European Commission President said that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by August 1.”

“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required,” she added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said his government shares the European Commission’s “very strong disapproval” of Trump’s announcement, which came despite “weeks of intense engagement.”

“France fully supports the European Commission in the negotiations, which will now intensify,” Macron posted on X, adding that he still hopes “a mutually acceptable agreement” will be reached before August 1.

The French president added that the bloc would need to speed up “the preparation of credible countermeasures” if no agreement is reached before the new tariffs take effect.

The EU has the ability to enact the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) which allows it to retaliate against countries seeking to pressure its members. It has been repeatedly brought up as a possible response to Trump’s threats.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/trump-announces-30-tariffs-on-eu-goods-as-trade-talks-stall/a-73253662

Australia’s government said Sunday (Jul 13) it expects China to monitor major military drills it is conducting with the United States and other allies.
It also renewed a charge – denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” – that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific.

The comments by a government minister came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties.

More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise from Sunday across Australia and Papua New Guinea.

“The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017 and it would be very unusual if they didn’t do that this time,” said Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister for the defence industry and for Pacific Island affairs.

“We’ll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia,” he told Australian public broadcaster ABC.

“People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we’ll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage.”

The strategically important South Pacific region is at the centre of a diplomatic scramble for influence pitting China against its Western rivals.

“We’re seeing in my portfolio of the Pacific, China seeking to secure a military base in the region,” said Conroy, who has previously made the same assessment.

“We’re working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region, because we don’t think that’s a particularly optimal thing for Australia.”

China inked a secretive security pact with Pacific nation Solomon Islands in 2022.

Although the details have never been published, the United States and close ally Australia fear it may be the prelude to some kind of permanent Chinese base.

Australia wants “a balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates”, Conroy said.

China’s embassy in Fiji this month insisted claims that it wanted to set up a military base in the region were “false narratives” driven by “ulterior motives”.

Beijing has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building sports stadiums, presidential palaces, hospitals and roads in Pacific island nations.

Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Nauru have in recent years severed longstanding diplomatic links with Taiwan in favour of China.

Responding to a report that the Pentagon has pressed its ally to clarify what role it would play if the US and China went to war over Taiwan, Conroy said Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict.

Australia prioritises its sovereignty and “we don’t discuss hypotheticals”, he told ABC.

“The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance but by the government of the day,” he said.

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Elbridge Colby, the US under-secretary of defence for policy, has been pushing Australian and Japanese defence officials on what they would do in a Taiwan conflict, although the US does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan.

Colby posted on X that the Department of Defense is implementing President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda of restoring deterrence, which includes “urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense”.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/australia-china-us-observe-military-drills-5235656

No burial records. No headstones. No memorials.

Nothing until 2014, when an amateur historian uncovered evidence of a mass grave, potentially in a former sewage tank, believed to contain hundreds of babies in Tuam, County Galway, in the west of Ireland.

Now, investigators have moved their diggers onto the nondescript patch of grass next to a children’s playground on a housing estate in the town. An excavation, expected to last two years, will begin on Monday.

The area was once where St Mary’s children’s home stood, a church-run institution that housed thousands of women and children between 1925 and 1961.

Many of the women had fallen pregnant outside of marriage and were shunned by their families – and separated from their children after giving birth.

According to death records, Patrick Derrane was the first baby to die at St Mary’s – in 1915, aged five months. Mary Carty, the same age, was the last in 1960.

In the 35 years between their deaths, another 794 babies and young children are known to have died there – and it is believed they are buried in what former Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny dubbed a “chamber of horrors”.

PJ Haverty spent the first six years of his life in the place he calls a prison – but he considers himself one of the lucky ones.

“I got out of there.”

He remembers how the “home children”, as they were known, were shunned at school.

“We had to go 10 minutes late and leave 10 minutes early, because they didn’t want us talking to the other kids,” PJ said.

“Even at break-time in the school, we weren’t allowed to play with them – we were cordoned off.

“You were dirt from the street.”

The stigma stayed with PJ his whole life, even after finding a loving foster home and, in later years, tracking down his birth mother, who was separated from him when he was a one-year-old.

The home, run by the nuns of the Bon Secours Sisters, was an invisible spectre that loomed over him and many others in Tuam for decades – until amateur historian Catherine Corliss brought St Mary’s dark past into the light.

NATO fighter jets were scrambled overnight after Russia launched one of the biggest attacks on Ukraine.

Some 600 drones and 26 including Kh-101 cruise missiles were launched in one of the most intense bombing raids since the start of the war.

The Russians unleashed Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers to target Lviv and Lutsk as well as Chernivtsi in the assault on western Ukraine.

Two people were confirmed killed in Chernivtsi, close to the Romanian border, with at least 18 wounded in the overnight strikes.

The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said it scrambled fighter jets due to the intensity of the attack.

“Due to the activity of long-range Russian aviation striking targets located in western Ukraine, among other places, Polish and allied air forces have commenced operations in Polish airspace,” it added.

“Scrambled pairs of fighter jets were deployed, and ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of combat readiness,” said the statement.

In Lviv, the Russians hit residential buildings and a kindergarten.

“Explosions occurred in several districts of the city,” said mayor Andriy Sadovyi.

Head of the regional military administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, called it a “massive drone attack”.

The main building of the Electron corporation – a maker of trams and buses – was hit.

Russian reports claimed the Yavoriv military training ground in Lviv region was targeted.

In Lutsk, homes were damaged in the blitzkrieg.

In Chernivtsi, the dead were a woman aged 26 and a man aged 43.

“Several residential buildings, shops, administrative buildings and cars were damaged,” said head of the regional military administration, Ruslan Zaparanyuk.

In a message to Donald Trump, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said: “More air defence and investments in interceptor drones, which are already showing good results, are needed.

“The war can only be stopped by force. We expect from our partners not just signals, but actions that will save lives.”

It comes after Donald Trump slammed Vladimir Putin for talking “bull****” about the Ukraine war and making “meaningless” promises.

Trump’s criticism of Putin came a day after he said he would send more weapons to Ukraine.

The US president appears to be growing increasingly frustrated with the Russian tyrant.

He reiterated he was “very unhappy” with Putin since their phone call last week made no progress on the Ukraine peace deal – something the US president has pushed for since returning to power.

“We get a lot of bull**** thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters during a televised cabinet meeting at the White House.

“He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

But Putin has snubbed peace and is instead steadily increasing his overnight bombing raids – which could soon hit 1,000 a day.

The White House confirmed on July 1 that shipments of certain air defence missiles and other precision bombs to Ukraine had been stopped because of concerns about dwindling weapons stockpiles.

However, Trump reversed the decision, adding: “We’re going to send some more weapons.

“We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves.They’reting very hard now.”

“We’re going to have to send more weapons, defensive weapons, primarily.”

Trump promised to immediately send 10 MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems – which are used to stop incoming missiles – to Ukraine, according to Axios.

The rocket systems were successfully used a fortnight ago when they shot down every single missile that Iran fired at a US airbase in Qatar.

More weapons that Kyiv could receive in the coming days include precision-guided GMLRS missiles and thousands of high-explosive Howitzer rounds.

Trump also urged Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth to push defence contractors to increase production of armaments.

“We have to step them up, Pete, and let them make it at a much higher rate,” he said.

“Putin is not treating human beings right. He’s killing too many people. So we’re sending some defensive weapons and I’ve approved that,” Trump added.

Asked about his interest in a bill proposed by the Senate for further sanctions on Russia, Trump said: “I’m looking at it very strongly.”

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14691425/nato-jets-russia-attack-ukraine/

TRAGIC pictures have revealed the aftermath of the fatal crash where a CEO’s wife allegedly ran over a babysitter – with her lawyers shutting down claims she fled the scene.

Vivian Alexandra Spohr, 51, the wife of billionaire Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr, is alleged to have struck Gaia Costa with her car as she was crossing the road in Sardinia.

Spohr is now being investigated for negligent homicide – and her lawyers have rubbished previous reports that she fled the scene following the horror crash.

They said that the 51-year-old driver actually gave first aid to the dying woman after realising what had happened.

The babysitter tragically passed away after Spohr’s SUV struck her as she attempted to walk across a zebra crossing in the Italian seaside resort of Porto Cervo.

Costa is said to have raised her arm in an attempt to warn the BMW of her presence before being hit at around 1:30pm on Tuesday.

Gaia was reportedly still alive when help reached her, but had sustained serious head injuries and tragically died at the scene, La Repubblica reported.

Shocking pictures taken in the aftermath show Costa’s body covered by a large white sheet and lying on the ground next to a black SUV.

Several other emergency response vehicles were seen parked around the harrowing scene.

Reports previously claimed that Spohr, who was driving with her daughter in the car, initially didn’t notice the accident.

She was said to have been stopped by a passerby before fainting after she saw what had happened.

But Spohr’s lawyer, Angelo Merlini, said on Saturday: “Contrary to what was previously reported, Vivian Spohr stopped after the accident and provided first aid to the girl.

“However, after an initial attempt at resuscitation, Vivian Spohr lost consciousness and fainted.”

Merlini added that Spohr struck the woman at a “very low speed” with her car, which has an automatic transmission and is very heavy.

One witness at the scene reportedly said that moments after the collision, the driver opened the door of the vehicle and “immediately realised what had happened, put her hands to her face and collapsed to the ground”.

Spohr had been on holiday at her family’s holiday home in the seaside resort – but reportedly travelled back to Munich while prosecutor Milena Aucone was registering her as a suspect.

Her lawyers said on Friday: “Vivian Spohr, who was involved in the tragic death, expresses her dismay and deep regret over this very serious accident.

“She has placed herself at the complete disposal of the judicial authorities for the necessary investigations and, although aware that such a great personal loss cannot be remedied, will take steps to mitigate the consequences.”

The billionaire’s wife took alcohol and drug tests following the crash, and both came back negative.

CCTV is understood to have captured Costa crossing the street before noticing the SUV approaching her.

She desperately attempted to stop it by waving her hand – but she was knocked to the ground moments later and banged her head.

Ambulance services arrived at the scene shortly after and paramedics spent more than 20 minutes trying to revive her before she was tragically pronounced dead.

The SUV was seized and will undergo technical investigations.

An examination of Costa’s body was conducted on Wednesday.

The region’s mayor Gianni Addis said: “Gaia was a young woman who was deeply involved in the city’s social and cultural life.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14691903/ceo-wife-crash-babysitter/

BRAD Pitt has upped security at his $5.5 million Los Angeles home after thieves ransacked the property while he was out of town, a source has exclusively told The U.S. Sun.

The Los Angeles Police Department was called to reports of the break-in on Wednesday, June 25, at the actor’s residence in Los Feliz.

An insider claims the three burglars were only in the home for around 10 minutes but made off with an unknown amount of the actor’s personal items.

Pitt was not at home at the time of the crime when the suspects accessed the property through the front windows after scaling the fence.

Police are still investigating, and no arrests have been made, but Pitt has taken action by having security at the home 24/7.

“Neighborhood security was at the house about an hour before it happened,” a source told The U.S. Sun.

“He has personal security that was always there when he was in residence, but now he has guards there all the time.

“Locals did worry about the fact Brad didn’t put up a good fence or a hedge, and the home was fairly easy to access.

“As soon as the neighborhood security was off shift, three guys jumped it. It was really unfortunate.”

Personal security around the clock can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but the source quipped, “He has enough cash.”

Pitt downsized and moved from a $33 million home in Los Feliz when he purchased the mid-century modern property from oil heiress Aileen Getty in April 2023.

The home, known as “The Steel House,” is a 2,000 square foot, L-shaped residence with only three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

It boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, a swimming pool, and a built-in sauna.

He is believed to live at the property with his partner, Ines de Ramon, 32, whom he began dating in late 2022 following his high-profile split from Angelina Jolie.

The actor is not the first A-lister to have been targeted by thieves recently.

Earlier this year, Nicole Kidman had her home ransacked, meanwhile Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson’s Pacific Palisades home was struck in August 2024.

Jessie J also fell victim to thieves who stole over $20,000 worth of the singer’s jewellery.

Pitt’s first ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston, also recently had a scare when a man crashed his car through the front gates of her $21 million Bel-Air mansion.

The Friends star was reportedly home at the time of the incident.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, 48, from Mississippi, appeared in mental health court in Hollywood following his arrest and was found unfit to stand trial.

Carwyle is accused of harassing Aniston, 56, including social media, email, and voicemail messages between March 1, 2023, and the day he was arrested.

A judge previously granted a restraining order keeping him at least 100 yards away from the star and banning any contact.

Carwyle had been speaking to someone online who was impersonating Aniston in the weeks leading up to the incident, who had also been in contact with his family, a source told The U.S. Sun.

Meanwhile, Pitt was promoting his new movie F1 at the time of the break-in at his home and appeared at the European premiere in Leicester Square, London.

He posed for photographs alongside Tom Cruise and the film’s cast.

In his new film, he plays veteran driver Sonny Hayes, who comes out of retirement to rescue buddy Ruben Cervantes’ (Javier Bardem) ailing race team, years after a near-fatal crash.

Sonny is shown as a washed-up “old man” who has fallen into gambling and only rediscovers his love for the sport when he faces competition from a younger driver.

British F1 ace Lewis Hamilton is a producer, and the film is directed by Joseph Kosinski and the rest of the team behind Top Gun: Maverick, except Cruise.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/14688657/brad-pitt-hires-massive-security-team-home/

From Indian negotiators planning to visit the US next week for an interim trade deal and PM Narendra Modi wrapping up his five-nation tour to Russia stepping up its attacks against Ukraine and the UNRWA chief saying that Israel is engineering a “cruel and Machiavellian scheme to kill” in Gaza, a lot has happened in the world this week.

India remains confident of finalising a mini interim trade deal with the US before August 1; Trump claims BRICS is “anti-American”, threatens to impose additional tariffs on member countries; Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine, while US pledges to supply Patriot air defence systems to Kyiv; Gaza turns into “graveyard” as ceasefire talks stall; “war crimes and crimes against humanity” reported in Sudan’s western Darfur region – here is weekly roundup of key global news.

India seeks to ink mini trade deal with US

India remains confident of finalising a mini interim trade deal with the US by resolving outstanding differences on key issues like dairy, agriculture and automobile sector tariffs, after the deadline for reciprocal tariffs was extended until August 1.

Indian negotiators held nearly a week of trade talks in the US before returning on July 4. They are understood to have offered substantial market access to US products in most sectors, excluding sensitive areas such as dairy and agriculture. The US, in turn, is expected to offer lower tariffs on labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and footwear (where it has a competitive edge), and withhold future tariffs on India.

Nonetheless, the trade talks hit a roadblock with Washington insisting on opening up India’s agriculture sector. India has drawn “very big red lines” around this politically sensitive sector, especially amid concerns over the US’s demand to access the Indian market for genetically modified (GM) products.

The new deadline of August 1 offers some elbow room and Indian negotiators are likely to visit the US next week, hoping to finalise a mini-interim trade deal for certain goods, which would particularly include agriculture and automobiles.

However, concerns over industrial commodity tariffs – steel, aluminium and now copper – and pharmaceuticals persist in India. On Tuesday (July 8), Trump announced a 50 per cent tariff on copper, after implementing similar duties on steel and aluminium.

This is significant as the US is India’s third-largest copper export market (after Saudi Arabia and China), accounting for 17 per cent ($360 million) of its total export of copper and copper products globally worth $2 billion in 2024-25.

However, experts argue that given copper’s status as a critical mineral and its extensive use across infrastructure, energy and manufacturing, India’s domestic industry is likely to absorb any decline in US demand resulting from the proposed tariffs.

But a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceutical exports could deal a blow to India’s generics industry, given that the US now accounts for 40 per cent of India’s total pharma exports. Although the tariffs on pharma products have been deferred by at least a year, it could have implications for the American healthcare system as a majority of drugs exported are low-cost, generic drugs, and could disrupt the global pharmaceutical supply chain.

Amid all this, US President Donald Trump has started announcing steep tariffs ranging from 25 per cent to 50 per cent on nearly 20 countries, including Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and South Africa. This is in addition to the 10 per cent baseline tariffs and other sectoral ones announced earlier. However, Trump left the door open for further negotiations with these countries, particularly with its close allies, ie Japan and South Korea, till August 1.

Trump’s letters have targeted six countries in the ASEAN bloc with 40 per cent tariffs, primarily because of growing transshipments from China. He has also threatened to impose additional tariffs on BRICS nations.

17th BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro

With the US President Trump claiming that BRICS is “anti-American” and threatening to impose additional tariffs on members of the forum, India found itself in a somewhat awkward situation as it seeks to finalise a trade deal with the US.

Although India has made it clear that de-dollarisation is not its economic, political, or strategic policy and transactions in domestic currencies are intended to de-risk Indian trade, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva apparently fuelled the “anti-America” rhetoric by saying that BRICS proves the world “doesn’t need an emperor”.

It prompted Trump to repeat the threat of an extra 10 per cent tariffs for BRICS countries, which collectively represent around 40 per cent of the global GDP and a quarter of global trade.

However, the absence of a “unified BRICS position” on the issue, alongside bilateral differences among member countries (for example, between India and China, and among the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran), warrant a closer enquiry into such rhetorics; particularly in the context of BRICS being seen as a challenger to the global financial order or as another platform for India to develop ties with countries in the Global South.

Nonetheless, the 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro (July 6-7) was attended by the newly inducted members (Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, Iran and Indonesia; Saudi Arabia has not joined so far), although Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping were absent. Notably, the Rio declaration presented the basic consensus among BRICS members on a range of issues.

The joint statement condemned the strikes against Iran and used strong language against the attacks on Gaza. India was able to ensure a paragraph in the declaration condemning the Pahalgam terror attack “in the strongest terms”, and reaffirming the group’s commitment “to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens.”

The paragraph on the Pahalgam attack was seen as a gain for New Delhi, especially with key Pakistani allies like China endorsing it. However, India also yielded on the group’s stance on Gaza and Iran, which is seen in the context of New Delhi’s more pronounced pro-Israel stance since October 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, which was noted in the “Global South”.

The consensus among member countries, encapsulated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recasting of the group’s acronym as “Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability”, needs to be upheld as New Delhi takes the leadership of BRICS next year.

Following the BRICS Summit, PM Modi reached Brasilia where the two sides held bilateral level talks, and signed six agreements that included renewable energy, cooperation on combating terrorism, intellectual property, agriculture and protection of classified information. PM Modi was also conferred with the highest state honour of Brazil, the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross.

Modi wrapped up his five-country tour with a stop in Namibia, where he was conferred with the Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis, the nation’s highest civilian award. While in Namibia, he also highlighted India’s support to the country’s decolonisation, “not just in words, but in action”, and congratulated it for adopting India’s UPI digital payment system.

As part of India’s ongoing outreach to the Global South, PM Modi visited the African nations, Ghana and Namibia, the Caribbean nation Trinidad and Tobago, and Latin American countries Argentina and Brazil. However, these diplomatic efforts came amid heightened global tensions, particularly around the Russia-Ukraine War and Israel’s war in Gaza.

Russia accelerates attacks against Ukraine

The Russia-Ukraine war appears to be worsening further, with Moscow intensifying its attacks and Kyiv securing the supply of critical military weapons from the US. Meanwhile, efforts to end the over three-year-long war hang in the balance, while Pope Leo XIV has also offered to host peace talks.

Accelerating its attacks, Russia on Wednesday (July 9) launched a record 728 drones on Ukraine, followed by another bout of strikes the following day in which 18 missiles and around 400 drones primarily targeted the capital Kyiv, media reports said.

Russia’s intensified attacks, which have strained Ukraine’s air defence, came amid US President Trump pledging to resume the supply of defensive weapons, including Patriot air defence systems, to Ukraine via the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and aiming sharp criticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin … He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” Reuters cited Trump as saying.

On Tuesday (July 8), Trump said he was considering supporting a Bill that would impose steep sanctions on Russia, including 500 per cent tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. Notably, India and China are the top importers of Russian crude. In June, India’s Russian oil imports rose to an 11-month high, accounting for a massive 43.2 per cent of total oil imports. New Delhi had voiced concerns over the Bill and energy security.

The US move came as Russia’s intensified attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks caused record civilian casualties, with the United Nations (UN) saying June saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in Ukraine in three years, with 232 people killed and more than 1,300 injured. It prompted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensyky to request Patriot systems from the US, alongside demanding sanctions against Russia. Patriot batteries detect and intercept oncoming missiles and are regarded as one of the world’s best air defence systems.

The escalation came after two rounds of direct peace talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, which yielded no progress on stopping the war. No date for a possible third round of negotiations has been announced. In response to Pope Leo’s offer to host peace talks at the Vatican, Zelenskyy said this would be “entirely possible” but that it had so far been rejected by Russia.

Gaza turns into ‘graveyard’ for starving Palestinians

All the while, Israel has continued its horrendous attacks on aid-seeking Palestinians in Gaza as the UN agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA says the tiny strip has become the “graveyard of children” and “starving people”.

Israel is engineering a “cruel and Machiavellian scheme to kill” in Gaza, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said. “Under our watch, Gaza has become the graveyard of children [and] starving people,” he said Friday in a post on X.

The world body also reported that since May, some 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing aid at the end of May following a three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza, has been criticised for bypassing the UN-led system and violating the humanitarian impartiality rule.

Meanwhile, the US has imposed sanctions on UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has been tasked by the UN to investigate human rights abuses in Palestinian territories. She has been an outspoken critic of what she describes as the Israeli “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and has strongly supported the arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions for what he said were “illegitimate and shameful efforts” by the special rapporteur to engage with the ICC to “prompt action” against America and Israel.

Meanwhile, efforts to negotiate a 60-day ceasefire are held up by Israel’s proposal to maintain military forces in more than 40 per cent of the Palestinian territory, AFP reported, citing Palestinian sources. Hamas has said it wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which is home to more than two million people.

Discussions began in Qatar last Sunday (July 6) to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But both sides have yet to come to terms on a core impasse – while Hamas demands a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal, Netanyahu insists on the militant group’s unconditional surrender and removal.

In the meantime, a UN conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians has been rescheduled for July 28-29, diplomats said on Friday, after it was postponed last month when Israel launched a military attack on Iran.

“Crimes against humanity” in Sudan’s Darfur

At the same time, “war crimes and crimes against humanity” have reportedly been committed in Sudan’s western Darfur region, which has been experiencing a devastating conflict since 2023.

Since the outbreak of the civil war, which has evolved into what is widely regarded as the most severe displacement crisis in modern history, an estimated 62,000 people have died and approximately 14 million individuals have been displaced.

There are “reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity” are being committed in Sudan’s western Darfur region, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said while presenting her assessment of the conflict before the United Nations Security Council on Thursday (July 10), Al Jazeera reported.

The depth of suffering and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur “has reached an intolerable state”, with famine escalating and hospitals, humanitarian convoys and other civilian infrastructure being targeted, Khan said.

In June, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan warned that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had escalated the use of heavy weaponry in populated areas and weaponised humanitarian relief, amid the devastating consequences of the civil war.

The ongoing crisis in Sudan, which is traced back to 2019, following the ousting of long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir, is also heavily influenced by the involvement of multiple external actors, each driven by its own political agenda and interests. But there are potential pathways to peace that need to be explored.

Source : https://indianexpress.com/article/upsc-current-affairs/upsc-essentials/india-to-ink-mini-trade-deal-trump-threatens-brics-with-additional-tariffs-10122394/

The Iranian Embassy in India warned of fake social media accounts impersonating Iranian entities to harm Iran-India relations, sharing images of a fake Ministry of Defence account.

The Iranian Embassy in India has warned about several fake social media accounts impersonating official Iranian entities, aiming to damage India-Iran relations. It said that the accounts were “fake channels” attempting to damage Iran-India relations. The list was released on the embassy’s official Twitter page on Saturday.

“Some fake channels, under the name of Iran, are attempting to damage Iran-India relations. These accounts do not belong to Iran,” the embassy wrote on X, while sharing screenshots of the names of these “fake channels”.

The embassy shared images online exposing fake accounts and their false claims, including a post from a fake Ministry of Defence account claiming Iran was “reconsidering” the Chabahar Port agreement with India. These fake accounts, some with verified ticks, were spreading misinformation to damage Iran-India relations.

“Fake News, Fake Account,” the Iranian embassy wrote in red font over the image while sharing a picture. A picture shared by the embassy showed a post that was found to be from an account originating from Pakistan’s Karachi.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/iran-embassy-in-india-flags-fake-channels-spreading-misinformation-to-harm-ties-ws-l-9436954.html

The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout and appease the demands of far-right conservative personalities and influential members of President Donald Trump’s base after the administration’s decision this week to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

The move, which included the acknowledgment that one particular sought-after document never existed in the first place, sparked a contentious conversation between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House earlier this week that threatened to permanently shatter relations between the two officials and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department.

The cascade of disappointment and disbelief arising from the refusal to disclose additional, much-hyped records from the Epstein investigation underscores the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden evidence. Infuriated by the failure of officials to unlock, as promised, the secrets of the so-called “deep state,” Trump supporters on the far right have grown restless and even demanded change at the top.

Tensions that simmered for months boiled over on Monday when the Justice Department and FBI issued a two-page statement saying that they had concluded that Epstein did not possess a “client list,” even though Bondi had intimated in February that such a document was sitting on her desk, and had decided against releasing any additional records from the investigation.

The department did disclose a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself in jail, but even that raised the eyebrows of conspiracy theorists because of a missing minute in the recording.

It was hardly the first time that Trump administration officials have failed to fulfill their pledge to deliver the evidence that supporters had come to expect.

In February, conservative influencers were invited to the White House and provided with binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassified.” But the binders contained information that had largely already been in the public domain.

Afterward, Bondi said an FBI “source” informed her of the existence of thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents and ordered the bureau to provide the “full and complete Epstein files.” She later said officials were poring over a “truckload” of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI.

But after a months-long review of evidence in the government’s possession, the Justice Department determined in the memo Monday that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims, and “only a fraction” of it “would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.”

The Trump administration had hoped that that statement would be the final word on the saga, with Trump chiding a reporter who asked Bondi about the Epstein case at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

But Bondi and Bongino had a tense exchange the following day at the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.

Part of the clash centered on a story from the news organization NewsNation that cited a “source close to the White House” as saying the FBI would have released the Epstein files months ago if it could have done so on its own. The story included statements from Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel refuting the premise, but not Bongino.

The news publication Axios was first to describe the conversation.

Blanche sought to stem the fallout Friday with a social media post in which he said he had worked closely with Patel and Bongino on the Epstein matter and the joint memo.

“All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo’s composition and release is patently false,” he wrote on X.

Also Friday, far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, posted on X that she was told that Bongino was “seriously thinking about resigning” and had taken the day off to contemplate his future. Bongino is normally an active presence on social media but has been silent since Wednesday.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/epstein-files-dan-bongino-bondi-trump-fbi-0f02f67b6c97fc50e4d93bc4dbf4c4d0

The United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a recent escalation in Russia’s drone and missile attacks, President Donald Trump and his chief diplomat said.

“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News late Thursday. “So what we’re doing is, the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine), and NATO is paying for those weapons.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that some of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the U.S., he said.

“It’s a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (U.S.) factory and get it there,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ukraine badly needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to stop Russian ballistic and cruise missiles. The Trump administration has gone back and forth about providing more vital military aid to Ukraine more than three years into Russia’s invasion.

After a brief pause in some weapons shipments, Trump said he would keep sending defensive weapons to Ukraine. U.S. officials said this week that some were on their way.

Details still are being worked out on Trump’s plan

NATO itself doesn’t send weapons to Ukraine or otherwise own or handle arms — that is done by its 32 member nations — but it does coordinate the deliveries of weapons to a logistics hub in Poland, bordering Ukraine. The alliance itself ships items like medical supplies and fuel.

“Allies continue to work to ensure that Ukraine has the support they need to defend themselves against Russia’s aggression,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said. “This includes urgent efforts to procure key supplies from the United States, including air defense and ammunition.”

Germany, Spain and other European countries possess Patriot missile systems, and some have placed orders for more, Rubio said.

The U.S. is encouraging its NATO allies to provide “the defensive systems that Ukraine seeks … since they have them in their stocks, and then we can enter into financial agreements with them, with us, where they can purchase the replacements,” Rubio said.

A senior NATO military official said Trump spoke to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte about the plan but noted that the details were “still being worked out.”

U.S. weapons already in Europe could be transferred to Ukraine under Trump’s proposal, as could American-made weapons previously purchased by allies.

“NATO has effective mechanisms in place to make something like this possible,” the official said.

A senior European defense official said it was their understanding that European nations would purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine under the plan.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Ukraine is seeking more coveted Patriot air defense systems

Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses by launching major aerial attacks. This week, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine, topping previous barrages for the third time in two weeks.

Ukraine has asked other countries to supply it with an additional 10 Patriot systems and missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday. Germany is ready to provide two systems, and Norway has agreed to supply one, he said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that officials “stand ready to acquire additional Patriot systems from the U.S. and make them available to Ukraine.”

Asked how many Patriot systems Germany is interested in buying, Merz didn’t give a number. But he said he spoke to Trump a week ago “and asked him to deliver these systems.”

In addition to the Patriots, the weaponry that could be sold to NATO members includes advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, shorter-range missiles and Howitzer rounds, according to a person familiar with the internal White House debate. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking more details.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has been in touch with Trump in recent days, said it’s in U.S. national security interests to sell weapons to Ukraine, and “Europe can pay for them.”

“We have the best weapons. They sure as hell know how to use them,” Graham said in an AP interview in Rome while attending a meeting on the sidelines of a Ukraine recovery conference.

Allies purchasing U.S. weapons for Ukraine would get around a possible stalemate in funding for Kyiv once an aid package approved last year runs out. Even with broad support in Congress for backing Ukraine, it’s unclear if more funding would be approved.

Trump’s evolving stance on Putin

Trump’s efforts to facilitate Ukraine’s weapon supply come as he has signaled his displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At a Cabinet meeting this week, he said he was “not happy” with Putin over a conflict that was “killing a lot of people” on both sides.

Russia’s bigger army is pressing hard on parts of the 620-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line, where thousands of soldiers on both sides have died since the Kremlin ordered the invasion in February 2022.

Graham says Trump has given him the go-ahead to push forward with a bill he’s co-sponsoring that calls, in part, for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil. Trump said Tuesday that he’s “looking at it very strongly.”

In the NBC News interview, Trump teased that he will make a major announcement on Russia next week.

The U.S. president also has had a tumultuous relationship with Zelenskyy, which reached a low point during an Oval Office blowup in February when Trump berated him for being “disrespectful.” The relationship has since shown signs of rebounding.

The two leaders spoke by phone last week about Ukraine’s air defenses. Zelenskyy said Thursday that talks with Trump have been “very constructive.”

Impact of the latest Russian attacks

In the latest attacks, a Russian drone barrage targeted the center of Kharkiv just before dawn Friday, injuring nine people and damaging a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s second-largest city, officials said.

“There is no silence in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. A daytime drone attack on the southern city of Odesa also injured nine.

Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has endured repeated and intensifying drone attacks in recent weeks, as have many other regions of the country, mostly at night.

Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s Western partners to quickly follow through on pledges they made at the international meeting in Rome on Thursday. Ukraine needs more interceptor drones to bring down Russian-made Shahed drones, he said.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-trump-drones-05ba74cd9fbefcd81cc90886d091af5a

Australia’s leader Anthony Albanese will visit China and meet with President Xi Jinping this weekend as he seeks to strengthen ties with Canberra’s largest trading partner.

Regional security and trade will take centre stage during the prime minister’s six-day trip spanning three cities – Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

“My government will continue to cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest,” Albanese said in a statement.

The trip marks Albanese’s second official visit to China – but the first since his re-election in May. It comes as countries around the world navigate US president Donald Trump’s “America First” policies including tariffs.

China accounts for nearly a third of Australia’s total trade and “will remain so for the foreseeable future”, Albanese said.

“The relationship in China means jobs in Australia. It’s as simple as that,” he told reporters on Friday.

Albanese, whose Labor Party government was re-elected with an increased majority in May, had pledged among other things to create more jobs and bring back manufacturing in Australia.

Analysts say this trip signals a stabilisation of ties between Australia and China, even as Beijing has been trying to extend its military reach across the Pacific to some protest by Australia.

Last month, Australia’s defence minister Richard Marles called on China to explain why it needs to have “such an extraordinary military build-up”.

A rare Chinese military drill in the Tasman sea in February was also called “unusual” by Marles.

“Both sides recognise their differences… [and] agree those differences should not define the relationship,” says James Laurenceson, director of Australia-China Relations Institute.

The two countries are not seeking geopolitical alignment, he said.

“They need to keep the politics stable and constructive so that other parts of the relationship, like businesses, cultural organisations, universities and so on can forge ahead with engagement in their own areas.”

Mr Laurenceson notes, however, that Washington “will not be pleased” with Albanese’s visit. But the prime minister has domestic support for this, he says.

“Washington is heading in a direction so plainly contrary to Australia’s interests that any [leader] seen as kowtowing to the White House would face pushback at home,” he says.

Beijing will continue to criticise Australia’s involvement in the Aukus submarine deal with its longstanding allies, the UK and the US, observers tell the BBC, while Canberra will reiterate its commitment to the pact – even as Trump’s administration has recently put the agreement under review.

But disagreements over issues like Aukus will not thwart Australia’s and China’s relationship significantly, the observers say.

And neither will other contentious topics Albanese may bring up – including China’s actions in the South China Sea and the case of Australian novelist Yang Hengjun, who has been jailed and handed a suspended death sentence by Beijing on espionage charges which he denies.

“This is part of a broader, understated and mature diplomacy from the current government and it does not fall into the recriminations of previous years,” says Bryce Wakefield, who leads the Australian Institute for International Affairs.

Albanese’s delegation to China includes top executives from Macquarie Bank and the Australian arm of HSBC, as well as mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Albanese had cited green energy among the areas that Australia and China can “further engage” on.

While in China, the prime minister will also meet with Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’ Congress.

China’s state newspaper Global Times says Albanese’s visit “carries special significance” and shows “Australia’s desire to seek more reliable partners in an uncertain world order… with China being the obvious choice”.

In November 2023, Albanese became the first Australian leader visit China in seven years – ending a hiatus triggered by a string of disputes including various Chinese sanctions on Australian goods, and back and forth accusations of foreign interference.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vrjlp5zdvo

A Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday damaged a maternity hospital, authorities said, terrifying patients as windows shattered and shards of glass fell on to the beds, leaving families rushing to shelter their babies.
Three women and three newborns suffered acute stress and received medical help, according to Kharkiv’s regional prosecutors.

Oleksandra Lavrynenko was at the hospital after just giving birth. “We woke up and heard a very loud whistle. My husband and I got up and quickly went to our little one, and at that moment there was a hit and the windows shattered,” she said.

They rushed to shelter one-day-old Maksym underground.
“It was very scary, because I was so full of adrenaline that I probably forgot that I had stitches. Now I am slowly recovering from the shock,” Lavrynenko said.
“It is very difficult and scary to give birth at this time,” she said, laying next to her son.

Shards of glass littered the medical facility’s floors and beds and patients and staff prepared to evacuate.
Oleksandr Kondriatskyi, one of the doctors, said the attack damaged the side of the building where the delivery and surgery rooms were located.
“Everyone, both the staff and the women, suffered severe stress,” he said, adding that some of the patients only gave birth a couple days ago and had had surgery.

Russia has increased the intensity of aerial attacks in recent weeks, and carried out more missile and drone strikes across Ukraine.
It has frequently targeted Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, located in the northeast of the country, since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-attack-kharkiv-damages-maternity-hospital-sending-patients-fleeing-2025-07-11/

An Israeli-American businessman, a former State Department official and a decorated Green Beret pitched up in the Democratic Republic of Congo in March with a message for President Felix Tshisekedi from the Trump administration.
Two days later, they fled the country in fear of arrest.

The three envoys had come with an offer from Washington: release three American prisoners on death row and, in return, President Donald Trump will accept your minerals-for-security proposal.

The trip started well with a police motorcycle escort from the airport, but a frosty first meeting with Tshisekedi’s security adviser, some ill-advised late-night target practice by some of the envoys and a Congolese general with an axe to grind put paid to the mission.
Reuters pieced together the course of events by speaking to the three Americans on the trip, a State Department official involved in the initiative, and two people the trio met during their brief stay in Congo’s capital Kinshasa.
The story of the ill-fated venture, which has not previously been reported, provides a glimpse of how the Trump administration is prepared to work through unconventional channels in pursuit of deals to bring Americans home, a top priority for the president.

“We want to work with folks who have the right connections, but more importantly, have the positive relationships that can help influence a decision-maker’s thinking … so it’s not uncommon for us to do that,” Dustin Stewart, Trump’s deputy special envoy for hostage affairs, who was involved in discussions on the initiative, told Reuters.
“We thought they had enough sway to talk to the right people. Obviously, that proved incorrect,” he said.
President Tshisekedi’s office did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
Congo has become a focus of U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the decades-long conflict in the east and help American companies access critical minerals, making the country ripe territory for endeavours such as this mission.
“Trump gave every indication right from the beginning that he was going to be purely transactional,” said Ebenezer Obadare, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “He’s thrown out the old playbook. He’s not going through normal diplomatic channels.”

AMERICANS ON DEATH ROW

It all started in January this year when Israeli-American businessman Moti Kahana met the Congolese president on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos to warn him about a coup plot purportedly involving Israelis.
Kahana handed over the names of the alleged plotters to Tshisekedi in an envelope, according to the businessman and two other people involved. Reuters could not determine whether the alleged plot was real.
Kahana told Reuters he was aware that Washington had a number of live interests in Congo, and after returning from Davos he decided to try to arrange another meeting with Tshisekedi.
Three Americans had been sentenced to death by a Congolese military court in September 2024 for participating in a separate, failed coup in May last year. Efforts to free them by the Biden government and the Trump administration had gained little traction.

At the same time, negotiations were intensifying over a deal in which the United States would secure greater access to Congo’s minerals in return for help defending the country from Rwanda-backed insurgents rampaging across its eastern provinces.
To get the ball rolling, Kahana met with State Department officials in Washington in March. The officials thought it worth empowering a team led by Kahana to discuss U.S. diplomatic goals and the release of the three Americans with Tshisekedi, the businessman and the State Department’s Stewart said.
“I don’t think anybody had high hopes that they were going to be able to sort of go to Kinshasa and come back with those three,” he said. “But, again, I think reinforcing the message that it was important to find a positive resolution, it helped us.”

UNLIKELY CAST

Kahana had a track record of extracting people from dangerous places. His exploits included rescuing about 200 Jewish orphans from Ukraine in 2022 and the last Jew from Afghanistan when the Taliban took control in 2021.
For the Congo mission, he signed up two other Americans. One was former U.S. Green Beret Justin Sapp. He was among the first soldiers to infiltrate Afghanistan in 2001 and had explored a project with Kahana to deliver aid to Gaza the previous year.
For Kahana, who said he does business alongside his philanthropic ventures, the motivation was to win praise for bringing home the Americans, while eyeing business opportunities in Congo. He brought in Sapp as an expert on security.
“He generally sees himself as the guy saving the day,” said Sapp. “Now, is he doing it for free? In the end, no.”
The other was Stuart Seldowitz, a business associate of Kahana’s and former U.S. diplomat who was charged with a hate crime for verbally abusing a Halal hot dog vendor in New York in 2023.
Seldowitz said the charges were dismissed after he completed a 26-week anti-bias course.
Seldowitz was an old acquaintance of the U.S. ambassador to Congo, Lucy Tamlyn, which Kahana said could come in handy.
On their first night in Kinshasa, the trio had expected a discussion over dinner with Tshisekedi’s security adviser, Desire-Cashmir Kolongele Eberande. But they said he was not in a welcoming mood when he finally saw them at 1 a.m.
“We were supposed to have a meeting with the president the next day,” Sapp said. “In retrospect, I’m not sure we had a firm meeting with him. I think it was tentative, and they were going to sniff us out. And then we didn’t pass the sniff test.”
Sapp said Eberande was suspicious about whether the trio were actually authorised to convey a message from Trump.
Eberande did not respond to requests for comment about the American mission.
Kahana reached out to Washington for help. The next day, Stewart sent an email to Eberande confirming the State Department knew of the visitors, and Eberande begrudgingly accepted their credentials, Kahana said.
“Per our previous exchange, this is to confirm that I am aware of the travel of Mr. Seldowitz and Mr. Kahana as it pertains to the status of the three Americans in custody,” Stewart wrote in the email, seen by Reuters.
That evening, while the trio waited to see if President Tshisekedi would meet them, they were invited for dinner by an Israeli security contractor on a compound within an army base in Kinshasa.
Another guest was an Israeli-French arms dealer who had been doing business in Congo for decades and helped set up Kahana’s first meeting with Tshisekedi in Davos, according to the arms dealer, Kahana and Kinuani Kamitatu Massamba, a Congolese politician close to Tshisekedi.
After dinner, the host invited the guests for a shooting session at the compound’s range. Kahana and Sapp agreed to take part.
The next morning, Kahana received a call from Massamba, who said Congo’s intelligence services were upset about the late-night gunfire.
Massamba told Reuters the shooting had raised alarm about a possible attack on the presidential palace.
It was at that point that things became alarming for the Americans.

‘GOOD TO BE AMERICAN’

General Franck Ntumba, head of the presidential guard, showed up at their hotel, demanding they surrender their passports and visit his headquarters.
“He didn’t look like he wanted to be screwed around with,” Seldowitz said.
Ntumba did not respond to requests for comment.
Ntumba had been one of the people Kahana named as an alleged coup plotter to President Tshisekedi in Davos. Kahana said that before the trip he was slightly concerned about Ntumba, but was hopeful the general didn’t know he was behind the list.
Seldowitz called his old acquaintance the U.S. ambassador.
A large contingent of embassy staff soon showed up at the hotel to protect the Americans, the Israeli-French arms dealer said.
“I thought, wow, it’s good to be American in this situation. It was like a movie, believe me,” he said.
Ntumba eventually left, but warned the trio that things would not end there. An American security officer at the embassy gave them three options: stay in their hotel rooms and hope no one kicks down the doors, move to another hotel, or leave Congo immediately.
“And I said, well, I like the third option the best,” said Kahana.
The embassy sent a car with diplomatic plates to take them to the airport. The trio arrived as an Air France flight for Paris was boarding.
But at passport control, they were taken into a room and asked for their phones. Seldowitz called the embassy again. Air France staff came and the three Americans were released.
The U.S. embassy referred Reuters questions about the trio’s mission to the State Department. Hostage envoy Stewart confirmed its staff had stepped in to rescue the three men.
While the men’s mission did not go as planned, progress has since been made on their initial goals. Massamba, Stewart and Kahana all said it helped signal that Trump was serious about striking a deal involving the American prisoners.
In April, Tshisekedi commuted the sentences of the three Americans convicted of coup-plotting to life in prison. Soon afterwards, Trump’s senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, visited Congo and the three were transferred to the United States, where they were charged with conspiring to carry out a coup on Congo.
The men – Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson and Benjamin Zalman-Polun – are currently in custody after pleading not guilty. Their lawyers did not respond to requests for comment about the mission to free them.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/how-us-mission-push-trump-deal-congo-unravelled-2025-07-11/

The State Department began firing more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its diplomatic corps, a move critics say will undermine U.S. ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad.
The layoffs, which affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers based in the United States, come at a time when Washington is grappling with multiple crises on the world stage: Russia’s war in Ukraine, the almost two-year-long Gaza conflict, and the Middle East on edge due to high tension between Israel and Iran.

“The Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” an internal State Department notice that was sent to the workforce said. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found,” it added.
The total reduction in the workforce will be nearly 3,000, including the voluntary departures, according to the notice and a senior State Department official, out of the 18,000 employees based in the United States.
The move is the first step of a restructuring that Trump has sought to ensure U.S. foreign policy is aligned with his “America First” agenda. Former diplomats and critics say the firing of foreign service officers risks America’s ability to counter the growing assertiveness from adversaries such as China and Russia.

“President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio are once again making America less safe and less secure,” Democratic senator Tim Kaine from Virginia said in a statement.
“This is one of the most ridiculous decisions that could possibly be made at a time when China is increasing its diplomatic footprint around the world and establishing an overseas network of military and transportation bases, Russia is continuing its years-long brutal assault of a sovereign country, and the Middle East is careening from crisis to crisis,” Kaine said.
Dozens of State Department employees crowded the lobby of the agency’s headquarters in Washington holding an impromptu “clap-out” for their colleagues who have been fired. Dozens of people were crying, as they carried their belongings in boxes and hugged and bid farewell to friends and fellow workers.

Outside, dozens of others were lined up continuing to clap and cheer for them with some holding banners that read, “Thank you America’s diplomats.” Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen attended the demonstration.
Several offices were set up inside the building for employees who are being laid off to turn in their badges, laptops, telephones and other property owned by the agency.

The offices were marked by posters that read “Transition Day Out Processing”. One counter was labeled an “Outprocessing service center” with small bottles of water placed next to a box of tissue. Inside one office, cardboard boxes were visible.
A five-page “separation checklist” that was sent to workers who were fired on Friday and seen by Reuters tells the employees that they would lose access to the building and their emails at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday.
Many members of a State Department office overseeing the U.S. resettlement of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war have also been terminated as part of the overhaul.

‘WRONG SIGNAL’

Trump in February ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revamp the foreign service to ensure that the Republican president’s foreign policy is “faithfully” implemented. He has also repeatedly pledged to “clean out the deep state” by firing bureaucrats that he deems disloyal.
The shake-up is part of an unprecedented push by Trump to shrink the federal bureaucracy and cut what he says is wasteful spending of taxpayer money. His administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Aid, Washington’s premier aid arm that distributed billions of dollars of assistance worldwide, and folded it under the State Department.
Rubio announced the plans for the State Department shake-up in April, saying the Department in its current form was “bloated, bureaucratic” and was not able to perform its mission “in this new era of great power competition.”
He envisioned a structure that he said would give back the power to regional bureaus and embassies and get rid of programs and offices that do not align with America’s core interests.
That vision would see the elimination of the role of top official for civilian security, democracy, and human rights and the closure of some offices that monitored war crimes and conflicts around the world.
The reorganization had been expected to be largely concluded by July 1 but did not proceed as planned amid ongoing litigation, as the State Department waited for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the Trump administration’s bid to halt a judicial order blocking mass job cuts.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/state-department-says-it-will-fire-more-than-1350-workers-trumps-shake-up-2025-07-11/

Militants abducted and shot dead at least nine bus passengers travelling through Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, government officials said on Friday (Jul 11).

Security forces are battling a rise in ethnic and separatist violence in impoverished but mineral-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

The militants boarded two buses on a major highway and checked passengers’ identity cards before forcing nine people off the vehicles at gunpoint overnight on Thursday.

“The terrorists forced the two passenger buses to stop on a highway and pulled nine passengers out. They took them in an area nearby and killed all of them,” local government official Naveed Alam told AFP.

The attackers specifically targeted people from Punjab, the country’s most populous and prosperous province and a major recruitment base for the military.

“The forces found the dead bodies all belong to different areas of Punjab,” said Saadat Hussain, another senior government official.

The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLA), a separatist group fighting the state, later claimed responsibility for the attack.

The BLA has emerged as the biggest threat targeting foreign interests, security forces and Pakistanis from outside the province.

Baloch separatists and rights groups say the military’s heavy-handed counter-terrorism response to the insurgency has included widespread enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

Balochistan is rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, but 70 per cent of its 15 million inhabitants live below the poverty line.

In March, the militant group was behind a deadly train siege with more than 450 passengers on board.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/pakistan-separatists-kill-nine-bus-passengers-punjab-bla-5233426

When it comes to instant noodles, there’s no Korean discount. Only a Korean premium.

Samyang Foods, the manufacturer of Buldak ramen, has gained 93 per cent this year. Trading at 26 times forward earnings, it boasts US$8.1 billion market cap, as much as bigger rivals Japan’s Nissin Foods and Korea’s Nongshim combined.

This rally has also made chief executive Kim Jung-soo, who married into a conglomerate family and turned around the instant noodle company after it declared bankruptcy in the late 1990s, a rare billionaire in her own right in the country’s male-dominated business world.

Buldak, which translates to “fire chicken” in Korean, is not for the fainthearted. With its debut in 2012, Samyang introduced a level of spice previously unseen in the instant ramen market. It has roughly the same heat level as jalapeno peppers. Last year, Denmark briefly recalled the fiery ramen for being too spicy.

SOCIAL MEDIA FASCINATION

Perhaps because of its “seriously extreme spice,” Buldak has become an object of fascination for social media influencers who might enjoy truth-or-dare antics. The carbonara version, in particular, resembles the boxed macaroni and cheese Americans grew up with – with a kick.

In May, the number of TikTok hashtags related to Buldak surged 250 per cent from last year, according to CLSA, a brokerage. The keyword leaps up on Google trends, too. As these ramen packs go viral online, they fly off supermarket shelves. In the first quarter, revenue in the United States jumped 20 per cent quarter-on-quarter, even as sales at Walmart declined slightly due to a Buldak Carbonara shortage.

This is nonetheless music to investors’ ears: Unrequited love can be a beautiful thing.

Upon the completion of a second plant in Miryang in June, Samyang will soon be able to ramp up shipments to major distributors including Costco. By 2030, Samyang’s market share in the US could double from 8.1 per cent in 2024, according to CLSA estimates.

PARALLELS WITH POP MART AND LABUBU

In many ways, there are parallels between Samyang and China’s Pop Mart, the maker of Labubu, an elf-like plush toy that has become a global sensation. With US$45 billion market cap, the toy maker is worth more than twice as much as Sanrio and Mattel combined, owners of long-time favourites Hello Kitty and Barbie.

These products are not for everyone. With pointy ears and nine serrated teeth, Labubu has a weird look, which only some consumers find cute, while others scratch their head and puzzle over its stardom. Existing outside the mainstream, both generate conversation and attract eyeballs. They are designed to go viral.

Investors are also betting that unlike older generations, young Americans have the adventurous spirit for something different. These days, people are getting hooked on Korean specialty grocery chain H Mart, quite a cultural shift considering cucumbers were a new vegetable for the McDonald’s US menu just over a decade ago.

And the youth are friendlier to China than their parents. IShowSpeed, a streamer with 38 million followers, certainly enjoyed Chinese cars and robots during his two-week trip in the spring.

TARIFF-PROOF BRANDS

As for US President Donald Trump’s trade policies? Investors are not at all worried, seeing that both brands are tariff-proof.

In the US, eating out has become an expensive endeavour. A meal at a fast-food restaurant can easily set you back US$10. Instead, staying at home with a bowl of Buldak ramen, which will cost just over US$2 even with the incremental 25 per cent duty Trump plans to impose on South Korean products, can be equally satisfying.

As for Labubu, good luck getting your hands on them at all. They are sold out at Pop Mart’s retail stores worldwide.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/instant-noodles-samyang-buldak-spicy-challenge-korea-tariffs-5233496

50 Cent still wants the last laugh when it comes to his rivalry with Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The “21 Questions” rapper hit Combs with yet another savage Instagram trolling on Friday — this time, with the help of a bizarre AI baby oil fashion show video.

The clip showed an artificial Combs walking down a fashion runway while wearing a pink dress fashioned with the Johnson & Johnson baby oil logo across the front.

And the roasting didn’t end there — The video was set to the song “Baby Oil Freak Off Party.”

“I didn’t know Diddy walked in the Michael Amiri show, when did he make Bond! 😟” 50 captioned the video.

The joke was in reference to the shockingly copious amounts of baby oil found and confiscated by the FBI during the raids Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles mansions last year.

The “Many Men” hitmaker hasn’t held his tongue regarding Diddy’s long list of legal troubles over the last year.

He also trolled the Bad Boy Records founder’s affinity for baby oil during his trial in May by sharing a string of AI-generated photos to Instagram, beginning with a screenshot of a People headline that read: “Cassie Says Diddy Asked Her to Get in Inflatable Pool Filled With Baby Oil.”

“Damn he did all that sh–t to go out like this, SMH,” 50 captioned the collection of faux photos. “This s–t crazier then [sic] regular crazy.”

The “BMF” producer, 49, had an out-of-character take on Combs’ verdict in his sex trafficking trial earlier this month.

After the disgraced music mogul was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering, 50 — in an odd turn for the infamous internet troll — congratulated his longtime rival on social media.

“Diddy beat the Feds, that boy a bad man !” he wrote via Instagram alongside three clapping emojis.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/07/11/celebrity-news/50-cent-back-to-savagely-roasting-diddy-after-verdict/

Shubhanshu Shukla and three crew members lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25.

India’s space exploration efforts are poised to mark a historic milestone as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), prepares to return to Earth following a successful mission under the Axiom-4 program. This mission, named Akash Ganga, is a collaborative effort among Axiom Space Inc., NASA, and ISRO, representing a significant step forward in India’s human spaceflight ambitions, including the upcoming Gaganyaan mission and the proposed Bhartiya Antariksha Station.

Mr Shukla and three crew members lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25. They docked with the space station on June 26, and, weather permitting in the descent corridor, the mission, which Mr Shukla is piloting, will safely splash down on July 15. ISRO has confirmed that the splashdown is scheduled for 3:00 PM IST on July 15, 2025.

According to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich, the undocking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying Mr Shukla and three other astronauts is scheduled for July 14, 2025, at 4:30 PM IST. Following a series of orbital maneuvers, the spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of California, USA.

In an update on July 11, Axiom Space reported that after spending 17 days living and working aboard the International Space Station, the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew is wrapping up their research projects. Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu “Shux” Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz “Suave” Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu have maximised their time in orbit.

Since arriving, they have conducted over 60 scientific research activities and participated in more than 20 outreach events, advancing research that will contribute to the future of space exploration while inspiring the next generation back on Earth.

During his stay aboard the ISS, Mr Shukla conducted seven India-specific microgravity experiments, showcasing India’s growing capabilities in space science and technology. These experiments are designed to generate critical data for future planetary missions and long-duration space habitation. Some of the experiments include:Tardigrades: Studying the survival, revival, reproduction, and transcriptome of an Indian strain.

Myogenesis: Investigating the impact of microgravity on human muscle cells.

Sprouting of Methi and Moong Seeds: Relevant to crew nutrition and sustainable space farming.

Cyanobacteria: Exploring the growth of two varieties for life support systems.

These experiments are now being prepared for their journey back to Earth for further analysis. Meanwhile, three additional experiments-focused on microalgae, crop seeds, and the Voyager Display-are nearing completion and will also contribute valuable insights to India’s space research portfolio.ISRO’s flight surgeons have been actively monitoring Mr Shukla’s health and psychological well-being throughout the mission via private medical and psychological conferences.

Reports confirm that the astronaut is in excellent health and high spirits, a testament to the rigorous training and support systems in place. Upon splashdown, Mr Shukla will undergo a seven-day rehabilitation program under the supervision of ISRO’s flight surgeons. This phase is crucial for helping the astronaut readjust to Earth’s gravity after spending several weeks in microgravity conditions.

This mission not only marks Mr Shukla as the second Indian astronaut in space, following Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight in 1984-but also positions India as a serious contender in the global space community.

The success of Mission Akash Ganga is expected to accelerate India’s roadmap for human spaceflight and deepen international collaborations in space science.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/axiom-4-space-station-shubhanshu-shuklas-space-capsule-to-reach-earth-on-july-15-8863480

DRAMATIC footage captures a fleet of Chinese tank boats charging through the sea in tight formation during military drills near Taiwan.

The show of force by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) comes as Taiwan kicks off its largest-ever military exercises.

Footage released by China’s state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday shows amphibious armoured units conducting live-fire exercises as tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalate.

The drills were carried out by the PLA’s 72nd Group Army just off the southern coast of Fujian province – directly across from Taiwan – in what analysts see as a deliberately provocative move.

A video released on Thursday shows reconnaissance troops from the 73rd Group Army practising armed swimming, underwater combat and long-range coastal infiltration drills.

Military experts say the drills are “counter-display” as Taiwan launched its own large-scale military exercises on Wednesday.

Taiwan’s drills focused on decentralising command systems, defence officials told Reuters.

In one exercise, around 300 reservists were stationed at an empty high school in Taoyuan, where they trained in mortar and rifle operations.

China and Taiwan’s displays of military might reflect an escalation in tensions between Beijing and Taipei.

China views the democratically governed island as part of its territory.

For this reason, it has ramped up military pressure around the island over the last five years, including regular naval and air patrols near Taiwan.

Meanwhile, China’s new giant “sea monster” warplane was spotted for the first time in the Bohai Sea on Monday.

The wing-in-ground effect (WIG) aircraft, commonly known as an ekranoplan, calls to mind Soviet military tech from the Cold War era.

The vehicle seems to have a boat-shaped fuselage and a joined V-shape tail – a common configuration for WIG craft.

It could be used to facilitate rapid coastal transport and resupply missions or amphibious operations, according to aviation and maritime experts.

And experts fear it could be used in any potential military operations against Taiwan in the future.

It comes just months after satellite pictures showed China’s new invasion barges lining up to form a floating bridge.

The satellite images show three specialised barges, each with two arms of roadway, lining up next to each other.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14681266/fleet-chinese-tank-boats-taiwan/

A SEX scandal has rocked the Kremlin as a top Putin official has been revealed using $100million military planes to transport his mistress around Russia.

Maria Shalaeva, 23, shared online she was being flown on a defence ministry Ilyushin-76 aircraft for a weekend getaway to Rostov-on-Don – the same location of Russian armed forces war headquarters.

One independent media outlet has dragged in the name of Putin’s trusted defence minister Andrei Belousov, 66, as the suspected lover.

He is said to be a known womaniser from earlier email leaks, and his photograph appears on a video she posted.

It is also clear from one video her lover has grey hair, as does Belousov, who was a Kremlin apparatchik before becoming defence minister.

Yet there are strong indications that her man – apparently seen in shorts from behind on the plane – could be younger.

Whether the affair is Belousov or another senior official figure in the Russian power structure, the disclosure triggered fury over what is seen as a security breach.

As the scandal unfolded today, military sources indicated that the Kremlin “sugar daddy” had been visited at work by the secret services after the mistress’s revelations.

Shalaeva, from Yekaterinburg, boasted in now-deleted posts – that she was flying to Rostov-on-Don, a city she had visited before with her lover.

The airport, however, is being closed to all but military planes.

The 23-year-old went on to reveal her beloved booked her a manicure appointment in the city.

She posted: “Who’s saying planes don’t fly to Rostov?

“They do – just not all of them, and not for everyone. Anyway, I flew back to Rostov again. Can’t seem to let it go.”

She said her lover is “a Kremlin man, though, that’s another story. Reliability level is 200%.”

She admits to bringing her three-year-old son Tim on the trip, leading to speculation he is her lover’s offspring.

“At three years old, he’s already flown in a military aircraft,” she posted.

“Tim got to sit right in the cockpit and even grabbed some crisps from the pilot.

“We were greeted warmly. Timmy was chilling, watching cartoons the whole ride.”

Shalaeva says her lover calls her “yebobo [crazy]” and sometimes asks if she’s ever had a concussion.

She insisted he was “not military!! Not FSB either! Now, I know who he is, but I’m not allowed to say.”

Belousov, an economist and civilian technocrat, is not a career soldier and holds no formal military rank – but his authority rivals that of Russia’s top generals.

In Rostov, Shalaeva, her son, and her mystery man were reportedly picked up by a “very expensive foreign car,” rumoured to be a Maybach.

Nexta independent media – a respected outlet originally from Belarus and now Warsaw-based – linked her to Belousov, but without giving any verification.

“In private posts, Shalaeva hints that it’s Belousov himself, the new defence minister of the Russian Federation [who is her lover],” stated Nexta.

“The Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation flies his mistress on a military plane.”

It was local media in Rostov that first flagged the scandal, without naming names.

Russian outlets have so far avoided identifying the man.

Retire Major General Vladimir Popov didn’t mince words: “Everyone will be found and punished.”

He made it clear Belousov bears ultimate responsibility for the military flight.

“If this reaches the defence minister, I expect he’ll come down hard for such poor oversight. And from there, the punishment will trickle down.”

Pro-Kremlin military blogger Andrey Medvedev added: “It seems the Military Counterintelligence Department has plenty to do.”

“I can imagine how much information the SBU [Ukrainian security service] and Western intelligence agencies get just from monitoring social networks,” he wrote.

“In a photo posted by this reckless girl, you can find all sorts of interesting details to understand which planes fly to Rostov, who arranged those rides for her. And so on.”

It comes as the Kremlin was accused of covering up the death of a sacked Russian minister after signs of torture were allegedly found on his body just 24 hours before his apparent suicide.

Roman Starovoit, who was Vladimir Putin’s transport minister for less than a year, was dismissed from his post on July 7 – just hours before he was found dead.

Telegram channels with links to the Russian security forces reported Starovoit’s cause of death as suicide – claiming the minister was found dead with gunshot wounds.

However, an independent Russian media outlet now reports that he had been beaten before his death.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14684687/putin-official-mistress-jet-sex-scandal/

Mohammed was held in secret CIA prisons up until his transfer to Guantánamo Bay in September 2006

THE chief architect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks could be sentenced to death after a court tossed out a plea deal that would have saved his life.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States – and was regarded as one of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s most trusted henchmen.

In 2003, the CIA captured him in Pakistan, after which he spent three years in secret prisons before arriving at Guantanamo in 2006.

He is said to have planned out the deadly attacks from “A to Z” — and was also involved in a string of major plots against the US, where he attended university.

Mohammed as well as two alleged accomplices — Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi — struck a deal with prosecutors on July 31 and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.

The deal would allow the trio to be spared from the death penalty and remain jailed on the southern portion of the American Naval base in Cuba.

The agreement has sparked outrage from family members of victims who died during the 9/11 attacks.

But a US appeals court on Friday scrapped the agreement, saying that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial.

Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defence under the Biden administration, attempted to halt the agreement by filing a motion to a military appeals court.

In his brief, Austin cited the magnitude of the 9/11 attacks and argued that as defence secretary, he should decide on any plea agreements that would save the three men from the death penalty.

Austin “acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment,” judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao wrote in a ruling today.

Congressional lawmakers have also slammed the plea deal, calling it a “national disgrace” and a “total miscarriage of justice.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s weakness in the face of sworn enemies of the American people apparently knows no bounds,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at the time.

“The plea deal with terrorists – including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of Americans – is a revolting abdication of the government’s responsibility to defend America and provide justice.

“The only thing worse than negotiating with terrorists is negotiating with them after they are in custody.”

Mohammed and al-Hawsawi were captured on March 1, 2003, in a joint CIA and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence operation in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi.

Walid bin Attash was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in April 2003.

Mohammed was held in secret CIA prisons up until his transfer to Guantánamo Bay in September 2006.

However, before he was moved to Guantánamo, government officials interrogated Mohammed and his accomplices for years, torturing them and keeping them isolated in undisclosed locations.

Mohammed endured 183 rounds of waterboarding – a form of torture where a person experiences the sensation of drowning when water is poured over a cloth covering their face.

TERROR ATTACKS

At least 2,753 people died at the site of the World Trade Center, where two planes crashed into the towers on September 11, 2001.

A third plane hit the Pentagon, while a fourth, which was planned to strike Washington DC, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after crew members and passengers stormed the cockpit.

The heinous attacks sparked the war on terror after President George W. Bush ordered the US military to invade Afghanistan and Iraq in search of the terrorists responsible.

The US government was warned by the CIA that the likely targets would be famous landmarks or symbols of US capitalism – but they did not know when or how.

And none of them could have imagined the extent or horror of 9/11 when it did happen.

On May 1, 2011, the most classified operation of the last 25 years was launched to kill Osama Bin Laden.

The Saudi-born terror chief became the world’s most wanted man, hiding in plain sight in Pakistan for years before U.S. Navy SEALs took him out in a daring raid.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14690091/9-11-mastermind-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-osama-bin-laden/

ACCUSED child murderer Travis Decker would not be able to survive in the wilderness long alone, but authorities still have a challenge on their hands, experts say.

Decker, 32, vanished six weeks ago after he allegedly murdered his three daughters during a scheduled custody visit on May 30 in Washington.

There have been a few sightings of a man resembling Decker more than 500 miles away in Idaho, and now multiple agencies are working on the case.

Although a camper’s report in the Bear Creek area in Idaho has been ruled out by US Marshals, a nurse also claimed to have seen a man resembling Decker in Idaho City.

He appeared to be hiking but was underprepared with a sleeping roll, no sleeping bag, and long-sleeved top and pants in hot weather, as he was seen walking across a parking lot towards a public bathroom.

Michael Lanza, founder of The Big Outside, a writer, outdoor photographer, and backpacker for more than three decades, spoke to The U.S. Sun about the possibility Decker could disappear into the nearby mountains in Idaho.

Lanza said if he already owned the correct gear and clothing and had experience in backcountry travel, he might be okay for a while, but the challenge of feeding himself would likely become the main issue.

“And in those mountains, winter sets in by sometime in September or October,” he said.

“But his challenge with feeding himself would probably arise long before then.

“It’s summer, so the weather wouldn’t be all that difficult, although a person would still need the gear and skills to make shelter and get food on his own, possibly by fishing and hunting.

“That might not provide enough food, and he wouldn’t likely have a means of preserving food [refrigeration] for more than a day, meaning he’d have to fish or hunt daily.

“Backpackers and horsepackers would typically carry a small gas stove for cooking meals, but those require fuel, so if he has a stove, he would need to be resupplied with fuel as well as food.”

Lanza said in the early summer the creeks and rivers are high so there’s plenty of water, but the crossings can be dangerous.

“Winter would require a more weather-hardy shelter than a tent for a long period of time, and wild food sources become much more scarce and difficult to obtain,” he continued.

“Traveling on foot becomes much more difficult, and there’s avalanche danger.

“Temperatures will drop well below freezing at night and may not rise above freezing on many days.

“Avoiding frostbite or worse would be difficult to impossible without the right footwear and clothing, and those wear out over time or may get wet and not dry for hours or days, depending on the weather and temperatures.

“Look at people and cultures who’ve survived in harsh winter environments, and they’ve done it typically through long-developed skills, having very good shelter, and having communities supporting one another.

“Not many people have survived winters as hermits.”

More than $6 million is said to have been spent on the search for Decker so far, and authorities still have no clue as to where he is.

Lanza said, “It’s difficult because of the mountainous and forested terrain and the vastness of that wilderness.

“Without recent sightings, searchers might not have an area to focus their efforts on, meaning they would need either thousands of people on the ground or aircraft searching with technologies that can locate a person on the ground who’s not within eyesight of them, all of which entails enormous cost.

“I expect he’ll either get captured alive or his body will be found some days, weeks, or months.”

Police recently said there was no clear evidence as to whether Decker is alive or dead and millions of dollars have been spent on fruitless weeks-long manhunt.

Decker is an Army veteran with extensive military skills who previously spent months alone in the outdoors, leading officials to believe he may have planned to survive in the wilderness for a while.

But Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison in Washington told CNN Decker isn’t a wilderness “guru,” despite online theories inflating his survival skills.

“We’re not going to glorify his abilities,” Morrison said.

“We don’t think that he’s some kind of special forces guru.

“He could get lucky at times, and eventually luck runs out.”

Elisabeth Brentano, an outdoor photographer, also spoke to The U.S. Sun about adventures in the Sawtooth National Forest, where Decker was initially thought to have been spotted this month.

“It is possible to go off the grid in the Sawtooth National Forest for days, or even weeks, without being discovered if someone has strong survival skills and equipment,” she said.

“For example, one would need a way to purify their water [either by boiling or filtering], they’d need food [they’d have to hunt or forage, and/or pack in dehydrated meals], and once temperatures start dropping, they’d need shelter and heat [i.e., tarp, tent, firewood etc].

“While there are no grizzly bears in the Sawtooths, there are black bears, mountain lions and even wolves, so that’s another element of danger.”

Meanwhile, Dave Canterbury – a veteran survival expert and owner of Pathfinder School in Ohio, an outdoor self-reliance and survival school – previously told The U.S. Sun Decker could be near the Canadian border by now.

Decker was homeless at the time of the murders and has been diagnosed with PTSD.

He has been accused of kidnapping his daughters and killing them after he picked them up from his ex-wife Whitney for a planned visitation on May 30.

The little girls’ bodies were discovered at Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth, over 20 miles away from their home in Wenatchee, with plastic bags over their heads and zip ties around their wrists.

About 100 yards away from the bodies, Decker’s white truck was found abandoned with his wallet inside and bloody handprints containing his DNA on the tailgate.

A neighbor said Decker looked thin and appeared distracted when he arrived for the handoff at Whitney’s home.

Binh Nguyen, who lived next door to the Deckers for years, told People about the conversation he shared with the dad on the day he disappeared.

“He was skinny. He had long hair and a beard,” Nguyen told the outlet.

“I said, ‘Is that you, Travis?’”

The men spoke for about 10 minutes as Decker waited to pick up his daughters.

However, Nguyen noticed that Decker looked distracted and wasn’t fully paying attention to their conversation

“What was strange was that he kept asking me the same question at different points in our conversation,” Nguyen told the Daily Mail.

“Like he wasn’t remembering he already asked.”

The girls’ mom Whitney has said she wants him found “dead or alive.”

Court documents show Whitney claimed Decker was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and didn’t take medication for it, despite treatment being part of the parenting plan.

“Travis has really struggled since he left the military and his mental health can be hard sometimes,” Whitney told Seattle CBS affiliate KIRO before the girls’ bodies were found.

“I think this is an effect of that, and I don’t personally think that he’s dangerous.”

In a declaration filed in September, Whitney wrote that her ex-husband’s instability was affecting their daughters, according to the Seattle Times.

“Since our separation, it has become increasingly clear that Travis has been struggling to maintain stability in his life,” Whitney wrote, according to KIRO.

She said Decker was prone to “outbursts” and would come into her home yelling for the girls.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14678612/travis-decker-search-countdown-found-experts/

Wimbledon 2025: World No.1 Jannik Sinner set up a clash with Carlos Alcaraz in the grand finale after beating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the second semi-final.

Jannik Sinner stormed into his maiden Wimbledon final after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the second semi-final. On Friday, July 11, Sinner needed just an hour and 55 minutes to dispatch Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court. The 23-year-old also avenged his straight-sets loss to Djokovic in the 2023 semi-final.

For the first time since 2017, the Wimbledon final will not feature Djokovic. The last time he missed the title clash at the All England Club was when Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic to win his eighth Wimbledon crown.

Djokovic’s wait for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title continues. With his fifth consecutive win over the Serb, Sinner also improved his head-to-head record against Djokovic to 6-4 on the ATP Tour.

Sinner also became the fifth man since 1995 to reach the final of all four Grand Slams, joining Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. He is also the second-youngest man in the Open Era to achieve this feat, after Jim Courier.

In the final, Jannik Sinner will face Carlos Alcaraz, who got the better of Taylor Fritz in the first semi-final of the day. The clash will also be a rematch of the French Open final, where Alcaraz prevailed in a thrilling five-set battle.

Sinner dictates terms

Sinner wasted no time in gaining the early advantage, securing a 2-1 lead with a break of serve and then extending it to 3-1. Djokovic responded with a strong service game, holding Sinner to love in the sixth game to close the gap to 2-3.

However, Sinner didn’t allow Djokovic to build any momentum. At 5-3, 40-15, Sinner earned two set points. Djokovic saved both, but Sinner converted the third to take the set and have the last laugh.

Sinner carried his momentum into the second set, breaking Djokovic’s serve for the third time in the match to take a 2-0 lead before extending it to 3-0.

At 5-2, 40-30, Sinner earned a set point, but Djokovic saved it with an ace. Djokovic had to battle through nearly eight and a half minutes and five deuces to eventually hold serve. However, it only delayed the inevitable, as Sinner comfortably closed out the set in his next service game.

Djokovic fights, but Sinner triumphs

Before the start of the third set, Djokovic received treatment from his physio, raising speculation about a possible mid-match retirement – just as he had done after the opening set of his semi-final against Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open earlier this year.

However, post-treatment, Djokovic appeared rejuvenated. He earned his first service break of the match to take a 2-0 lead, followed by a solid hold to go 3-0 up.

But Sinner wasn’t ready to back down. He earned his fourth break of the match and levelled the score at 3-3, shifting the pressure right back onto Djokovic.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/tennis/story/wimbledon-novak-djokovic-carlos-alcaraz-jannik-sinner-2754601-2025-07-11

Chancellor Merz has said Germany is ready to buy US-made Patriot systems for Ukraine. At the summit in Rome where he spoke, allies pledged over €10 billion for rebuilding as Zelenskyy warned of more Russian attacks.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on Thursday that Germany is prepared to purchase US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile defense systems for Kyiv.

His pledge came as Russia continued its daily aerial bombardment of Ukraine, involving hundreds of drones and missiles.

What did the Merz say about Patriots?

“We are also prepared to purchase additional Patriot systems from the US to make them available to Ukraine,” Merz said at the conference, where air defense was discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv’s allies.

The Patriot is one of the world’s most advanced air-defense systems and is capable of intercepting aircraft as well as ballistic and cruise missiles.

To date, the US has only approved the delivery of three Patriot missile batteries to Kyiv — and that was under US President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.

Merz said he asked Trump last week to deliver more of the Patriot systems.

“The Americans need some of them themselves, but they also have a lot of them … It has not yet been finalized whether a delivery will be made,” Merz added.

Patriot systems come in fully mobile batteries that include a command center, a radar station to detect incoming threats, and launchers. The system covers an area of around 68 kilometers (42 miles), according to the German military.

Its radar can track up to 50 targets and engage five of them at once. Depending on the version in use, the interceptor missiles can reach an altitude of more than 24 kilometers and hit targets up to 160 kilometers away.

Messages to the Kremlin — and Trump

Merz also pledged broader and steadfast support for Ukraine at the conference.

“I have two messages, one goes to Moscow, to President [Vladimir] Putin,” Merz said. “The message is quite simple: We will not give up,” he emphasized, to applause from those gathered.

The conference is being held for the fourth year in a row after first being convened in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Merz said his second message was to Washington, to US President Donald Trump. “Stay with us and stay with the Europeans,” Merz said. “We are on the same page,” the German leader stressed.

Trump has signaled frustration with Putin as the US president tries to close a deal to end the war, even as Russian aerial bombardments on Ukrainian cities continue unabated.

What else happened at the conference?

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said participants at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome have pledged over €10 billion ($11.7 billion) to help with Ukraine’s economic recovery.

“I think we should be proud of the result we have achieved together today — nations, international organizations, financial institutions, local authorities, the business sector, and civil society,” Meloni said in her opening speech.

The European Commission detailed €2.3 billion in support to Ukraine to help it rebuild.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/germany-pledges-patriot-air-defense-for-ukraine/a-73233988

MILLIONS of Americans are set to receive a one-off payment of up to $400 with no strings attached.

The payments are part of a $2billion package designed to help taxpayers with the effects of inflation.

Starting in October, New York State will send inflation refund checks to some eight million people to help with the rising cost of living.

The one-time payments will be sent over several weeks and will be adjusted on the basis of gross incomes and tax filings.

Taxpayers will have to meet specific criteria to ensure they receive a payment.

They must’ve filed their taxes, can’t be claimed as a dependent, and make below $150,000.

Taxpayers earning between $75,000 and $150,000 are in line to receive a $150 check, as revealed by the New York Governor’s Office.

Meanwhile single taxpayers who earn up to $75,000 are set to pocket $200.

But, joint filers earning up to $150,000 are expected to receive a cash boost of $400.

And those who earn between $150,000 and $300,000 are in line to pocket $300 under the plan.

Around 8.2 million people will receive the checks.

And, they do not need to take any action.

This is because officials will use tax files on record to send the checks.

The relief package was proposed by New York governor, Kathy Hochul.

But, the payments proved controversial and were met with opposition.

Lawmakers believed the payments didn’t tackle the core issues of the cost of living.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/money/14677853/americans-one-time-payments-new-york/

AN urgent recall has been issued for nearly 850,000 stainless steel water bottles sold at Walmart after horrifying injuries left two people permanently blind.

The screw-top lids on the bottles can suddenly and forcefully shoot off, striking users in the face, federal safety officials warn.

The dangerous bottles were sold under Walmart’s Ozark Trail brand and have been available in stores across the US since 2017.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, pressure can build inside the 64-ounce bottles when food or drinks are left inside, causing the lid to eject unexpectedly.

Three people have been hit in the face by the caps, and two of them lost their vision permanently.

The recall affects the Ozark Trail 64-ounce stainless steel bottles with a silver body, black lid, and the brand logo printed on the side.

The bottle is sold exclusively through Walmart stores across the US and on the retailer’s website for around $15.

They were manufactured in China and imported by Walmart.

The affected bottles are marked with model number 83-662 on the packaging.

CPSC says consumers should stop using the bottles right away due to the serious risk of injury.

Customers can return them to any Walmart store for a full refund.

Photos of the product and details of the recall were posted on the CPSC website.

According to the July 10 notice, the agency says pressure builds when the bottles are used to store perishable contents over time.

In some cases, opening the lid causes a sudden release of built-up pressure.

This leads to the screwcap flying off “with force,” CPSC warned.

So far, no deaths have been reported in connection to the bottles.

However, the two blindness cases are considered severe and irreversible.

Walmart didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.

Earlier in June, an electric blanket sold at Walmart was pulled from shelves after reports of it overheating and catching fire.

The MaxKare Electric Blanket, made by China-based Shenzhen Yumo Commerce and Trade Corporation, was sold between June 2021 and November 2024.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14677027/walmart-water-bottle-recall-leaves-two-permanently-blind/

The Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist was held for months after being arrested by immigration agents. The US government had sought to deport him over his role in campus protests over the war in Gaza.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who played a prominent role in pro-Palestinian campus protests, filed a $20 million (over €17 million) claim Thursday against the Trump administration, arguing he was wrongly imprisoned.

Khalil, a legal US resident, was arrested in March after President Donald Trump vowed to deport foreign students involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement at US college campuses this year.

He was held in an immigration detention center in Louisiana for three months before his release in June, which came just hours after a judge ordered him to be granted bail.

“I hope this would serve as a deterrent for the administration,” Khalil told the Reuters news agency. “Trump made it clear he only understands the language of money.”

What does Khalil’s claim say?

The claim alleges Khalil was the victim of “malicious prosecution and abuse of process, false arrest, false imprisonment and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress,” according to the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is supporting the Columbia graduate.

The center states the Trump administration illegally arrested, detained and planned to deport Khalil “in a manner calculated to terrorize him and his family.”

It adds that his mistreatment by US authorities is causing “severe emotional distress, economic hardship, damage to his reputation, and significant impairment of his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security called Khalil’s claim “absurd” and accused him of “hateful behavior and rhetoric” that threatened Jewish students in the US.

Why was Khalil arrested?

Khalil was one of the leaders of student-led protests against Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The White House had said Khalil was a national security threat who had engaged in “antisemitic activities” with his criticism of Israel.

The Trump administration has said Khalil’s deportation is justified because of “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” if he remains in the US.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/us-mahmoud-khalil-sues-trump-administration-for-20m/a-73235120

SATELLITE images taken before and after the Texas floods have captured the total destruction left by the deadly waters that claimed at least 120 lives.

The devastation was centered in Kerr County, where summer camps and remote homes lay dangerously close to the Guadalupe River.

Before rains came crashing down in pitch black hours of July 4, the river in Central Texas, outside San Antonio, glimmered in the middle of lush, tree-lined properties.

Aerial images showed Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls, nestled comfortably by the waters with cabins and tennis courts peppered among greenery.

But recent satellite images have now shown the devastating effects of the floods, which wrecked buildings and washed brown sediment all over the property.

Previously verdant grounds have now been left dull gray by the rushing waters after the river rose 40 feet and tore through surrounding areas.

Piles of abandoned trunks and other belongings can be seen sprinkled throughout the campgrounds after rescue crews attempted to organize the rubble while searching for survivors.

Ninety-five people have been found dead in Kerr County alone after the holiday tragedy, and at least 27 of the victims were counselors and little girls attending the camp.

One of the hardest-hit cabins was the Bubble Inn, which hosted the youngest campers, aged eight to nine, and lay closest to the river.

Both counselors and all 14 girls in the cabin have been found dead or missing following the floods. The camp’s director, Dick Eastland, died trying to save them in a valiant final act.

At least 150 people are still missing in Kerr County, and hope is dimming for those who haven’t been found, as it’s been days since a live victim was pulled from the rubble, officials said.

A dozen more are still missing throughout the state, and legislators across the US are sending over crews to help with the grim search.

But despite the horrific finds, local leaders have vowed not to give up until every person lost to the floodwaters is found.

CAMPERS’ FINAL MOMENTS

Employees working at Camp Mystic have given heartwrenching accounts of the dark night when the waters rushed through the property.

Staff said they rushed from cabin to cabin, pulling girls out of the windows and shivering in the freezing rain as the river rose beneath their feet.

One employee said the waters “made like a swirl right around those cabins like a toilet bowl,” according to the Washington Post.

Callie McAlary, a 16-year-old camper, remembered the terrifying moment she realized that it wasn’t a normal thunderstorm.

“One minute you see lightning strike next to your cabin, and next to you, you hear water’s coming up,” she told Fox News.

Callie said that she watched in horror as girls darted to cabins on higher ground when buildings filled with water.

“It was really bad thunder,” she said.

“We heard one of the campers run in and say, ‘Hey, our cabin is flooding.’

“I knew some girls slept on trunks that night, some girls had to share beds, some girls slept on floors because they couldn’t go back to their cabin because it was so flooded in three cabins.”

EFFORTS CONTINUE

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are planning on visiting Kerr County on Friday to assess the damage.

The tragedy has sparked an outpouring of support and questions as to why people weren’t evacuated from the area before the rain came.

Some critics claim that Trump’s cost-cutting policies have hindered rescue efforts, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the rumors a “depraved lie.”

Texas Legislature has scheduled a special session for later this month to discuss flood warning systems, emergency communications, and relief funding for flood victims, CNN reported.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency Task Force set up a command center in Center Point, Texas, on Thursday and continues to search for victims.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14674581/texas-floods-camp-mystic-missing-before-after-satellite/ 

South Korean singer Taeil, formerly from the K-pop band NCT, has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for rape.

Taeil, 31, and two accomplices, named in South Korean reports only as Lee and Hong, admitted in June to taking turns assaulting their victim – a Chinese tourist.

A district judge in Seoul described the crime as “extremely grave”, but handed them just half the seven-year sentence requested by prosecutors, noting they were first time offenders.

The court also ordered the three men to complete 40 hours of a treatment programme designed for perpetrators of sexual violence.

The court heard they had met their victim at a bar in the Itaewon district in Seoul.

She became “heavily intoxicated” after drinking with them, the court heard. They then got into a taxi to Lee’s house, where the assault happened.

South Korean law describes this specific kind of rape as “aggravated” because it was a group attack, and a “quasi rape”, as the victim was unconscious.

Taeil, whose real name is Moon Tae-il, left NCT in August last year when allegations first emerged, although the exact details of the crime were not publicly known at the time.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp820gypnn6o

Prince William saw right through Meghan Markle’s alleged plan to become rich and famous by marrying his younger brother, Prince Harry, a royal biographer claimed.

After Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin and closest confidante, Lady Elizabeth Anson, claimed the late monarch was apprehensive about the Duchess of Sussex’s intentions, royal journalist and commentator Phil Dampier alleged the Prince of Wales was skeptical about Markle entering the royal family.

“I think, unfortunately, that confirms what I’ve been saying or thought for the last few years that, sadly, Meghan never really had any intention of staying in the royal family,” Dampier told the Sun, referencing Anson’s comments.

“She saw as a steppingstone getting married to Harry to new fame and fortune. And I think that’s what initially Prince William was concerned about,” he alleged.

Dampier claimed that the siblings “fell out” because of William’s feelings about Markle.

“And now we are where we are. But to have this confirmed by somebody so close to the Queen is really dynamite,” he said.

However, a source fired back at the author’s claims, telling Page Six, “The opinions of Mr. Dampier are just that, opinions. They are completely without merit and not grounded in fact.

“There is no way Mr. Dampier, nor anyone at the Sun newspaper, could possibly know what the Duchess’ intentions were or are, about anything.”

Page Six has reached out to Kensington Palace and reps for the Sussexes but did not immediately hear back.

Harry, 40, has had a strained relationship and William, 43, and their dad, King Charles III, since the Duke of Sussex quit the royal family in 2020 and moved to North America.

Things got worse between the relatives when Harry and the “Suits” alum, also 43, accused the royal family of racism and released a Netflix series about their issues.

Then, in January 2023, the Invictus Games founder dropped his bombshell memoir, “Spare,” in which he alleged that William physically attacked him over Markle.

In May, Harry said he was willing to “reconcile” with his family.

“There have been so many disagreements, differences, between me and some of my family,” he told BBC News on May 3.

“This current situation that has been ongoing for five years with regard to human life and safety is the sticking point. It is the only thing that’s left,” the dad of two said, referring to him losing his appeal against the UK government’s decision to strip him of his publicly funded security after he left the royal family.

The dad of two acknowledged that “some members” of his family would “never forgive” him for “lots of things.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/07/10/royal-family/prince-william-believes-meghan-markle-saw-harry-as-a-stepping-stone-to-fame-and-fortune-royal-biographer/

One of Taylor Swift’s longtime collaborators, Ed Sheeran, is opening up about how the pop icon influenced his journey into NFL fandom.

The revelation came after Ed Sheeran got personal on Kylie Kelce’s blockbuster podcast.

Travis Kelce brought home some merch from his Montana vacation with Taylor Swift

Travis Kelce loves to exit through the gift shop.

The Kansas City Chiefs player gave a subtle nod to girlfriend Taylor Swift on the latest episode of his “New Heights” podcast, wearing a shirt that he seemingly picked up on the couple’s recent vacation.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the logo on his white tee matched that of Yellowstone Club, a private residential club and ski resort in Big Sky, Montana, where Swift and Kelce stayed earlier this year.

How Taylor Swift influenced Ed Sheeran’s unlikely NFL fandom — years before her Travis Kelce romance

Look what she made him do.

Ed Sheeran revealed the subtle role Taylor Swift played in his love of the NFL — years before her romance with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce — on Kylie Kelce’s latest podcast episode.

The “Shape of You” singer told “Not Gonna Lie” listeners Thursday that about “mov[ing] to Nashville for Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ tour in 2013.”

He recalled, “I got a place there. I went to Walmart to buy bits to move in and I just bought some pajamas. And then when I got home, I was wearing the pajamas. And when someone was around, they were like, ‘Oh, you’re a [Tennessee] Titans fan?’ I was like, ‘Guess I am.’”

Sheeran noted that he has followed the team ever since.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/07/10/celebrity-news/taylor-swift-live-updates-7-10-11-12-2025/

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and China Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended separate meetings with their ASEAN counterparts in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday (Jul 10).

Top diplomats of the United States and China took veiled swipes at each other in separate meetings with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday (Jul 10) as they pledged support for the grouping amid geopolitical and trade uncertainty.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the issue of overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, a source of significant friction between China and several ASEAN nations, alongside allegations of unfair trade practices by Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the other hand spoke about a world in chaos, and the need for trade disputes to be resolved through dialogue, in what appears to be a critique of America’s unilateral imposition of tariffs.

The meetings come at a time of growing pressure as ASEAN – which has 10 member states – proves its relevance amid global uncertainty and a range of regional challenges.

Rubio, on his first visit to Asia, said the region remains a “focal point” of US foreign policy under the Trump administration.

“The US is a committed partner to ASEAN,” he said in opening remarks at the ASEAN post-ministerial conference with the US.

“When I hear in the news that perhaps the US or the world might be distracted by events in other parts of the planet, I would say distraction is impossible, because it is our view – our strong view and the reality – that this century and the next – the story of the next 50 years will largely be written here in this region, in this part of the world,” Rubio said.

Thursday’s dialogues occurred a day after US President Donald Trump’s 90-day tariff pause concluded. Malaysia faces a 25 per cent tariff on exports to the US, Laos and Myanmar 40 per cent, Cambodia and Thailand 36 per cent, and Indonesia 32 per cent.

While Rubio did not address the issue of tariffs in his remarks to ASEAN counterparts, comments he made on the sidelines of the meet suggested that Southeast Asian countries may get “better” rates than others.

The US’ trade relationship with ASEAN supports 1.1 million jobs across Southeast Asia, Rubio said.

“So we fully understand the importance of the region, both to our prosperity and security and to each of your countries as well, and that’s why we made clear that we intend to remain deeply engaged in this partnership, and want to continue to work with you on building on all of this,” he said.

US affiliates of majority-ASEAN owned firms also make significant contributions to the US economy, supporting close to 71,000 jobs and over US$300 million in research and development, and about US$2 billion worth of US exports, he added.

Following the meet, Rubio later told reporters: “I would say that when all is said and done, many of the countries in Southeast Asia are going to have tariff rates that are actually better than countries in other parts of the world.

“But these talks continue. There’ll be talks next week with Japan. There’s ongoing talks with virtually every country represented here.”

US officials had said ahead of Rubio’s trip that Washington was “prioritising” its commitment to East and Southeast Asia, and the US’ top diplomat told reporters that America had “no intention of abandoning” the region.

“We’ve spent decades building these relationships,” he said.

“Not only we’re not going to walk away from them, we seek to expand them and build upon them with a part of the world that is essential.”

Rubio added he might also meet with Chinese counterpart Wang.

In his remarks to his ASEAN counterparts, Rubio made reference to US’ dominance in advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology, as well as efforts to ensure freedom of navigation in waters where there are overlapping sovereignty claims, without mentioning geopolitical rival China.

Freedom of navigation and overflight are essential to global trade, maritime security and peace, he said.

Without directly mentioning the South China Sea – of which China claims about 90 per cent with its nine-dash line – he said “claims of territorial sovereignty over vast areas of ocean space that are clearly within the maritime jurisdiction” of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are “unlawful”.

They also “undermine regional peace and stability, especially when these claims involve reckless harassment of foreign vessels and dangerous intercepts of aircraft in international airspace”, he said.

On the digital front, Rubio said: “We’re proud that the US continues to be the partner of choice on digital cybersecurity and emerging technologies, including AI and cloud computing, support pro-growth AI policy, while ensuring AI and cutting edge technologies are not co-opted into tools or fraud and censorship or mass surveillance.”

The US has sought to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China in recent years, concerned that they could be used to advance Beijing’s military systems and undermine American dominance in AI.

Rubio said there was a need to tackle attempts to bypass such curbs.

“We also need to address the issue of trans-shipment, especially efforts to use third countries as pass-throughs to the United States, and efforts to use third countries to access sensitive US technology such as AI servers and chips,” he said.

“This influences perceptions of fairness and reciprocity and bilateral trade relationships.”

WANG YI ON RESOLVING TRADE DISPUTES

China’s Wang, meanwhile, spoke about promoting an “inclusive” global economy at the ASEAN post-ministerial conference with China on Thursday morning.

At a time of global turbulence and transformation, there was a need to draw lessons from history, Wang said.

“We must actively promote a world order that is equal and well-governed, and economic globalisation that is inclusive and beneficial for all, steering the international system toward greater fairness and justice,” he said in his remarks.

China also believes economic and trade differences should be resolved through equal dialogue and mutual benefit, safeguarding countries’ dignity and not be at the expense of the interests of third parties, Wang said, as reported by China Daily.

China has in recent days denounced parties that are considering striking tariff reduction deals with the US that cut Beijing out of their supply chains.

On the South China Sea, he noted the third reading of the Code of Conduct has been finalised, “effectively managing differences and safeguarding overall maritime stability”.

Wang, who’s China’s top diplomat as director of the Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission Office in China’s Communist Party, said the South China Sea is the common home of regional countries, rather than a “gladiatorial arena” for major powers, reported China Daily.

He added that China is willing to expand cooperation with ASEAN countries in areas such as marine environmental protection, navigation safety, maritime law enforcement and key marine infrastructure.

It is willing to fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and advance consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, Wang said.

“The world is in chaos today, and the peace and stability of our region are precious and should be firmly protected. We must never allow geopolitical conflicts and group confrontations to be introduced into Asia,” said Wang, adding that China has always regarded ASEAN as a top priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy.

Wang said 2025 marks a fruitful year for ASEAN-China cooperation. Negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement Version 3.0 have completed and the pact is expected to be signed later this year, he said.

He held up the ASEAN-China-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit held in May as a model of cross-regional collaboration.

On the scourge of scams and transnational crimes, Wang said China has deepened security collaboration with Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and other partners to combat the issue.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia earlier this year have elevated bilateral ties and deepened people-to-people connections, Wang noted.

MEETINGS ALSO HELD WITH RUSSIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Both the US and China will take part in the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Friday.

The meetings – from Jul 8 to 11 – take place under the theme of “Inclusivity and Sustainability”.

Rubio said the US has proposed an East Asia Summit leaders’ statement on combating scam centres, and remains committed to strengthen efforts to combat the problem.

On the conflict in Gaza, he said the US remains committed to achieving a durable ceasefire and believes “we are close to that now”.

“It seems at least the majority of the terms of such an agreement are in place, and that proximity talks should soon begin on implementation,” he said, thanking Egypt and Qatar in particular for their facilitation.

The US remains committed to an enduring peace throughout the Middle East, “changing the architecture of a region to one that’s more stable”, he said.

ASEAN also held post-ministerial conferences with Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Japan, Russia, and the Republic of Korea on Thursday.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/asean-foreign-ministers-meeting-marco-rubio-wang-yi-us-tariffs-south-china-sea-ai-5231696

Justin Bieber is teasing his long-awaited seventh studio album – apparently called Swag – with a series of billboards and social media posts Thursday.

Billboards depicting Bieber were found by fans in Reykjavik, Iceland and Los Angeles with the word Swag. The singer also shared images of billboards on his official Instagram account that appeared to depict a tracklist that includes song names like All I Can Take, Walking Away, Dadz Love and Forgiveness.

No details on when the album would drop were included. The Hollywood Reporter, which was first to report the album was nearing release, said it would arrive on streaming services Friday (Jul 11).

Bieber, the two-time Grammy Award winning singer and Canadian pop idol who revolutionised teen pop and social media fame, is best known for his silky R&B pop lyric tenor, demonstrated on the diamond-selling Baby, Sorry, and Stay with the Kid Laroi. At the beginning of his career, and as a tween, Bieber began working with Usher and the influential music manager Scooter Braun.

Source : https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/entertainment/justin-bieber-new-album-swag-467806

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (Jul 10) the United States would impose a 35 per cent tariff on imports from Canada next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15 per cent or 20 per cent on most other trade partners.

In a letter released on his social media platform, Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney the new rate would go into effect on Aug 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated.

Trump has broadened his trade war in recent days, setting new tariffs on a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, along with a 50 per cent tariff on copper.

In an interview with NBC News published on Thursday, Trump said other trading partners that had not yet received such letters would likely face blanket tariffs.

“Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs,” Trump said in the interview.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/trump-canada-tarffs-35-cent-blanket-tariffs-others-5232711

A shocking incident has emerged from Gurugram as Tennis player Radhika Yadav has reportedly been shot by her father in Sector 57 of Sector 56 police station area. The incident occurred at 2:00 pm on July 10, Thursday. According to a report of Dainik Jagran, Yadav’s father fired three bullets to kill her as the reason was over a fight about making a reel.

A shocking incident has emerged from Gurugram as Tennis player Radhika Yadav has reportedly been shot by her father in Sector 57 of Sector 56 police station area. The incident occurred at 2:00 pm on July 10, Thursday. According to a report of Dainik Jagran, Yadav’s father fired three bullets to kill her as the reason was over a fight about making a reel.

The report went on to claim that the Sector 56 police station is currently investigating the matter as the cops immediately reached their house after the incident transpired. The people of neighbourhood informed the police about the matter, prompting them to conduct investigation.

The father is reportedly being questioned as the report claimed that he committed the crime with a licensed pistol. A host of media reports stated that the 25-year-old athlete was rushed to a private hospital in serious condition but the doctors could not revive her.

Station House Officer Rajendar Kumar, belonging to Sector 56 police station said, as quoted by The Hindustan Times:

We received a call from the hospital regarding a woman admitted with gunshot wounds. By the time we arrived, she had passed away. Statements from family members confirmed that the father was responsible.”

Who Was Radhika Yadav?

The youngster was born on March 23, 2000, she had climbed the International Tennis Federation (ITF) women’s doubles rankings, reaching a career-best of 113 as of November 4, 2024.

She also held the fifth position in the Haryana women’s doubles rankings. Known for her agility, tactical intelligence, and relentless work ethic, Radhika had competed in multiple national and international tournaments. She was considered one of India’s emerging talents in doubles, alongside players like Poorvi Bhatt and Thaniya Sarai Gogulamanda.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/sports/shocking-state-level-tennis-player-shot-by-her-father-in-gurugram-claims-report

The nation’s largest teachers union faced ridicule this week for misspelling “fascism” in a resolution opposing President Trump.

The National Education Association (NEA), which represents more than 3 million teachers nationwide, approved the mangled proposal – aimed at defending “the survival of civilization itself” – on Sunday at the group’s annual convention.

“NEA pledges to defend democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term facism [sic] in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions,” read the adopted agenda item, obtained by conservative education expert Corey A. DeAngelis, who shared it on X.

“The members and material resources of NEA must be committed to the defense of the democratic and educational conditions required by our hopes for a just society and the survival of civilization itself by stating the truth,” the wordy new business item continued.

The document noted that calling out Trump’s “facism” [sic] in NEA materials “cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources” because it would cost an additional $3,500 to do so.

DeAngelis, and several people on social media, mocked the NEA over the spelling error.

“Yes, the union that claims to represent educators couldn’t even spell ‘fascism’ correctly in its official resolution attacking the president,” he wrote in a Fox News opinion piece. “The irony is almost too rich to parody.”

Tina Descovich, the CEO and co-founder of conservative group Moms for Liberty, argued that the agenda item was emblematic of the dismal state of the American education system.

“If the largest teachers union can’t define fascism properly we can all understand clearly why we are failing to teach children in schools,” Descovich wrote on X. “Number one priority is not to teach reading and math but a political agenda.”

“It’s infuriating.”

Republican Washington State Rep. Jim Walsh described the resolution as a “hysterical slander” of Trump and said it’s apparent why some families opt to steer their children away from public schools.

“A political lobbying organization that claims to represent public school teachers misspells the key word in its hysterical slander of the current POTUS,” Walsh wrote on X. “It’s not spelled ‘facism,’ morons.”

“And you’re not using the word correctly, anyway,” the state rep continued.”No wonder many families are homeschooling.”

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/07/10/us-news/largest-us-teachers-union-mocked-for-misspelling-fascism-in-anti-trump-agenda-item/

Chilling video captured the moment a high-ranking Ukrainian spy was ruthlessly gunned down in a brazen, broad daylight ambush on the streets of Kyiv and left for dead.

Col. Ivan Voronych, a senior security officer in Ukraine’s Security Service, was crossing the street in the Holosiivskyi district Thursday when an armed attacker ran up and blasted him with bullets at close range before fleeing, according to disturbing surveillance footage obtained by Ukrainian media and reports.

The assailant, who reportedly used a silenced pistol, was seen sprinting across a parking lot outside Voronych’s apartment building moments before unleashing five fatal rounds.

“With five shots at close range while leaving the apartment today at 8 a.m., the enemy killer did his dirty work,” Roman Chervinsky, a former Ukrainian intelligence officer, told The Telegraph.

He emphasized that Voronych had been “fighting the enemy since 2014.”

An Israeli airstrike hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza on Thursday, killing 10 children and six adults, local health authorities said, as ceasefire talks dragged on with no immediate deal expected.
Verified video footage from the strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip showed the bodies of women and children lying in pools of blood amid dust and screaming. One clip showed several motionless children lying on a donkey cart.

“She didn’t do anything, she was innocent, I swear. Her dream was for the war to end and that they announce it today, to go back to school,” said Samah al-Nouri, sitting by the body of her daughter who was killed in the blast.
“She was only getting treatment in a medical facility. Why did they kill them?” she said, with other bodies laid out around her at a nearby hospital.
Israel’s military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured bystanders and that the incident was under review.

U.S.-based Project HOPE said the strike had hit right outside its Altayara health clinic. “Horrified and heartbroken cannot properly communicate how we feel anymore,” the aid group said in a statement.
The Deir al-Balah missile strike came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce.
A senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that an agreement was not likely to be secured for another one or two weeks, however, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday he was hopeful of a deal.
“I think we’re closer, and I think perhaps we’re closer than we’ve been in quite a while,” Rubio told reporters at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia.
Several rounds of indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have failed to produce a breakthrough since the Israeli military resumed its campaign in March following a previous ceasefire.

Repeated attacks by Israeli forces in recent weeks have killed hundreds of Gazans, many of them civilians, and injured thousands, according to local health authorities, putting an enormous strain on the enclave’s few remaining hospitals.
Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said.
“We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator,” said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition.

An Israeli military official said that fuel destined for hospitals and other humanitarian facilities was let into the enclave on Wednesday and on Thursday.
However, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that far more fuel was needed to keep essential life-saving and life-sustaining services operating.

TALKS

U.S. President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to discuss the situation in Gaza amid reports that Israel and Hamas were nearing agreement on a U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal after 21 months of war.
Netanyahu said that if the two sides reach agreements on the U.S. 60-day truce plan, Israel will begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.
In a statement from Washington, he reiterated Israel’s terms for ending the war, including Hamas disarming and no longer ruling Gaza. Hamas has rejected calls to lay down its weapons.
“If this can be achieved through negotiations – that’s good. If it’s not achieved through 60-day negotiations then we will achieve it by other means, by use of force,” Netanyahu said.
A Palestinian official said the talks in Qatar were in crisis and that issues under dispute, including whether Israel would continue to occupy parts of Gaza after a ceasefire, had yet to be resolved.
The two sides previously agreed a ceasefire in January but it did not lead to a deal on ending the war and Israel resumed its military assault two months later, stopping all aid supplies into Gaza for 11 weeks and telling civilians to leave the north of the tiny territory.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has now killed more than 57,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. It has destroyed swathes of the territory and driven most Gazans from their homes.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strike-hits-near-gaza-medical-centre-truce-talks-continue-2025-07-10/

The Trump administration will restrict immigrants in the country illegally from enrolling in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. The move is part of a broad effort to limit access to federal benefits for immigrants who lack legal status.

People in the country illegally are largely ineligible for federal public benefits such as food stamps, student loans and financial aid for higher education. But for decades they have been able to access some community-level programs such as Head Start and community health centers.

HHS said it will reclassify those programs as federal public benefits, excluding immigrants in the country illegally from accessing them. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the changes were part of a larger effort to protect American citizens’ interests.

“For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Today’s action changes that — it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.”

A spokesperson for the Administration for Children and Families, which administers Head Start, said that eligibility will be determined based on the child’s immigration status.

Requiring proof of immigration status would likely create fear and confusion among families seeking to enroll their children, said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association.

“This decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children and disregards decades of evidence that Head Start is essential to our collective future,” Vinci said.

The changes are part of a multi-agency announcement rescinding an interpretation of federal law dating to former President Bill Clinton’s administration, which had allowed immigrants in the country illegally to access some programs. The Education Department, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor announced similar changes affecting a range of workforce development and adult education programs.

The changes will affect community health centers that immigrants rely on for a wide range of services, said Shelby Gonzales, vice president of immigration policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“People depend on those services to get cancer treatment, to get ongoing maintenance for a variety of different health needs,” she said.

Students in the country illegally will no longer be eligible to participate in postsecondary career and technical education programs or adult education programs, the Education Department announced. The department also issued a notice to grant recipients to ensure programs receiving federal money do not provide services to immigrants without legal status.

Education advocates said the decision would harm young people who have grown up in this country. EdTrust Vice President Augustus Mays said the intention appears to be creating fear among immigrant communities.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/trump-head-start-immigrants-rfk-d10a3b8fa77d37e6e54106ef1db45888

Each year from June to September, a series of heavy rains known as monsoons sweep through the Indian subcontinent, providing relief from heat, irrigating the country’s farms and replenishing its rivers.

However, as global heat increases, the rain is becoming more erratic and intense, creating the conditions for deadly floods. Nearly 1,300 people died in India throughout 2024 due to heavy rain and floods. Hundreds of rain-related deaths have already occurred this year in the South Asian region, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Nepal.

Climate experts say the high temperatures and heavy rain are also contributing to the melting of glaciers in the mountainous Himalayan region, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides.

Monsoon season becomes more dangerous

The South Asian region has traditionally had two monsoon seasons. One typically lasts from June to September, with rains moving southwest to northeast. The other, from roughly October to December, moves in the opposite direction.

But with more planet-warming gases in the air, the rain now only loosely follows this pattern. This is because the warmer air can hold more moisture from the Indian Ocean, and that rain then tends to get dumped all at once. It means the monsoon is punctuated with intense flooding and dry spells, rather than sustained rain throughout.

“We are witnessing a clear climatic shift in monsoon patterns across South Asia,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune and author of several United Nations climate reports.

Traditionally, people in India and neighboring countries excitedly awaited the monsoon rains, which would finally mean the end of summer heat. But attitudes are changing as disasters increase during the rainy seasons.

“The frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events are increasing, often overwhelming drainage infrastructure in urban areas and triggering flash floods,” Koll said.

Higher temperatures and longer periods of drought are also making farming harder in South Asia, climate experts said.

“More than 60% of the people in South Asia are dependent on agriculture, and almost all of them are dependent on monsoon rainfall,” said Finu Shrestha, a climate scientist at Kathmandu, Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

Mountain regions are seeing more glacial lakes overflowing

A 2023 report by Shrestha’s organization found that glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush and Himalayan mountain ranges. The study found that at least 200 of the more than 2,000 glacial lakes in the region are at risk of overflowing, which can cause catastrophic damage downstream. Heavy monsoon rains can exacerbate the problem.

“A lot of the mountain areas tend to have more warming than the global average, resulting in more glaciers melting,” said Miriam Jackson, glaciologist at the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative.

An October 2023 glacial lake overflow in the Indian state of Sikkim triggered flooding that killed 55 people and damaged bridges, buildings and a hydropower dam that was under construction.

Heavy rainfall and increasing heat are leading to snow and ice avalanches, rockfalls and other events that can trigger the lakes to breach or overflow, Shrestha said.

“Even small glacial lakes are now breaching and causing damage,” she said.

Early warning systems and long-term planning can help

Installing early warning systems and building in less risky areas can help reduce damage from heavy rains, climate experts say.

“If you know a flood is coming, then people can get to higher ground and there could be a sort of standard early warning system along a river that sends out a siren,” Jackson said, adding that social media and messaging applications can help people spread warnings to those downstream.

Koll, the Pune-based scientist, said that rapid urbanization, shrinking floodplains and loss of natural drainage also exacerbate damage from heavy rains. Koll said that most government response currently comes after disasters, and there is a lack of long-term planning.

“In the future monsoon, extreme rains are projected to intensify further, in addition to sporadic water shortages. Hence, we need proactive, long-term strategies that combine science, policy, and community engagement,” he said.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/monsoon-rains-nepal-floods-climate-change-india-ef8b703ab93bc310e397d896b032ce8f

UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson claims that “76 per cent of Pakistanis in Bradford marry their first cousins.”

A video posted online featuring UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson has gained widespread attention. In it, he is claiming that cousin marriages within the British Pakistani community are responsible for a large share of birth defects in the UK. The video, filled with strong remarks and controversial statistics, has triggered intense backlash and debate across social media.

In the video shared on X (formerly Twitter), Robinson claims that “76 per cent of Pakistanis in Bradford marry their first cousins.” He further says that British Pakistanis, who make up around 3% of the UK’s population, account for “33 per cent of birth defects.” He blames the practice on Islamic history as he claimed that it puts pressure on the country’s healthcare system.

“They are being born and retarded. It’s costing us a fortune. It’s costing the economy a fortune. It’s billions and billions because Muhammad married his cousin. Well, don’t care for what Muhammad did in the seventh century because he was a barbarian wall. It’s no longer right. It’s never been right, and it has to stop in Great Britain,” he added.

Social Media Reacts

While many supported him, there was also widespread backlash, with several users calling out the language used and questioning the accuracy of the statistics.

One user wrote, “This is a mix of distorted stats and open racism. Yes, cousin marriage can raise risks, but reducing an entire group to slurs like ‘retarded’ is vile. If it’s about health, focus on awareness, not hate.”

Another comment pointed out, “Stats stated are misrepresented.”

Grok Fact-Check

When one user asked to verify Robinson’s claims, Grok, an AI chatbot by xAI, said the 76 per cent figure for cousin marriages in Bradford is “exaggerated.” It cited the Born in Bradford study, which found that around 60 per cent of marriages were between cousins from 2007 to 2010, which dropped to 46 per cent by 2016–2019.

But the AI citing UK NHS (National Health Service) and academic research confirmed that British Pakistanis, who roughly 3 per cent of the population, account for 30–33 per cent of genetic birth defects, which is linked to cousin marriages.

Source: https://www.news18.com/viral/british-pakistanis-marry-1st-cousins-give-birth-to-retard-kids-viral-claim-9430556.html